Angela R. Riley is an American and

Potawatomi The Potawatomi (), also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American tribe of the Great Plains, upper Mississippi River, and western Great Lakes region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, ...

jurist serving as the chief justice of the

Citizen Potawatomi Nation Citizen Potawatomi Nation is a federally recognized tribe of Potawatomi people located in Oklahoma. The Potawatomi are traditionally an Algonquian languages, Algonquian-speaking Eastern Woodlands tribes, Eastern Woodlands tribe. They have 29,155 e ...

Supreme Court since 2010. She is a professor of law at

UCLA School of Law The University of California, Los Angeles School of Law (commonly known as UCLA School of Law or UCLA Law) is the law school of the University of California, Los Angeles. History Founded in 1949, the UCLA School of Law is the third oldest of t ...

. She is an appellate justice at both Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians Court of Appeals and the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians Court of Appeals. In 2025, she was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

Life

Riley is a member of

and a descendant of the Pettifer family. She grew up on a farm near Saddle Mountain, Oklahoma, and attended school in Mountain View. Riley earned an B.A. from the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

in 1995 and a J.D. in 1998 from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

. After graduating, she clerked for chief judge

Terence C. Kern Terence Curtis Kern (born September 25, 1944) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. Education and career Kern was born in Clinton, Oklahoma. He received a Bachelor of S ...

of the Northern District of Oklahoma and then worked as a litigator at Quinn Emanuel, specializing in

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

litigation. In 2003, Riley was appointed to the Supreme Court of the

, becoming the first woman and youngest Justice on the court. She was elected chief justice in 2010 and 2016. From 2010 to 2015, Riley served as Director of

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

's (UCLA)

American Indian Studies Native American studies (also known as American Indian, Indigenous American, Aboriginal, Native, or First Nations studies) is an interdisciplinary academic field that examines the history, culture, politics, issues, spirituality, sociology and co ...

Center. In the fall of 2015, she was the Oneida Indian Nation Visiting professor of law at Harvard Law School. Riley is a professor of law at the

. She directs UCLA's J.D./M.A. joint degree program in Law and American Indian Studies. In 2022, she became a special advisor to the university's Chancellor on Native American and Indigenous Affairs. Riley's research focuses on indigenous rights, particularly

cultural property Cultural property, also known as cultural patrimony, comprises the physical items that are part of the cultural heritage of a group or society, as opposed to less tangible cultural expressions. They include such items as cultural landscapes, histo ...

and Native governance. She served as co-chair of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Indigenous Peoples' Partnership Policy Board, which supports the implementation of the

Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples File:2007 Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples voting map.svg , , , The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP or DOTROIP) is a legally non-binding United Nations resolution passed by the United Nations in 2007 ...

through financial and technical assistance. Riley has served as an evidentiary hearing officer for the

Morongo Band of Mission Indians The Morongo Band of Mission Indians is a federally recognized tribe in California, United States. The main tribal groups are Cahuilla and Serrano. Tribal members also include Cupeño, Luiseño, and Chemehuevi Indians. Although many tribes in Ca ...

. As of 2022, she serves as an appellate justice at both the Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians Court of Appeals and the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians Court of Appeals. Riley is a member of the

American Law Institute The American Law Institute (ALI) is a research and advocacy group of judges, lawyers, and legal scholars limited to 3,000 elected members and established in 1923 to promote the clarification and simplification of United States common law and i ...

. Riley has two daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riley, Angela R Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Citizen Potawatomi Nation people University of Oklahoma alumni Harvard Law School alumni UCLA School of Law faculty 21st-century Native American women 21st-century American women lawyers Native American judges Native American women judges Native American women academics 21st-century American women judges Oklahoma lawyers Members of the American Law Institute Chief judges in the United States Women chief justices 21st-century American women academics People from Kiowa County, Oklahoma Members of the American Philosophical Society

Life

See also

References