Carole Goldberg’s office on the second floor of the UCLA
School of Law is furnished with tribal artifacts and riddled with
law textbooks ““ the perfect atmosphere in which to study
federal Indian and tribal law.
Goldberg became an expert in the field during law school, and
ever since then she’s been working to disseminate her
knowledge among students and the community.
That knowledge has recently become more recognized, with growing
interest in her field and a sudden boost of funding. In March, the
San Manuel Band of Mission Indians donated $4 million to the UCLA
School of Law, the largest donation ever given by an American
Indian tribe to an academic institution.
When Goldberg was a student at Stanford Law School, she happened
to attend a symposium on federal Indian and tribal law. That
symposium lit a spark, she said.
“I liked the strong linkage between history and the law
and the intellectual challenge,” she said.
Goldberg’s experience with her own Jewish culture was
another reason why she chose to study federal Indian and tribal
law, she said.
“As a Jewish person I understand what it feels like for a
group of people who want to preserve and sustain their
culture.” Goldberg said.
Following the symposium, Goldberg initiated an investigation
regarding federal Indian and tribal law, and the paper she wrote
revealing her extensive research and analysis was one of the first
of its kind.
“There was lots of demand for the type of research Carole
had done, but no one had written systematically on the law,”
said Duane Champagne, a sociology professor and former director of
the American Indian Studies Center.
In fact, Goldberg’s arguments were so compelling that her
paper was cited in a Supreme Court decision, said Patricia
Sekaquaptewa, director of the Native Nations Law and Policy
Center.
A year after finishing Stanford Law, Goldberg came to the UCLA
School of Law and began her quest to educate students, the
community and the public about federal Indian and tribal law.
Her dedication to helping others understand cultural and legal
issues is one of the qualities that most impresses her
colleagues.
“She has a real concern for understanding culture and
community, especially non-western communities and the rights that
they have in democracies,” Champagne said.
Though Goldberg became an expert soon after graduating from law
school, it was only after issues of Indian gaming entered into the
spotlight that her demand increased tenfold.
Goldberg helped organize a symposium, held April 21 at the law
school, during which panelists discussed the media’s
unnecessary insistence on linking American Indian issues with
Indian gaming.
Her long-standing status as an expert on federal Indian and
tribal law have resulted in a great demand for the knowledge she
possesses.
Sitting comfortably in her swivel chair, Goldberg discussed the
serious issues facing tribes across the country. Her greatest
concern is the misunderstandings surrounding the fact that tribes
are governments, Goldberg said.
The U.S. government defines American Indian tribes as a domestic
dependent and a class unto itself, Goldberg said, meaning that they
have their own constitutions, law codes, social structures and
institutions, but are at times subject to U.S. jurisdiction.
“It’s a distinctive relationship that doesn’t
have an equivalent,” Goldberg added.
The unique relationship between American Indian tribes and the
U.S. government has at times generated conflict and led to many
legal disputes.
Public Law 280 is a federal congressional delegation that gives
states the authority to exercise criminal jurisdiction and can
limit the jurisdiction of tribes, Sekaquaptewa said.
Goldberg is one of the foremost experts on Public Law 280,
according to colleagues, and this is easy to see in the way she
forcefully and authoritatively explained the law.
In addition, Goldberg cited other laws, such as the Indian Child
Welfare Act of 1978, that reveal the tensions between the tribes
and the U.S. government. The ICWA gave states the authority to
remove American Indian children from their families and place them
in non- American Indian homes.
Goldberg has extensively studied these laws and others in an
attempt to better understand the reasoning and logic behind them.
In addition, she has taken her knowledge of the law and used it to
better the political and social conditions of tribes around the
country.