AILC’s History
During the school year 1966-67, The University of New Mexico School of Law applied for and received funding for a Special Scholarship Program in Law For American Indians (now called PLSI), a program to increase the number of Indians and Alaska Natives in law schools throughout the nation. The SSPILFAI included an eight-week summer prelaw institute, placement in law school, financial assistance and informal counseling for students throughout their law school careers (the present-day PLSI no longer has scholarship funds available). At the time of the creation of the program by then-Dean Tom Christopher and Visiting Professor (and later Dean) Fred Hart, fewer than 25 Indian lawyers and 15 law students could be identified in the country. Now, largely through the pump-priming of that program, the number of Indian lawyers tops 3,000. In addition to its impact on the legal profession and legal education, the Special Scholarship Program also led to the creation of the American Indian Law Center.
Learning that the University of New Mexico Law School had evidenced an interest in Indian law, a number of tribes, foundations, government agencies and other organizations and individuals began to approach the law school with ideas for projects, from training tribal court clerks and brand inspectors to the development of model codes. Responding to that widespread interest, the law school hired Robert L. Bennett, the outgoing Commissioner of Indian Affairs in the Johnson Administration, to launch the American Indian Law Center. With generous help from the Donner Foundation, Mr. Bennett established the Law Center and began operations, with the Special Scholarship Program as one of the components complemented by the technical assistance operations. In 1972, Mr. Bennett retired and was replaced by Sam Deloria, who is still the Director.
Historically, AILC was the first national Indian-controlled organization to work with tribal courts. We began by developing the first training for the National American Indian Court Judges Association in 1969. In addition to code development, we have trained not only court judges on a litany of subjects, both substantive and procedural, but, also, court administrators and clerks and other professionals such as human service workers on court-related topics. We have also assisted tribes with court evaluations. In 1989, in cooperation with tribal and pueblo judges, AILC developed the Southwest Intertribal Court of Appeals (SWITCA) which offers appellate services and periodic training to member courts now numbering approximately fifteen. As a result of this work, we have developed a unique expertise in the area of tribal appellate practices.
In the mid-70's, at the urging of funding sources, the American Indian Law Center separated from the University of New Mexico as an organization and became an Indian-controlled non-profit corporation; among the initial board members were the late Governor of the Pueblo of Zuni Robert Lewis and the late President of the Quinault Indian Nation Joseph DeLaCruz. It is still located at the University of New Mexico School of Law and maintains a close association with the law school.
For a complete history of the American Indian Law Center, please see Mr. Deloria’s 1994 article, The American Indian Law Center: An Informal History, in the New Mexico Law Review. The cite is 24 NMLR 285 (1994). For a detailed history of the Southwest Intertribal Court of Appeals, or SWITCA, please see Prof. Christine Zuni-Cruz’s NM Law Review article, The Southwest Intertribal Court of Appeals, 24 NMLR 309 (1994).
