MSU Indian Law Clinic Receives $200,000 Grant From Luce Foundation

March 29, 2023

The Michigan State University Indian Law Clinic received a $200,000 grant from the Henry Luce Foundation to fund a Tribal Appellate Clerk Project for the next 18 months. The grant also allows the clinic to hire a fellow to coordinate for the project.

Under the program, the Clinic will assign students to client tribal appellate courts to assist with research, memo writing, bench briefs and draft opinions.

“This gives our students a great opportunity to work with tribal courts and not just state courts,” clinic director Professor Kathryn Fort said, adding that this is the largest one-time gift given to the Indian Law Clinic. “This gives our students a chance to work with tribal appellate courts and provide those courts with the research and resources available to us at an R1 institution. It’s a mutually beneficial project and we appreciate the Luce Foundation recognizing this and investing in the program.”

The Indian Law Clinic has two areas of focus: the Tribal Governance Project and the Indian Child Welfare Act Appellate Project. In the former, students work with tribal clients to support tribal sovereignty and nation building through research and code drafting. In the latter, the Clinic represents tribes in complex appellate ICWA litigation.

Fort said she is in the final stages of hiring a fellow, and the clinic is officially seeking tribal appellate court clients. For more information, contact Professor Fort at fort@msu.edu.