MICHELLE DEMMERT.

LAW and POLICY CONSULTANT, ALASKA NATIVE WOMEN’S RESOURCE CENTER
CHIEF JUSTICE, CENTRAL COUNCIL TLINGIT and HAIDA INDIAN TRIBES OF ALASKA

ORIGIN STORY.

ALASKA NATIVE WOMEN’S RESOURCE CENTRE.

TRADITIONAL INDIGENOUS VALUES.

INDIGENOUS RIGHTS AND WOMEN’S RIGHTS.

ALASKA NATIVE CONTEXT.

WORKING WITH PERPETRATORS.

NATIONAL RECOGNITION.

ADVICE FOR YOUNG WOMEN.

BIOGRAPHY.

Michelle Demmert, Tlingit, Eagle, Ḵaax̱ʼoos.hittaan clan is a current elected delegate for the Central Council Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, and their elected Chief Justice for their Supreme Court. She has worked in various capacities of advancing domestic violence protections for women and children. She holds the position of Law & Policy Consultant for the Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center and works to improve local, state and federal laws and policies. She is also the Chief Judge at the Chehalis Tribe and was their Presiding Judge previously for over 10 years, where she assisted with amending their DV code that provided greater protections for women and children, as well as developing a court process that holistically addressed all participants. Judge Demmert worked in the Reservation Attorney’s office for the Tulalip Tribes for nearly 10 years. While there, she was the primary author of their complete revision of the Domestic Violence code, which includes provisions for exercising Special Domestic Violence Court Jurisdiction (SDVCJ). She has provided testimony during the Office of Violence against Women’s (OVW) annual consultation on behalf of the Tulalip Tribes, as well as the Tlingit & Haida’s Chief Justice to bring awareness to Alaska specific issues. Judge Demmert has significant tribal court experience having worked at various positions at the Northwest Intertribal Court System, including Chief Judge and Administrator. She is currently assisting tribes in SE Alaska with establishing or building their court systems. Judge Demmert is a graduate of the University of Washington for both her law degree and her BA in Psychology. Michelle was actively engaged in the Alaska commercial fishing industry prior to her practice of law.

AUDIO.

These videos are a part of a series of interviews conducted at “Women of the Arctic: Bridging Policy, Research, and Lived Experience”, a non-academic event co-organized with the UArctic and hosted by the 2018 UArctic Congress at the University of Helsinki 
on September 6-7, 2018.