Oral history interview with Theresa M. Pouley, 2021
Abstract
Theresa Pouley reflects on her service as a judge on the Tulalip and Lummi Tribal Courts, and discusses her service on the Indian Law and Order Commission, to which she was appointed by President Obama in 2011. Pouley considers the origins of her interest in law, recounts her development as a judge in tribal court systems, and speaks widely about the recent history of issues related to law and just ice in Indian country. She outlines contemporary conditions on Indian reservations across North America, and provides details about notable themes, issues, and initiatives with which she was closely involved, including her contributions to the development and implementation of the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 and the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013; the jurisdiction of tribal courts and their relation to state and federal courts; the structure and activities of the Indian Law and Order Commission; and the creation of alternative sentencing programs that foreground mental health treatment. Pouley also discusses the role of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the administration of tribal justice; notable cases and activities she pursued in the Tulalip and Lummi Tribal Courts; and her testimony before Congress during legislative development processes
Presidents--United States; Indian judges; Indian courts; Indian country (United States law); Indian reservations--Social conditions; Lummi Indians--Law and legislation; Tulalip Indians--Law and legislation; Pouley, Theresa; Obama, Barack; Indian Law & Order Commission (U.S.); Lummi Tribe of the Lummi Reservation, Washington; Tulalip Tribes of the Tulalip Reservation, Washington; United States. Bureau of Indian Affairs; United States; Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010; Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2021
Physical Description
50 pages
Note (Biographical)
Theresa Pouley is a member of the Colville Confederated Tribes, a tribal court judge, and a teacher. Before her appointment to the bench, Pouley worked as a civil litigator focused on issues in Indian Country, taught legal courses at Edmonds Community College in Lynnwood, Washington, and worked as a reservation attorney for the Lummi Nation. From 1999 to 2005 she was chief judge of the Lummi Nation, and since 2005 has served as an associate justice of the Colville Court of Appeals. From 2005 to 2015, Pouley was chief judge of the Tulalip Tribe. As a judge in the Northwest Intertribal Court System, she has also served as a trial judge and appellate court justice for several other Northwest Tribes. in 2011, President Obama appointed Pouley to the Indian Law and Order Commission, which was created by the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010
Note
Interviewed by Sara Sinclair on December 7, 2021. This interview is part of the Columbia University: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
Theresa M. Pouley, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2023