Native Americans: Before, During and After Law School Forum

[bne90]

I sorta hijacked a thread in the "What Are My Chances?" forum regarding a female applicant that is both African American and Native American. bk187 did an excellent job of answering my questions, but I thought I'd start a thread on this topic to see if others could offer their input, since I could not find any other threads through the forum search. If there is a thread, my mistake, and could someone please direct me to it? For the purpose of this thread, Native American refers to individuals that identify as Native American, whether full or part.

Before: Questions About Application Cycle
Does anyone know if there are certain schools that require an applicant to prove that they have Native American ancestry (through a CDIB card or tribal registration)? For instance, I'm a quarter Choctaw, however I have not registered with the tribe nor did I apply for the federal card. I have identified myself as part Native American my entire life and although I have volunteered on several reservations, none of those tribes were Choctaw, so I don't have a specific "cultural tie" to a tribe. If I mark Native American on an application, will they ask for follow up documentation? From what I've heard, African Americans receive the greatest "boost" when it comes to applications, but I always assumed that Native Americans would receive a much higher one since they are incredibly underrepresented - is this true?

During: Experience in Law School
Are there any individuals that can shed some light on one's experience in law school, whether you are Native American (full or part) and/or you know someone that is? What about OCI? Which schools favor Native Americans? What about schools that have strong Native American law programs?

After: Employment
I happen to be very interested in Native American law and I'm curious if any Native American law grads have decided to work in this field? Overall, how are the job prospects for Native Americans - biglaw, midlaw, government, public interest, etc?


Any other information, knowledge or insight is more than appreciated. I've just been very curious about this topic and thought I'd ask. Thanks!

[shoeshine]

1/2 NA here.

About half of my applications specifically asked if I was a "registered" member of the tribe. The other half only asked for the name of my tribe. I applied to about 7 schools in the T14 and 5 mid range T1s.

Just go register with your tribe if you haven't already. As long as you can prove your ancestry the process isn't hard at all (at least not for members of my tribe).

[20121109]

IBNightRunner

[CanadianWolf]

The University of New Mexico runs a program every summer for Native American law students. The program is sponsored by about a dozen law schools. Try to get that list of law schools.
New Mexico & Colorado have strong NA law programs. Cornell is quite friendly to NAs.
Some law schools offer scholarships to NAs if tribal membership can be shown.