We appreciate the opportunity to participate in this symposium, convened to examine Professor Wenona Singel's article, Indian Tribes and Human Rights Accountability. Amongst her many professional accomplishments, Professor Singel is well known as a scholar in American Indian law, the Chief Justice of an active tribal appellate court, and a Reporter on the American Law Institute's Restatement of American Indian Law. Her influence, therefore, is felt and respected throughout the academy, the practicing bar, and Indian country. At an early stage of her career, Professor Singel is already recognized as a thought-leader, someone who is both brave and careful in her willingness to articulate and address some of the most trenchant challenges in American Indian law. Professor Singel's newest article is perhaps the most evocative example of her intellectual and community leadership. Her observation that Indian tribes could, on occasion, do better in extending civil and human rights to citizens, employees, and residents in Indian country, is strikingly forthright. And her resulting proposal-advocating for the creation of an intertribal, treaty-based mechanism to adjudicate human rights disputes-is deeply respectful of tribal sovereignty, calling on tribes to take the first steps toward increased accountability and to turn to their own laws and norms as a basis for improving their systems of governance. And, finally, her proposal is notably provocative, having inspired passionate conversations at major gatherings of tribal leaders and scholars across the country, and a lively, focused discussion among Indian law scholars, lawyers, and leaders at the symposium on October 4-5, 2012. In this spirit, and on the occasion of this symposium, we are prompted first to situate Indian Tribes and Human Rights Accountability in the larger body of Professor Singel's scholarship to date, and second to describe the way in which she has inspired us to embark on a new research project of our own.Published in: 2013 Michigan State Law Review 293 (2013)
Tribal Rights, Human Rights