Project Peacemaker: Areas of Study
Since the inception of Project Peacemaker at the Turtle Mountain Community College, the majority of Indian Law courses and curriculum were developed and coursework taught by licensed Indian Attorneys.
The majority of the Indian students who take the Peacemaker law courses would like to further their Indian Law education with a four year degree and/or have plans to attend law school. Turtle Mountain Community College is a two year college. A Bachelors degree in any field is required if a student wants to attend law school. Project Peacemaker has bridged the two year gap to some extent by developing an articulation agreement with the University of North Dakota’s Sociology Department. Peacemaker coursework taken at TMCC is accepted as upper level coursework and students who transfer are considered second semester juniors at UND.
Another group of the students who take Peacemaker courses are employed in tribal government. These older than average or non-traditional students cannot easily take advantage of the transfer though they have the equivalent of a major area of study for a bachelor degree when they complete the entire eleven Peacemaker courses. With tribal government systems in dire need of educated personnel, it is important to keep these educated tribal members doing in their jobs and continue to train in their fields. These students who take our courses enhance their knowledge base which in turn strengthens our tribal government systems and our people.
In order to address the gap between acquiring a two year degree and entering law school with a bachelor degree, we propose to research, develop and implement an accredited bachelor degree in Indian Law.
We are not aware of any four year Indian Law Bachelors Degree programs. We propose to develop the first Indian Law program which will offer quality tribally based Indian Law education taught by licensed Indian attorneys, with hands on knowledge, which can be accessed easily by many tribes across the country.
Indian governments across the nation are in need of law trained individuals to work in their court systems and tribal governments. Peacemaker staff has been contacted many times with requests for information about our program and how we can offer coursework to other Tribes. The need for quality Indian Law education extends far beyond the boundaries of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa.
Please refer to the Tribal Paralegal areas of study section for more information. [More Information]
PO Box 340