Staff Attorney | Safe Women Strong Nations

November 22, 2024

The Indian Law Resource Center seeks a Staff Attorney with a demonstrated, serious commitment to protecting and advancing Indigenous peoples’ rights, particularly Indigenous women’s rights. The attorney must be licensed to practice law in at least one state within the United States. Knowledge and experience in United States federal Indian law and experience in working with Indigenous peoples’ rights are required.

The Indian Law Resource Center is an American Indian nonprofit organization providing legal help without charge to Indigenous peoples in the United States and throughout the Americas. The Center is known for its leadership in winning the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Center recently received an eight-year, $20 million grant from the Kellogg Foundation to support our new project to expand and strengthen Indigenous collective land ownership in Mexico and Central and South America. Further information about the Center is on our website,

The staff attorney’s job will include work on our project for ending violence against Indigenous women and girls. In our Safe Women, Strong Nations project, we:

• Raise public awareness to gain federal action to end violence against Native women and children.
• Provide legal advice to Native women’s organizations and Indian and Alaska Native nations on ways to restore tribal criminal authority, preserve tribal civil authority, and prevent violence against Native women and girls.
• Advocate at the United Nations and the Organization of American States to address violence against Indigenous women as a human rights violation.
• Build alliances with Indigenous and Indigenous women’s organizations and Indigenous communities and peoples in the United States and in Mexico and Central South America to help them address all forms of violence and discrimination against Indigenous women and children.

The staff attorney will also participate in carrying out other legal work of the Center, including providing legal assistance to Indian and Alaska Native nations and Indigenous organizations in the United States and Canada in matters relating to self-determination, lands and resources, international human rights, and environmental protection and providing assistance to Indigenous peoples in Mexico and Central and South America to title or secure legal ownership of their lands.

Desired qualifications include:

• Demonstrated commitment to Indigenous rights.
• Superior speaking, reading, and writing skills in English. The ability to speak Spanish or Portuguese would be welcomed.
• Exceptional research and analytical skills.
• Strong communication skills and ability to collaborate both with Center staff and with our partner organizations.
• Familiarity with Indigenous communities and cultures and with the rights of Indigenous peoples.
• Ability to travel regularly in the United States and to Indigenous communities in other countries.
• Understanding of international human rights and advocacy before the United Nations and the Organization of American States.
• At least three years of experience practicing law.

The position is open immediately. Interested attorneys should apply or contact the Center as soon as possible. There is no closing date for applications, and they will be considered as soon as they are received.

This is a full-time, salaried position. The attorney may work in the Center’s headquarters in Helena, Montana, or its Washington, D.C. office, or remote work may be considered.

The salary range is between $70,000 and $105,000, depending on location, the applicant's experience and skills, and other factors. The Center provides generous benefits, including health insurance and retirement. All employees are provided paid vacation, paid holidays, paid sick and personal leave, and other benefits.

To apply, please submit a cover letter, resume, writing sample, and two professional references in one PDF document to Melanie Dayton at