Judge Anne McKeig

White Earth Descendant Selected for Minnesota Supreme Court

Victoria Sweet2 Comments

Congratulations Judge Anne McKeig

Link to full article here

From the article:

Gov. Mark Dayton has selected Fourth Judicial District Judge Anne McKeig as the next Supreme Court justice, giving the state’s highest court its first American Indian jurist, as well as the first female majority since 1991.

McKeig, 49, a descendant of White Earth Nation, has specialized in child protection and Indian welfare issues. She was first appointed to the bench in 2008 by GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty. She will replace retiring Justice Christopher Dietzen, also a Pawlenty appointee.

The selection means that Dayton has made a majority of appointments on the 7-member court, likely ensuring his legacy on the bench long after he leaves office. He has now appointed five justices, though former Justice Wilhelmina Wright joined the federal bench earlier this year.

In his two terms, Dayton has made diversifying the state’s courts a priority. He praised McKeig’s legal experience, and he also emphasized her biography, reading a passage from her application as he announced his pick.

“I grew up in rural Minnesota in challenging circumstances surrounded by poverty,” McKeig wrote. “The lessons I learned as a young woman from Federal Dam, Minn. planted in me a strong desire to make a difference for my community. My passion for public service comes from seeing the enormous need matched against the limited resources on the reservation.”

McKeig delivered an emotional speech Tuesday to reporters, members of her family and other Minnesota dignitaries, including the state Supreme Court. She called her appointment a “historic day” for American Indians. She thanked trailblazing Judge Robert A. Blaeser for paving the way for other American Indians pursuing legal careers.

“I didn’t know him, but he was a White Earth member,” McKeig said, recalling the impression his 1995 swearing-in ceremony left on her. “And, I, a proud descendant of the White Earth nation, knew that if he could do it, than maybe I could.”

She added: “It is people like him and his wife who have led the way that have allowed for others like me to dare to dream. So today is a historic day, not only for myself and for my family, but for all native people.”

February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month

Victoria Sweet1 Comment

One in three adolescents in the U.S. is a victim of physical, sexual, emotional or verbal abuse from a dating partner. One in five tweens knows a victim of dating violence. (For citations to these and more statistics see Break the Cycle’s Dating Violence research available here.)

The National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center has a project called Native Love, designed to educate Native teens on this very real problem.

Native Love is defined by our traditional ways of caring for each other and values as Native peoples of respect, honor, kindness, family and compassion. Our NativeLove project encourages youth to rethink what Native Love means to them, and empower them to define healthy relationships for themselves This is with the aim of promoting non-violent, respectful, safe relationships among Native youth, their families, communities, cultures, & Nations

A link to the project can be found here

In addition, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges has been publishing guest blogs by judges discussing a judicial perspective on the epidemic of violence among teens and the need for awareness of this problem from the bench. Judge Anne McKeig, White Earth member and state court judge, wrote about her observations of the impact of family violence on Native children and how some of these kids have eventually ended up in her court as victims of dating violence – unable to break out of the cycle of violence.

The need to address dating violence among Native teens is critical. Forty percent of suicides by Native Americans are committed by those between the ages of 15 and 24.[10] While the cause of suicide is complex, untreated trauma is a known factor. Addressing the problem is also not easy. The occurrence of violence among Native teens is complicated by many factors – lack of culturally appropriate resources, historical trauma, high rates of alcohol and drug abuse, poverty, and the normalization of violence within the culture, to name a few. The “system” is viewed by the Native community as untrustworthy and in many cases, has contributed to the historical trauma endured by Native American families. Courts must commit to building trust with the Native community; building relationships to engage in meaningful dialogue; and creating a welcoming and accessible presence for Native victims to obtain help. Without that commitment there will be no change.

Blog post available here