Keynote Address: “The Next Great Generation of American Indian Law Judges”

KEVIN K. WASHBURN

In his Keynote Address, Dean Kevin Washburn urges us to start the process of educating judges about the realities of Indian law
at the earliest possible stages.  A proper Indian law education begins, he argues, in elementary school, when ideas about the
structure of this country are cemented and naturalized.  Appropriately, Dean Washburn also highlights Judge William Canby of
the Ninth Circuit as a model of a great American Indian law judge in contemporary times.  Judge Canby took a singular interest
in the field, learning it first as a law clerk and then undertaking his own self-guided course of study.  Today, Judge Canby remains
one of the foremost experts in American Indian law.  Dean Washburn observes, however, that Judge Canby’s path is rare.  For most
people, ideas about our government’s structure are set much earlier.  Dean Washburn concludes that for tribes to take their place
as the third sover­eign in the minds of most Americans, Indian law education must begin long before law school.