Mary Smith and John Echohawk
Photo: Mary Smith and John Echohawk at the 2023 annual American Bar Association conference.
Mary Smith, Cherokee Nation
History was made today! Mary Smith, Cherokee Nation was named the President of the American Bar Association. She is the first Native person and woman to lead our Nation’s lawyers.
Stacey Leeds, Cherokee Nation, the first Native woman, and dean (ASU Law School) administered the oath.
“We must run through the storm.” - Mary Smith, ABA President 🦬
+ Protect our Democracy
+ Renew our joy and remember our commitment to justice.
+ Theme: Lifting our voices and charting our future.
John Echohawk, Pawnee
The American Bar Association (ABA), the largest voluntary association of lawyers in the world and a national voice of the legal profession, awarded John Echohawk the Thurgood Marshall Award. “In probably a first for the bar association.” - ICT
John and the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) have fought tirelessly for our rights; voting rights, treaty rights, sovereignty, and much more for over 53 years. They have been dedicated to ensuring our rights, Indigenous rights.
