Diné College partners with ASU Law, launching the first tribally affiliated law program

McKayla Lee
Navajo Times

TSAILE, Ariz. – Diné College has partnered with Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law to launch the first tribally-affiliated legal education.

The law program at Diné College will begin accepting students this fall.

ASU Law will offer master’s degrees in legal studies, tribal policy, law, and government, tailored to meet the evolving needs of the Navajo Nation.

The new Navajo law program, originally conceived in 2019, was delayed because of COVID-19. The program, approved by the Diné College Board of Regents – at its May 2024 board meeting – will serve as a pathway for students to transition to ASU graduate programs.

Patrick Blackwater, Diné College’s School of Business and Social Sciences dean, explained the initiative’s purpose: to address the need for legal services and practicing attorneys in the Navajo Nation, and to guide students into graduate-level law courses.

It’s also a way to get students and potential employees into the justice fields and to improve bar passage in the Nation.

“Everyone can see the need for this (partnership), more advocates and more lawyers that can help address a lot of issues, both on and off Navajo Nation,” said Stacy Leeds, the Willard H. Pedrick dean and the regents and foundation professor of law at ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. “This concept addresses the need of having a stronger pipeline of talent coming through the education system into these open unfilled positions throughout the tribe.”

As the first law degree program that is tribally specific, Leeds emphasizes the innovation and uniqueness of the program structure and shares how this model could be easily replicated by other tribes and law schools. “Although this is very Diné specific, and focused on the Navajo Nation, the same sort of model we think could thrive throughout Indian Country, and we hope other people pick it up and run with it.”

Diverse legal system

The curriculum is structured to encompass diverse facets of the legal system, spanning regulations, policy formulation, the judicial framework, and both formal and informal legal methodologies. The program distinguishes itself by offering students immersive, hands-on learning experiences, emphasizing the practical application of laws and the nuanced navigation of legal landscapes.

Recruitment for the law programs will begin early. The program is adaptable for each interested individual, a key component of the learning is that it allows hands-on learning opportunities, making it the right program for future law students, government service workers, advocates, and teachers.

“We’re really looking at all types of students,” Patrick Blackwater said. “We’re looking for students that want to work within the judicial system to build up our own system, people like paralegals, interpreters, and people on all levels so that we can start to build the economic development process of our students.”

Increasing legal professionals

The degree programs will increase the number of Navajo Nation legal professionals who are licensed to practice law on and around the reservation. The cost of the law program will be the same as all other courses at Diné College, $55 per credit hour and $660 for full-time students. Fees associated with ASU will need to be discussed with their admissions office, but scholarships are available at both institutions to help students out of pocket cost.

Like a food desert, the Navajo Nation is a rural area classified as a “legal desert,” meaning there are not enough legal professionals to meet the needs of the population.

Patrick Blackwater explains that the lack of lawyers and advocates ready to take on jobs in the area on and around the Navajo Nation will gradually decrease in a few years when the first students begin cycling through the law programs.

“We hope that there’s a very clear and tangible difference that this program can make in the community, it’s not just an educational endeavor, it’s an exercise of sovereignty,” Stacy Leeds said. “If the Nation is going to have the talent that it needs to continue to advance sovereign government interest and economic interest, this programming has to be part of the equation.”

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