AUWCL Students Spend Spring Break Helping Navajo Nation on Legal Projects
Legal Service and Cultural Exchange: AUWCL Students Support Navajo Nation
Over spring break, seven American University Washington College of Law students dedicated their time to volunteer with legal projects in the Navajo Nation. this Alternative Spring Break Trip, organized by the Program on Environmental and Energy Law (PEEL), marks the 12th year of its facilitation at AUWCL. This year's cohort had an opportunity to engage in a variety of activities, including providing legal services through DNA-People's Legal Services, legal education, shadowing, and cultural programming.
David Chaykowski, Elizabeth Clinch, David Gagnidze, Caitlyn Lindstrom, Liz Moriyama, and Kimly Tran were among the students participating this year. Mainly organized by the participating students, the trip was supported by faculty advisor Professor Ezra Rosser and Environmental Law Professor Bill Snape.
In their practice of legal service, the students had the opportunity to expand on the work of last year's cohort by drafting client advice letters for top concerns of DNA. The students received individualized feedback from Attorney Daniela Dwyer, the director of litigation for DNA.
“Surprisingly, halfway through law school I still had not been in a real courtroom,” Clinch said. “So, it was enlightening not only to learn about the tribal court system but just a day in criminal court generally.”
The students also had the opportunity to meet with tribal and state-licensed attorneys to learn about the work they do on the Navajo and Hopi reservations.
This was not only an opportunity to engage in legal service and education but also to experience the foundational cultures and practices in the Navajo Nation.
Autumn Montoya, outreach and cultural coordinator at DNA, facilitated an inspirational conversation with the students and her mother, the vice president of the Navajo Nation, on her life and journey to becoming a tribal leader. A highlight of the experience was participating in a Sweat Lodge ceremony, which is a traditional purification ceremony of the Navajo.
“It was a restorative and beautiful ceremony that we were lucky to witness and experience this way,” according to Clinch.
“I love that it gives students an opportunity to get a brief taste of life on a reservation. For a few students over the years, the experience has been life-altering and they end up pursuing Indian law as a career,” Rosser added. “For others, it hopefully builds both empathy and understanding regardless of their career path”
“None of this would be possible without Professor Ezra Rosser,” said Snape. "Rosser’s long-standing connections with the Navajo Nation helped facilitate this experience for the student body."
“The thing I like most about the Navajo Nation Alternative Spring Break trip is that every year students are the driving force behind it,” said Rosser. “They organize it, find the funding, generate interest, and communicate with the host organizations. It is a student-run effort.”
*DNA is an acronym for the Navajo phrase "Diné be’iiná Náhiilna be Agha’diit’ahii" which means “attorneys who work for the economic revitalization of The People.”
Story by Hasini Jayawardena.