The School of Law and the Law and Indigenous Peoples Program Host the 2025 Gathering of Communities and Nations Convocation
November 24, 2025
On November 7, 2025, the School of Law and the Law and Indigenous Peoples Program hosted the Gathering of Communities and Nations Convocation, featuring former United States Secretary of the Interior and Distinguished Alumna Deb Haaland as the keynote speaker.
For nearly six decades, the UNM School of Law has been a national leader in supporting Native American law students. In 1967, UNM established one of the first comprehensive Indian law programs, followed by the creation of the Pre-Law Summer Institute (PLSI) in 1968 to prepare Native students for law school. Now in its 58th year and operated by the American Indian Law Center, PLSI has launched the careers of many graduates who serve as attorneys, judges, and professors.
In 1992, the Indian Law Certificate Program was introduced, later becoming the Law and Indigenous Peoples Program (LIPP) in 2012. Today, students can earn the Indian Law Certificate through 21 credit hours of specialized coursework in Federal Indian, Tribal, and International Indigenous Peoples law.
LIPP also offers hands-on experience through the Southwest Indian Law Clinic (SILC), the first clinic of its kind, and students contribute to the Tribal Law Journal (TLJ), the first online journal dedicated to Tribal law.
Distinguished Alumna Deb Haaland attended the Pre-Law Summer Institute, Class of 2003, and received her J.D. from UNM School of Law in 2006. She is a 35th-generation New Mexican and enrolled member of Laguna Pueblo who organized for President Obama and led the New Mexico State Democratic Party. She made an unprecedented run and became one of the first Native women to serve in the United States House of Representatives and then made history once more when she was appointed to serve as the 54th United States Secretary of the Interior. There, she championed issues for Indian Country such as the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative. Haaland’s career reflects the mission of the Law and Indigenous Peoples Program — to empower Native students to lead, advocate for their communities, and shape the future of law and policy. Her presence at the Convocation served as a powerful reminder of the impact of both Indigenous leadership and of the support systems that help make such leadership possible.
The event celebrated the School of Law’s commitment to advancing Native American legal education, and we extend our heartfelt thanks to all who joined us for this meaningful occasion.
