CILS ATTORNEY TO RECEIVE NATIONAL AWARD

CILS takes great pride in announcing that long-time CILS Senior Staff Attorney, Dorothy Alther (Oglala Sioux), will be awarded the 2010 Pierce-Hickerson Award.  The Pierce-Hickerson Award honors outstanding contributions to the advancement or preservation of Native American rights. The Award, created in 2003 by advocates in civil legal assistance programs, pays homage to the legacies of Julian Pierce and Robert Hickerson for their outstanding advocacy in pursuit of justice for Native Americans.  Past recipients have included NARF Senior Staff Attorney Steve Moore and legendary activist Petersen Zah.

Dorothy has spent her career working for Indian legal services programs and advocating on behalf of individual Native Americans as well as tribes and tribal entities. Starting off as a staff attorney and later managing attorney of DNA Legal Services, Dorothy oversaw a staff including several attorneys while handling a large case load involving probate and trust land matters, healthcare resources and obtaining public benefits for her clients. Upon moving to Washington in the early 1990s Dorothy worked for the Suquamish Tribe state for several years as a court administrator, advocate and litigator on public resources protection and Indian Child Welfare Act cases.

Making a permanent move to California Indian Legal Services in 1993, Dorothy’s work began to expand in breadth and scope. At CILS Dorothy began representing tribes in Bishop Office’s service territory and later southern California in sovereign immunity cases, fee to trust applications, lease drafting, obtaining federal recognition for tribes and the creation of tribal law enforcement bodies. Within just a few years of moving to Bishop, Dorothy helped the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe secure a land base of 7,000 acres with the passage of the Timbisha Shoshone Homeland Act of 2000. Despite relocating to the Escondido office in 2003, Dorothy continues to be the Directing Attorney for the Bishop Office and regularly gets requests for assistance from former clients and old friends from the Bishop Washoe and Timbisha Shoshone tribes.

Since coming to southern California Dorothy has been instrumental in training tribes in tribal court and law enforcement development. She has drafted a number of tribal constitutions and codes pertaining to peace, security and housing and represents her clients before the Court. Dorothy’s work in court development also inspired CILS’ annual Tribal Courts Conference which offers a venue for California’s tribal communities, tribal court judges and law enforcement officers to discuss current issues related to tribal justice while being updated on the law.

We join in offering our congratulations to Dorothy - a deserving, talented member of the CILS family.