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A. Obtaining Funding

“It is well known that [funding] resources are limited in many tribal justice systems.” Some tribal
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Part II. Creating a Judicial courts will have no funds to pay a judicial law clerk. This Guide recommends pursuing tribal
funding first. If tribal funding is unsuccessful, then federal funding and foundation grants are good
Law Clerkship alternatives. Also, recent law school graduates might have access to scholarships and fellowships.
Additionally, as discussed above, law schools can be a source of unpaid externs and interns if funding
is not available.

1. Tribal Funding

The search for funding starts with the tribe. Each tribe has its own structure for allocating funds. First,
determine which branch of government to approach. One judge may need to request funding from
the tribal council, while another may have independent authority to allocate funding.

2. Federal Funding

In this section, the guide provides The federal government offers funding to hire tribal law clerks. For example, the Bureau of Indian
Affairs (BIA) provides clerkship funding through the office of Tribal Justice Support (TJS) for federally
detailed examples on how to obtain recognized tribes. Congress mandates that the BIA provide training, technical support, and funding,

when available, to all tribal courts. TJS is committed to the “development and enhancement of tribal
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funding, initiate, and prepare for the justice systems.” It provides appropriated funding upon request from a tribal court and based on a
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Tribal Court Assessment. The assessment helps tribal courts create strategic plans. Tribal courts may
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process and responsibility of hiring a apply for TJS funding once a year and re-apply annually. However, a tribe does not need an annual
assessment. There is no application deadline, so tribes may make requests at any time. However,
judicial law clerk. avoid applying in September as funds might not be available at the end of the federal fiscal year. If
necessary, TJS will grant emergency funding to support a tribal justice system. For more information
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on the assessment process, visit www.bia.gov/CFRCourts/Assessments.
The federal government also may have short-term funds that tribal judges can utilize. Because
these funds may not be available indefinitely, the court should check whether the government is
still offering this funding. Additionally, the tribal court might have to make a creative argument that
short-term federal funds should cover judicial law clerks. For example, the American Rescue Plan Act
(ARPA) of 2021 might be a resource for funding for judicial clerks. Through ARPA, Congress allocated
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“$772.5 million for tribal government services, public safety and justice, social services, child welfare
assistance, and other related expenses.” A tribe may argue that allocating ARPA funds for a judicial
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law clerk meets the law’s requirements.

41 Case & Tompkins, supra note 1 at 22.
42 25 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq.
43 U.S. Dep’t of the Interior Indian Affairs, Tribal Just. Support Directorate (accessed Aug. 6, 2021), https://www.bia.
gov/bia/ ojs/tjs.
44 U.S. Dep’t of the Interior Indian Affairs, Tribal Court Assessments (accessed Aug. 6, 2021), https://www.bia.gov/
CFR Courts/Assessments.
45 Id.
46 Id.
47 U.S. Dep’t of the Treasury, Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds for Tribal Governments (accessed
Aug. 6, 2021), https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/coronavirus/assistance-for-state-local-and-tribal-governments/
state-and-local-fiscal-recovery-fund/tribal-governments.
48 U.S. Dep’t of the Interior Indian Affairs, The American Rescue Plan: How It Helps American Indians and Alaska
Natives (accessed Aug. 6, 2021), https://www.bia.gov/service/american-rescue-plan-act/what-arp.
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