HLS Dean Joins Indian Fund Board

Harvard Law School Dean Elena Kagan has been appointed to the advisory board of the American Indian Empowerment Fund, according to a statement released by the Oneida Indian Nation, which established the fund last year.

Kagan will join the Oneida Indian Nation in its six-year partnership with the PGA Tour to focus on tribal initiatives for American Indian Nations.

The Oneida Indian partnership was inaugurated in the 2007 Fall Series, marking the first time a regularly-scheduled PGA Tour event was held on Native American lands, according to Oneida Nation chief executive Arthur R. Halbritter. The second championship is scheduled for September 2008.

“We are just so delighted that she was willing to give her time to assist us with this event,” said Halbritter, who graduated from the Law School in 1990. “Dean Kagan’s appointment is just a wonderful addition to the board.”

The fund focuses generally on improving the lives of Native Americans, about one quarter of whom live in poverty, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

“Since the founding of this nation, our people have increasingly lost their land and ability to take care of themselves and have lived in poverty,” Halbritter said. “We are now in a position to reverse that trend for our members.”

Kagan’s appointment to the advisory board will lend “a level of stature” that is needed to build the credibility of such initiatives nationwide, Halbritter said.

Kagan said in an e-mailed statement that the fund is tackling difficult problems, and that “I hope I can contribute, in some small way, to making progress on them.”

The championship for the Empowerment Fund raised over $200,000 last year, according to Oneida Nation spokesman Mark F. Emery. The Oneida Nation has also established a $3 million dollar endowment in 2003 to fund a professorship at the Law School for visiting scholars to teach American Indian law.

Kagan said that the School’s relationship with the Oneida Nation is very important, and that the gift has provided students with a greater awareness of the legal issues that the tribes face.

Kevin K. Washburn, who is the visiting professor for this academic year, said that American Indian law is becoming increasingly relevant for law students, as some states now include questions about Indian law on their bar exams.

—Staff writer June Q. Wu can be reached at junewu@fas.harvard.edu.