Sarah Deer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sarah Deer
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Sarah Deer in 2016
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| Born | November 9, 1972 |
| Nationality | American |
| Citizenship | Muscogee (Creek) Nation |
| Alma mater | University of Kansas |
| Occupation | Professor of Public Affairs and Administration and Women, Gender, and ... Studies |
| Known for | Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 |
| Awards | MacArthur fellow |
Sarah Deer is a very important lawyer and professor from the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, a Native American tribe in Oklahoma. She works hard to help Native American people, especially women and girls, who have experienced harm. Sarah Deer teaches at the University of Kansas and has received many awards for her work, including being named a MacArthur fellow. She was also honored by being added to the National Women's Hall of Fame.
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Sarah Deer's Early Life and Education
Sarah Deer was born on November 9, 1972. She is a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. She studied at the University of Kansas, where she earned both her first degree and her law degree. While she was a student, Sarah Deer started volunteering to help people who had been hurt. This experience helped her decide to dedicate her career to supporting Native American victims.
Helping Native American Communities
For more than 25 years, Sarah Deer has been a strong voice for Native American people. She focuses on helping those who have experienced violence. Her work is described in her book, which talks about how to stop violence in Native American communities.
Important Work and Achievements
Sarah Deer is known for her important work in changing laws to protect Native American women. She played a key role in the 2013 update of the Violence Against Women Act. This law now says that Native American tribes have the right to deal with crimes of violence committed by non-Native people on their lands. This was a very important change that many people had fought for.
Working for Justice
In 2007, Sarah Deer helped write a report called Maze of Injustice. This report showed how much violence Native American women faced. Her work and testimony helped pass the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 in 2010. This law also helped improve safety and justice for Native American communities.
Serving as a Judge
Sarah Deer has also served as a judge. Since 2013, she has been on the Prairie Island Indian Community Court of Appeals. She became the Chief Justice there in 2016. She has also been an appellate judge for the White Earth Nation since 2015.
Awards and Recognition
Sarah Deer has received many national awards for her dedication. In 2011, she received awards from the U.S. Department of Justice. The American Bar Association gave her the Spirit of Excellence Award in 2016. She was inducted into the Mvskoke (Creek) Nation Hall of Fame in 2015. In 2019, she was added to the National Women's Hall of Fame. In 2020, she was chosen as an Andrew Carnegie Fellow. She also received an honorary doctorate from Brooklyn College.
Modern Legal Thinking
More recently, Sarah Deer has been working on new ways of thinking about law, especially for Indigenous communities. She aims to improve legal systems that were not originally designed to fully support Native American people.
