Day 1, Key Note 2
Cheryl Demmert Fairbanks, Esq. works in the area of Indian law as an attorney, peacemaker, and tribal court of appeals justice. Currently, she is a SOROS fellow and she recently founded Sovereignty 360, a peacemaking entity. Also, she was the Interim Co- Director for the UNM Native American Budget and Policy Institute, visiting Professor of Law at the UNM Southwest Indian Law Clinic and was in Oregon serving as the Walter R. Echo-Hawk Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law at Lewis and Clark School of Law. Formerly a Partner at Cuddy McCarthy LLP, she had a general practice in Indigenous and Indian law. Currently, she serves as a Peacemaker, Justice for the Tlingit and Haida Supreme Court and the Inter-Tribal Court of Appeals of Nevada. Prior to her law career, she served as a teacher for the Albuquerque Public Schools, Zia Day School, and Administrator for Acomita Day School and the Albuquerque/Santa Fe Indian Schools. Also, Ms. Fairbanks was a partner with the law firm of Roth, VanAmberg, Rogers, Ortiz, Fairbanks & Yepa, LLP, where she specialized in Indian law. She also worked as senior policy analyst with the New Mexico Office of Indian Affairs in the area of state-tribal relations. There, she was instrumental in establishing the Indian Child Welfare Desk, New Mexico Office of Indian Tourism, the University of New Mexico Indian Law Clinic, and the passage of the New Mexico Indian Arts and Crafts Act. Ms. Fairbanks is Tlingit-Tsimshian and was born in Ketchikan, Alaska. She obtained her BA from Fort Lewis College in 1969 and her JD in 1987 from the University of New Mexico. Ms. Fairbanks’ publications include:
● Indigenous Justice as a Concept in American Jurisprudence, @LAW (NALS) (Summer 2005 reporter)
● The Sacred Trust: Our Children, Our Tribal Sovereignty, and the Indian Child Welfare Act, Inside the Minds, Emerging Issues in Tribal-State Relations (2012 Ed.) (Aspatore)
● Indian Child Welfare Act Checklists for Juvenile and Family Court Judges, NCJFCJ, June 2003 (Reviewer and Contributor)