Tribal Law

After years of human rights work in Guatemala, Cathleen Caron '92 packed her suitcase last summer for the Cheyenne River Sioux reservation in Eagle Butte, S.D.

During a break in her law studies at American University, Caron gave the tribe legal advice on two issues. She helped the elder council establish procedures for settling disputes through traditional Lakota customs rather than courts. "Most of the work was rediscovering what they used to do," she says. She also guided the tribe's defense against a rockclimbers' lawsuit over Devil's Tower, a sacred butte that is also a national monument. The tribe won in district court, though the rockclimbers have appealed. Caron is heading to Washington, D.C., to continue her legal training for human rights.