Stacy L. Leeds (born 1971) is an American
Law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...
professor, scholar, and former Supreme Court Justice for the
Cherokee Nation
The Cherokee Nation (Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ ''Tsalagihi Ayeli'' or ᏣᎳᎩᏰᎵ ''Tsalagiyehli''), also known as the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes in the United States. It ...
. She served as Dean of the
University of Arkansas School of Law
The University of Arkansas School of Law is the law school of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas, a State university system, state university. It has around 445 students enrolled in its Juris Doctor (J.D.) and Master of Law (LL.M) ...
, from 2011-2018, the first Indigenous woman to lead a law school. She was a candidate for Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation in 2007.
Education
Stacy Leeds earned her
MBA
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accoun ...
from the
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state ...
Executive MBA program, her
Master of Laws
A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...
degree from the
University of Wisconsin
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...
and her
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...
degree from
University of Tulsa
The University of Tulsa (TU) is a private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church and the campus architectural style is predominantly Collegiate Gothic. The school traces its origin ...
. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University i ...
.
[Stacy L. Leeds.]
''KU School of Law.'' (retrieved 15 August 2009)
Academic and judicial career
Leeds is an experienced leader in law and higher education with expertise in American Indian Law, tribal governance, property, economic development and Cherokee legal history.
Leeds currently serves as the chief judge of the
Prairie Band of Potawatomi Nation
Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation ( pot, Mshkodéniwek, formerly the Prairie Band of Potawatomi Indians) is a federally recognized tribe of Neshnabé (Potawatomi people), headquartered near Mayetta, Kansas.
History
The ''Mshkodésik'' ("People of ...
's District Court, the associate judge of the
Kaw Nation
The Kaw Nation (or Kanza or Kansa) is a federally recognized Native American tribe in Oklahoma and parts of Kansas. It comes from the central Midwestern United States. It has also been called the "People of the South wind", 's Supreme Court, and the chief justice of the
Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma
The Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma is one of three federally recognized Kickapoo tribes in the United States. There are also Kickapoo tribes in Kansas, Texas, and Mexico. The Kickapoo are a Woodland tribe, who speak an Algonquian language.Kuhlman, A ...
's Supreme Court.
[
Leeds serves on the board of the National American Indian Court Judge's Association and on the National Judicial College's tribal advisory board.][
She was the first woman to ever serve as a Cherokee Nation Supreme Court justice after her appointment in 2002. She served on the court until 2006.]
In the past, she has served as a special judge for the Muscogee Creek Nation
The Muscogee Nation, or Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is a federally recognized Native American tribe based in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The nation descends from the historic Muscogee Confederacy, a large group of indigenous peoples of the South ...
's District Court and associate judge of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians
The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians (Ojibwe language: ''Mikinaakwajiw-ininiwag'') is a Native American tribe of Ojibwa mixed heritage people, who would be considered Metis if they were Canadian, based on the Turtle Mountain Indian Res ...
's Court of Appeals.[ Justice Stacy L. Leeds.]
''Cherokee National Judicial Branch.'' (retrieved 22 August 2019)
From 2011-2018, Leeds served as the 12th Dean of the University of Arkansas School of Law. She formerly served as Interim Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Law at the University of Kansas
The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...
and the Director of Tribal Law and Government Center at KU. Previously Leeds taught law at the University of North Dakota
The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of N ...
and served as Director of the Northern Plains Indian Law Center.[
She served as the inaugural Vice Chancellor for Economic Development (2017-2020), Dean Emeritus and Professor of Law at the University of Arkansas, providing leadership for campus-wide engagement, collaboration, and outreach to citizens, businesses, governmental and nonprofit entities in Arkansas and beyond. Leeds worked closely with UA's ten colleges, schools and divisions to amplify the university's economic and social impact.
Leeds was appointed Foundation Professor of Law and Leadership for the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University in January 2018. Leeds is in ]ASU Law
The Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (ASU Law) is one of the professional graduate schools at Arizona State University in Phoenix, Arizona. The school is located in the Beus Center for Law and Society on ASU's downtown Phoenix campus. The law ...
’s Indian Legal Program.
Honors
Leeds received the Fletcher Fellowship in 2008, when she was also named a nonresident fellow of the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute
The W. E. B. Du Bois Research Institute, formerly the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African-American Research, is part of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research located at Harvard University. Its main work ...
at Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
. While teaching at the University of Wisconsin
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...
, she was the William H. Hastie
William Henry Hastie Jr. (November 17, 1904 – April 14, 1976) was an American lawyer, judge, educator, public official, and civil rights advocate. He was the first African American to serve as Governor of the United States Virgin Islands, as a ...
Fellow.[
In 2006 Leeds received the AALS Clyde Ferguson Award for Excellence in Teaching, Service, and Scholarship. At KU she received the Immel Award for Teaching Excellence, and she has been named Alumni of the Year from the National Native American Law Students Association.][
]
Personal
She grew up in Muskogee, Oklahoma
Muskogee () is the thirteenth-largest city in Oklahoma and the county seat of Muskogee County. Home to Bacone College, it lies approximately southeast of Tulsa. The population of the city was 36,878 as of the 2020 census, a 6.0 percent decreas ...
. She is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation.
Published works
* Leeds, Stacy L. and Angelique Townsend Eaglewoman. ''Mastering American Indian Law''. 2013.
* Leeds, Stacy L. ''American Indian Property.'' Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2008.
* Leeds, Stacy L., Darrell Dowty, Darell Matlock, and the Cherokee Nation. ''In the Judicial Appeals Tribunal of the Cherokee Nation: Lucy Allen, petitioner, v. Cherokee Nation Tribal Council, Lela Ummerteskee, registrar, and registration committee, respondents.'' Tahlequah, OK: Cherokee Nation, 2006.
* Leeds, Stacy L. ''Cross Jurisdictional Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments.'' Madison: University of Wisconsin, 2009.Stacy Leeds.
''Google Books.'' (retrieved 15 August 2009)
References
External links
Official Stacy Leeds site
Tsalagi Think Tank
maintained by Stacy Leeds
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leeds, Stacy
1971 births
20th-century Native Americans
20th-century Native American women
21st-century American lawyers
21st-century Native Americans
21st-century Native American women
American legal scholars
American women academics
Cherokee Nation politicians
Living people
Muscogee people
Native American academics
Native American lawyers
Native American women academics
People from Muskogee, Oklahoma
Scholars of Native American law
University of Tennessee alumni
University of Tulsa College of Law alumni
University of Wisconsin Law School alumni
Washington University in St. Louis alumni