Greendeer uses nontraditional approach in Indian law focus

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Attorney Samantha Greendeer’s career has been focused from the start toward practicing Indian law, specifically preserving cultural resources.

Before attending law school, Greendeer, 37, worked for the Ho-Chunk Nation in Black River Falls as a researcher in heritage preservation.

In that capacity, she successfully fought efforts by Perrier to bottle water from a sacred Ho-Chunk site. Based on that experience, she decided to take the LSAT.

She specifically chose the University of Denver for law school, she said, based on its Indian law program and its emphasis on innovative ways to use traditional legal concepts to preserve sacred Indian sites.

After graduation, she was in-house attorney with the Ho-Chunk tribe, of which she is an enrolled member. Now, for the last five years, she has practiced primarily Indian law at Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek SC.

Her approach is not Indian law-based, however, as the traditional Indian law approach to tribal issues has been a losing one, she said. Instead, she has found success looking to traditional property law.

Among the projects she has worked on is a controversial proposal to install wind turbine generators off the coast of Cape Cod. The proposed project sits directly over a sacred tribal site of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head, also known as the People of the First Light.

Members of the tribe, who have a tradition of praying at the site every morning at sunrise, object to the project because its turbines would block their view and permanently damage the tribe’s ancestral burial ground.

Although Greendeer is not participating in the litigation to challenge the decision to go forward with the project, she handled the administrative proceedings for the tribe and said it is in an excellent position for litigation.

— David Ziemer

What was your most useful law school course?

Advanced Indian Law

What is your favorite Supreme Court opinion?

Frankly, I don’t have one because tribes usually experience negative repercussions from the court’s opinions.

What is your favorite thing to do in Wisconsin?

Running

What is the first concert you went to?

KISS, in high school. They were my brother’s favorite band

What famous person would you most like to have a drink with?

Bill Clinton. He seems like a cool guy to hang out with

Who are your favorite writers?

Maya Angelou and Robert Clinton

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

Really?

If you hadn’t become a lawyer, what would you have done?

Cosmetologist

What is the most insane question you’ve ever been asked?

“Is your hair real?” followed by “Can I touch it?”