UCLI was honored to present at the 17th annual Governor’s Native American Summit at the Sorensen Student Center at Utah Valley University on Friday, June 23, 2023. The event was hosted by the Utah Division of Indian Affairs and is the only event in the state where State and Tribal leaders, community stakeholders, educators, and community members converge to learn more about the issues and concerns impacting Utah’s American Indian population. This year’s theme was Connecting Our Communities: Reverence for Our Elders, Our Youth, Ourselves, and Each Other.
Cliff Parkinson, Chair of Community Outreach, and Kaitlyn Pieper, Executive Director, presented the UCLI breakout session. Cliff led off with a discussion of recent national tribal cases and highlighted the importance of having legal advocates fighting for Native American rights at the state and federal level. Kaitlyn then introduced UCLI’s purpose and programs, highlighting initiatives at the K-12, Pre-Law, and Law School levels. The UCLI First Generation outreach video was then displayed, which many attendees found very relatable. The last twenty minutes of the session was devoted to listening to feedback and suggestions from attendees about what their communities could benefit from and how UCLI could improve its outreach. We were honored to have among the audience members multiple individuals who plan to attend law school, as well as Larry Echo Hawk, a member of the Pawnee nation and a celebrated attorney.
UCLI was grateful for the opportunity to attend such an incredible event and to learn from the many other presenters and sessions. Thank you to James Toledo and Dustin Jansen at the Utah Division of Indian Affairs for the chance to present. If anyone has additional suggestions for collaboration efforts between UCLI and Tribal communities, we welcome your feedback and introductions at .
