Derek Red Arrow Frank To Give Keynote at Seattle University's LawYours High School Outreach Program
Related Practice: American Indian Law
On Wednesday, August 9th, Seattle University School of Law Alumni (’18) and Stokes Lawrence attorney Derek Red Arrow Frank gave the keynote address at Seattle University’s LawYours High School Outreach Program event. LawYours is a free event dedicated to helping Puget Sound-area high school students explore the field of law. The legal profession suffers from longstanding underrepresentation that includes and extends far beyond racial diversity. To help address these gaps, Seattle University’s School of Law invites high school students to learn about opportunities in the law.
Derek, a member of the Nez Perce Tribe (the Nimiipuu), illustrated his own career journey telling the students about the challenges he experienced and urged them not to give up when encountering hurdles. In SU's article, "LawYours lets high schoolers picture themselves as future lawyers," they shared quotes from Derek's talk.
“Each of you has faced something — or if you haven’t yet, I guarantee you will — but like every good book, the ups and downs are what make the story compelling,” Frank said. “What we do with that experience will define who we are, the advocates that we become. No amount of money can pay for your life’s story. It is your diverse personhood, your background, your culture that makes you you.”
Today, Frank is an advocate for tribes who fights for treaty rights across the country. Frank noted that he is a rarity — according to statistics from the American Bar Association, only 0.2% of attorneys in the United States are tribal members, even though the Native American portion of the general population is more than five times that.
“An attorney is an advocate. An attorney understands the system — and an attorney can change the system,” Frank said.
