Category: Native Communities

Navajo Nation

“Deborah Begay is an enrolled citizen of the Navajo Nation. She is affiliated with the Lupton Chapter House. Deborah is the first Native American Judge elected to the Maricopa County Justice Courts. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Native American History from the University of California, Berkeley, and her Juris Doctorate from Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law with a concentration in Federal Indian Law.

She has worked for Navajo Nation in both the Department of Justice and the Department of Natural Resources. She was a contributing editor to the Navajo Nation Peacemaking Model used within the Navajo courts and is a strong advocate for Restorative Justice. She also interned at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. She speaks often on LGBTQ+ issues, community collaborations, and restorative justice.” ¹

Pascua Yaqui Nation and the Yoeme (Yaqui)

“Fred Urbina (Yaqui/Yoeme) currently serves as an Attorney General of the Pascua Yaqui Nation. Fred has practiced law or worked in the field of Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement for 20 years. Fred was recently appointed to the Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee and Indian Affairs.

Fred recently led successful efforts at the Pascua Yaqui Tribe to implement the Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction provisions of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which expanded the tribe’s criminal jurisdiction to prosecute non-Native offenders of domestic violence. The tribe was the first in the Nation to exercise this jurisdiction since 1978. Fred has also testified on the impact of the VAWA and Tribal Courts before the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. For recent efforts, Fred was awarded the 2017 Bonnie Heavy Runner Victim Advocacy Award in recognition of his work to increase access to justice for domestic violence victims and members of the Pascua Yaqui community.” ¹

References:

• National Park Service – Native Peoples of the Sonoran Desert: The Yoeme