Amanda White Eagle ’01 JD’05 found her people at the UW.
“I found the student group Wunk Sheek, which is a Native undergraduate student group, and I worked at The Exclusive Company record store on State Street, because I was really into music and records,” White Eagle says. “Once I found my community, that’s what made the UW my place.”
While at the UW, White Eagle earned degrees in anthropology and French and a certificate in American Indian studies. In 2005, she earned a doctor of law degree and specialized in tribal law.
“[The UW] gave me this idea of free thought, and I had this ability to challenge professors and thoughts in a really meaningful way, which I think shaped my trajectory to law school,” she says.
White Eagle has provided counsel to the Ho-Chunk Nation, serving as a judicial officer and as the tribe’s attorney of justice, and she’s worked as a tribal court judge and justice to tribal governments across the country. White Eagle worked for the NYU-Yale American Indian Sovereignty Project, which supports the sovereignty of Native nations and addresses the impact of American colonialism research, education, and advocacy.
Today, White Eagle is the UW’s Great Lakes Indigenous Law Center director and an associate professor in UW Law School. She works with tribes and Native nations to provide services and research, and she connects tribal students and students interested in tribal law with Native American tribes.
Favorite late ’90s or early ’00s music?
That's a tough one, because I worked at a record store. There was so much good music in the late ’90s, and I tended to listen to some of the more indie rock bands like the Get Up Kids and the Promise Ring.
Memorable late ’90s or early ’00s TV show?
I lived on State Street above the Victor Allen’s Coffee shop, and it felt like Friends. We’d go downstairs, and there would be the coffee shop.
Favorite late ’90s or early ’00s tech?
I remember having a desktop [computer] in our dorm room. There would be the dial tone, and you’d have to wait for it to boot up, but it was super cool. You didn’t have to go to Memorial Library and see if there was a computer available.
Favorite campus-area hangout?
The student group Wunk Sheek had a space above Brother’s Bar on University Avenue, where there were student offices. It’s since been torn down, but it provided a hangout where you could go, and do your homework, and bead, and have pizza — just hanging out. It was great.
Memorable late ’90s or early ’00s trend?
I remember a lot of jewelry, like chokers, and I remember slip dresses, Doc Martens, and striped tights.
Favorite campus memory?
My roommate and I would go down to Memorial Union and just sit and do homework. There was something really calming about sitting with the lake there, and we were always super excited when they put the chairs back out on the Terrace.
Did any UW professors have a lasting influence on you?
Ada Deer ’57 was a social work professor, but she was a director of the American Indian Studies Program, which I received a certificate in. She was a force. She would sit you down, and you would feel like you were the most important person in the world, and that you would go on to become this amazing person.
There was Ned Blackhawk, who was a history professor, and Aaron Bird Bear MS’10, who was an adviser who provided guidance and helped me meet the right people. He was pretty instrumental. Those three were probably the most encouraging, […] and sometimes that’s what you need. You just need somebody to open a door, all three of them did that for me in one way or another.
What accomplishments are you most proud of from the last 25 years?
I served for three, three-year terms as an associate judge for the Ho-Chunk Nation. I was a really young judicial officer, and I think that was probably one of my proudest moments. I then became my tribe’s attorney general under two tribal presidential administrations, and that meant a lot to me. And then of course, my family. They’re a source of pride.
How would you sum up your time at the UW?
I was really searching for a sense of belonging, and I found that. As a young person, I was searching for purpose, and I was gaining independence. I remember moving in and being excited, and then having feelings of “do I belong?” But I found my people, became independent, and did all of the things that you do as a young person that you forget about when you’re 46. So, [reflecting on my time at the UW] has been fun. It’s like a nostalgia blast from the past.
