Native American Heritage Month

In recognition of National Native American Heritage Month, the WWCDA celebrates Native American women who have blazed trails for women of all backgrounds and advanced the cause of equal justice under the law.

Celebrating Native American Heritage

Judge Humetewa, a member of the Hopi Nation, has served as United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona since 2014. Judge Humetewa was the first Native American woman to serve as a federal judge. Judge Humetewa also served as the United States Attorney for the District of Arizona from 2007 to 2009, and was the first Native American woman to hold that position. A first-generation graduate, she received her bachelor’s degree and juris doctor from Arizona State University.

Judge Lauren J. King, a tribal citizen of the Muscogee Nation, was confirmed by the United States Senate in October 2021 to serve as a federal district judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. Judge King is the first Native American federal judge in Washington state’s history, the second in the United States Courts for the Ninth Circuit, and only the fourth active Native American federal judge in the entire United States. Born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Judge King received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington, and juris doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law.

One of the first female Native American attorneys, Eliza Burton “Lyda” Conley graduated from Kansas City School of Law in 1902 and became the first woman admitted to the Kansas bar. She was notable for her campaign to prevent the sale and development of the Huron Cemetery in Kansas City. She challenged the government in court, and in 1909, she was the first Native American woman admitted to argue a case before the Supreme Court of the United States. Although the Supreme Court dismissed Conley’s case, Conley persisted, and, in 1916, the cemetery was designated a federal park. Today, the cemetery—renamed Wyandot National Burial Ground—enjoys National Historic Landmark status. Conley was laid to rest in the cemetery following her death in 1946.