- Details
- By Native News Online Staff
With Oklahoma home to 39 federally recognized Tribal Nations, Hill's confirmation is a meaningful step forward in ensuring the federal judiciary reflects the communities it serves. As the only active Native American federal judge in Oklahoma, Judge Hill brings a critical perspective and deep knowledge of federal Indian law.
Hill served as the Cherokee Nation’s attorney general from 2019 until August 2023, during which she oversaw the restructuring of the tribe’s criminal prosecution after the Supreme Court’s McGirt v. Oklahoma decision in October 2019 removed Oklahoma’s authority to prosecute tribal members in a large swath of the state.
Make A Donation Here
“Judge Hill’s extensive experience serving the Cherokee Nation provides a strong background for her work in the Northern District of Oklahoma,” Native American Rights Fund Executive Director John Echohawk said in a statement. “Her confirmation is an important and necessary milestone and serves as a reminder that continuing to increase Native representation at a federal level is needed.”
Hill's confirmation has also been praised by the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) President Mark Macarro.
“NCAI applauds both President Biden’s nomination of Sara Hill, and the Senate’s confirmation of her as the first-ever Native American woman to sit on the federal bench in the state of Oklahoma,” Macarro said in a statement. “Judge Hill brings with her an unparalleled experience in law and policy to our justice system, including a depth of understanding of tribal sovereignty that is far too often lacking on the judicial bench.”
Hill will be the 10th Native American Article III federal judge to ever serve in the judiciary in the history of the United States.
More Stories Like This
Chickasaw Children’s Village Celebrates 20 Years of Nurturing First American StudentsOregon Governor Visits Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
Water Rights Agreement with Colorado River Indian Tribes in Arizona Signed
Biden Nominates Salish & Kootenai Tribal Attorney Danna Jackson for Federal Bench
A Conversation With Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan: What We Can Celebrate Around the State
Native Perspective. Native Voices. Native News.
We launched Native News Online because the mainstream media often overlooks news that is important is Native people. We believe that everyone in Indian Country deserves equal access to news and commentary pertaining to them, their relatives and their communities. That's why the story you’ve just finished was free — and we want to keep it that way, for all readers. We hope you'll consider making a donation to support our efforts so that we can continue publishing more stories that make a difference to Native people, whether they live on or off the reservation. Your donation will help us keep producing quality journalism and elevating Indigenous voices. Any contribution of any amount — big or small — gives us a better, stronger future and allows us to remain a force for change. Donate to Native News Online today and support independent Indigenous-centered journalism. Thank you.
