In this episode, NAWL member, Nicole Smithson, speaks with Chief Judge Angela Sherigan, who serves as the Chief Judge for the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians of Michigan. Nicole and Chief Judge Sherigan discuss the inner workings of tribal courts compared to state and federal courts, including the role of peacemakers, and the focus on community healing.
In this episode, NAWL member, Nicole Smithson, speaks with Chief Judge Angela Sherigan, who serves as the Chief Judge for the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians of Michigan. Nicole and Chief Judge Sherigan discuss the inner workings of tribal courts compared to state and federal courts, including the role of peacemakers, and the focus on community healing.
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Judge Angela Sherigan serves as the Chief Judge for the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, in Manistee, MI., where she has served for 15 years, and is the managing partner of Wojnecka & Sherigan, P.C. in Shelby Township, MI., practicing criminal defense, Federal Indian Law, and tribal law. Judge Sherigan currently serves as the Chair of the American Indian Law Committee for the State Bar of Michigan, is the Secretary for the Michigan Indian Judicial Association, a member of the Tribal-StateFederal Judicial Forum, and the State Court Administrator’s Office, Court Improvement, Tribal Court Relations Committee. She is a former President of the Women Lawyer Association of Michigan, Macomb Region, and the only person to serve two terms as the statewide president of the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan, She was part of the workgroup that put forth the Michigan Indian Family Preservation Act, and has handled numerous child welfare cases as a judge and as a private practitioner. In 2012 she received the Pro-bono award from the national Legal Services Corporation, in 2013 she was named a Leader in the Law by Michigan Lawyers Weekly and is the recipient of the 2016 Tecumseh Peacekeeping Award from the American Indian Law Section.