Lauren J. King would be the third active federal judge of Native American descent in the U.S. By Lauren J King. Foster Garvey
Story at a glance
Biden released several new judicial nominees, including a Native American woman to sit on the federal bench of Washington state.
Laurel J. King is a member of the Muscogee Nation in Oklahoma.
Native American judges are scarce in the U.S., with only two active serving Indigenous judges on the federal judiciary.
On Wednesday, President Biden released his third slate of judicial nominees for seats across the country, with his selections marking significant diversity milestones.
After months of deliberation on the name-change decision, Dolan cited the death of George Floyd as an “awakening or epiphany,” he told the AP. “It’s a name that had its time, but this is not the time now, and certainly going forward, the name is no longer acceptable in our world,” Dolan said.
Fawn Sharp of the National Congress of American Indians said:
Today’s announcement represents a monumental step forward in Indian Country’s decades-long effort to educate America about what respect for tribal nations, cultures, and communities entails, and how sports mascots like the ‘Indians’ prevent our fellow Americans from understanding and valuing who Native people are today, what makes us unique, and the many contributions we make to this country.