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3. Grants 4. Scholarships/Fellowships

Grants from federal agencies and nonprofit organizations are available to tribal courts. The A recent law school graduate may approach a tribal court seeking a judicial law clerkship. If the
Department of Justice (DOJ) launched the Consolidated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS) in tribal court does not have an established clerkship program, the court may advise the candidate to
response to concerns raised by tribal leaders about the department’s grant process. “CTAS is not a apply for a scholarship, fellowship, or grant. A tribal judge may need to take an active role in helping
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program but is a single solicitation, under which tribes may apply to seven separate grant programs, a potential clerk secure funding by endorsing a funding application or writing a letter describing
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from four grant-making offices, through a single application.” Since 2010, CTAS has awarded more the work, the benefits of the clerkship, and a record of funding. Some law schools offer public
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than 2,500 grants totaling more than $1.1 billion to American Indian and Alaska Native communities. interest fellowships to their graduates. Other organizations that support student fellowships are the
MacArthur Foundation, Equal Justice Works, and the Skadden Fellowship. These fellowships are
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CTAS has an interactive online tool to assist a person through the application process. It generally
has a set application window. More information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/tribal/ highly prestigious and competitive. Therefore, the judge’s help with a candidate’s application for a
competitive fellowship is essential.
grants including the helpful online guide Preparing for the Coordinated Tribal Assistance Soliciation. In
addition, tribes are encouraged to apply for other, non-tribal-specific DOJ grant funding. Visit www.
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justice.gov/tribal for more information.
5. Law Schools
Nonprofit organizations are another funding source for judicial law clerks. For example, the American
Indian Law Center, Inc. (AILC) offers funding for summer clerks and research assistants. AILC’s flagship Some law schools are an excellent source of funding for judicial law clerkships through postgraduate
program is the Pre-Law Summer Institute (PLSI) for American Indians and Alaska Natives. This fellowships. If a law school does not have this type of funding, they can facilitate unpaid student
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program prepares Native American law students for the rigors of law school. PLSI alumni constitute internships and externships.
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a broad network of potential applicants for summer clerkships. AILC can fund a clerk as a research
assistant at a tribal court. The funding for summer research assistants varies from year to year. Please
contact Rodina Cave Parnall (ailcinfo@law.umn.edu) for more information.

49 U.S. Dep’t of Just., Tribal Justice and Safety, Grants (accessed Aug. 9), https://www.justice.gov/tribal/grants
(hereinafter CTAS Grants).
50 U.S. Dep’t of Just., Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation, Fact Sheet (accessed Aug. 9, 2021), https://
j
www. ustice.gov/tribal/page/file/1353346/download.
51 CTAS Grants, supra note 46.
52 Office of Juvenile Just. and Delinquency Prevention, CTAS Online Tool (accessed Aug. 9, 2021), https:// 56 Case & Tompkins, supra note 1, at 18.
tribalyouthprogram.org/resources/funding-opportunities/ctas/. 57 Id.
53 U.S. Dep’t of Just. Grants (accessed Aug. 9, 2021), https://www.justice.gov/grants. 58 MacArthur Foundation (accessed Aug. 9, 2021), https://www.macfound.org/.
54 Am. Indian L. Ctr., Inc., What Is PLSI (accessed Aug. 9, 2021), https://www.ailc-inc.org/plsi/. 59 Equal Justice Works (accessed Aug 9. 2021), https://www.equaljusticeworks.org/.
55 PLSI Judicial Clerkship Handbook, supra note 2, at 18. 60 Skadden Fellowships (accessed Aug. 9, 2021), https://www.skaddenfellowships.org/.
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