• Provide an academic and educational atmosphere and opportunity for law students to study Federal, State, and Native Nation laws affecting Native Nations and their citizens
• Provide legal assistance on uniquely Native Nation legal matters
• Encourage and assist Indian students in obtaining a legal education 

Learn more about the Great Lakes Indigenous Law Center »

 

GLILC Initiatives 

Native Nation Externships

The externship program is designed to give law students a unique opportunity to gain real-world experience by working and sometimes living in a Native Nation territory or reservation.

Intertribal Food System Development

Building upon a Wisconsin Partnership Program (WPP) award to implement Tribal Food Codes with the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin in 2019, the Great Lakes Indigenous Law Center has provided essential legal and policy support at the federal, state, and Tribal levels to advance innovative intertribal food system development.  

The Tribal Elder Food Box Program, initiated with three Tribes in 2021, has expanded to all eleven Wisconsin federally recognized Tribes, demonstrating how intertribal cooperation can support economic development while addressing critical community health and nutrition needs. Under a UW-Madison Baldwin Grant, the GLILC has supported Tribal partners in creating a Great Lakes Intertribal Food Coalition to coordinate these efforts that are highlighted by:

• • An $8.5 million USDA Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access Program award
  • Policy advocacy to USDA directly led to a $100 million Tribal set-aside under the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program, which helped to support the Tribal Elder Food Box among dozens of other efforts across the nation
  • Co-leading the Tribal component of the $20 million Great Lakes Midwest Regional Food Business Center with Michigan State University's Center for Regional Food Systems

Rural Partnership Institute

GLILC staff is co-leading a project under UW-Madison's new Rural Partnerships Institute with UW-Madison Extension to advance the land-grant mission of the university, support community-based projects, and create new partnerships to better meet the needs of rural communities. Dan Cornelius is co-lead for the Indigenous Food Systems Resilience project under the Wisconsin Rural Partnership Institute. 

  

Alumni Spotlight: Rebecca L. Maki-Wallander,  '09

Adams County District Attorney | Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe

UW Law Reflections and Advice

One of my favorite opportunities while attending UW Law was the vast array of clinics and internships that were available. I am a hands-on learner and learned most from my clinical experiences and internships. I was able to participate in several types, including a local clerkship, the TRO clinic, Family Law clinic, and a summer internship through GLILC, which allowed me to work for my tribe one summer. The varied clinics and internships helped expose me to various areas of law, while also introducing me to different types of legal work. The skills I learned during these clinics and internships are the skills I rely on most as a practicing attorney. 

Law school will challenge your way of thinking, so embrace it. When I started law school, I had every intention of working exclusively in Indian Law, and I started my legal career working with the Ho-Chunk Nation for several years before transitioning to criminal prosecution. Early in my career, I was a judicial clerk for the Ho-Chunk Nation, before becoming a Tribal Attorney and Prosecutor for the Ho-Chunk Nation Department of Justice. Because of these positions, I had the opportunity to practice both civil and criminal law. I even had a case make its way to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, but throughout all these experiences, I learned just who I was as an attorney. I love to litigate in the courtroom and help bring justice to the most sensitive of victims. My path to becoming a District Attorney is not a traditional one, but that is precisely the point. There is no one way to progress your legal career. Explore areas of law and opportunities that take you out of your comfort zone. This will help you learn what type of law you want to practice and what type of lawyer you want to be. You may think you know, but challenging yourself and your mindset may surprise you. 

  

Upcoming Events 

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