September 20, 2016 Sarah Crawford
was initially terrified to leave her community of Peever, South
Dakota, to attend a two-month internship in Washington, D.C. Little
did she know that those two months would eventually turn into five
years and ultimately lead her to attend the Sandra Day O'Connor
College of Law at Arizona State University and participate in the
Indian Legal Program.
Crawford, from the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate community in northeastern
South Dakota, is the first recipient of the Fort McDowell Yavapai
Nation Law Scholarship that was started earlier this year as part
of a $1.2 million endowment to the ASU Indian Legal Program. The
endowment from the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation will support scholarships,
grants and other programs benefitting current and prospective Native
American students like Crawford at ASU Law.
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Sarah
Crawford, from the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate community in northeastern
South Dakota, is the first recipient of the Fort McDowell
Yavapai Nation Law Scholarship that was started earlier this
year as part of a $1.2 million endowment to the ASU Indian
Legal Program.
(photo by Danielle Williams)
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"The Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation has been a leader in Arizona
for Native voting rights, gaming issues and the protection of tribal
sovereignty. It is only fitting that Sarah be the first Fort McDowell
Yavapai Nation Scholar as these are our interests as well," said
Kate Rosier, executive director of the Indian Legal Program. "Sarah
is a great student and a natural leader. We are proud to have her
at ASU Law and as part of the Indian Legal Program family."
ASU Law and the Indian Legal Program have hundreds of graduates
who are practicing in the Indian law field and represent tribes
from across the country.
Crawford said it was after doing a yearlong undergraduate research
project involving policy and Indian Country that, specifically the
Indian Child Welfare Act, a lightbulb went on and she realized the
importance that policy work could have.
"For the longest time in my undergrad I didn't know what to
do; I kept bouncing back and forth. I knew I wanted to help out
the underserved that was always my focus. I just didn't know
how to put that into a career, and it wasn't until I looked into
policy work that I realized that policy really impacts change and
can create a domino effect," said Crawford.
After graduating from Minnesota State University-Moorhead with
a bachelor's degree in psychology and a minor in business management
and political science, she was selected for the Native American
Congressional Internship with the Udall Foundation. Every year,
the Udall Foundation places Native American students in internships
throughout the U.S. Congress and federal agencies.
Crawford was assigned to the office of South Dakota's U.S. Sen.
Tim Johnson. She felt it was the right choice given he was not only
the senator from her home state but he also served on the Senate
Committee on Indian Affairs.
"To this day I remember that work and the best part was being
able to travel back home to South Dakota and work one-on-one with
community members, and being able to listen to the issues that were
impacting tribes and tribal members on the ground," said Crawford.
She loved the work so much, she decided to continue working
on Capitol Hill as Johnson's congressional staffer for more than
three years after her internship ended. She worked her way up the
ranks and eventually became a legislative associate. She became
the point person within the office to work on Indian Affairs legislation,
specifically working on legislation that would provide tribal tax
parity, ensuring program funding for Native languages, and addressing
the quality of education in Indian Country.
Once Johnson decided to retire, Crawford was intent on staying
in Washington and joined the staff of the National Indian Gaming
Commission, a federal regulatory agency set up to monitor Indian
gaming across the U.S. It was there she got the first inkling she
wanted to pursue law.
"I got to see what they were doing, that hands-on work on policy
that I thought, this was it. This is what I really want to do,"
said Crawford.
After meeting ASU alumni from the Indian Legal Program and through
the encouragement of her co-workers at the National Indian Gaming
Commission, she saw the real possibility of going into law and utilizing
her policy and legislative background in a different way. She then
applied to ASU and was accepted earlier this year. She is impressed
with the reputation of the ASU Indian Legal Program and faculty.
"The professors that they've garnered here are the top of the
top, and the opportunity to work with these professors that are
engaging with the community was another draw for me," said Crawford.
She says that faculty engagement with Native communities as
tribal judges, Native American voting rights advocates and as advisers,
shows their commitment to their profession and to Indian law.
She says staying connected to tribal communities by helping
solve real-world problems is something she really appreciates and
wants to continue pursuing as an ASU Law student and graduate of
the Indian Legal Program.
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