Ms. Goodin-Whitegrass, a member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, was inspired by her mother and grandmother, both of whom hailed from the White Earth Indian Reservation.
TACOMA, WA, December 15, 2021 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Toni Goodin-Whitegrass has been included in Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Ms. Goodin-Whitegrass, a member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, was inspired by her mother and grandmother, both of whom hailed from the White Earth Indian Reservation. Her mother, in particular, went to one of the residential boarding schools in the area. At the time, there were many such schools in Canada and North America that were involved in assimilating Indian children, in effect annihilating their culture. The experience compelled Ms. Goodin-Whitegrass to make a conscious decision to work in Indian law and make a difference, which became her lifelong goal.
Driven by a desire to work in Indian law after earning a Bachelor of Science in political science from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and gaining valuable expertise as a paralegal with several firms, Ms. Goodin-Whitegrass pursued a Doctor of Jurisprudence. Upon graduating from UCLA's School of Law in 1990, she gained valuable expertise in the field as an intern with the Native American Rights Funds, a tribal prosecutor for the Northwest Intertribal Court and attorney for the Yakama Nation.
Drawing on her considerable expertise and personal background, Ms. Goodin-Whitegrass presently excels as a generalist attorney for the legal department of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, through which she represents tribal programs and works on a wide range of cases, including Indian child welfare matters, enrollment; election and civics matters; hunting cases; and treaty rights litigation. Dedicated to those less fortunate, Ms. Goodin-Whitegrass contributes during her spare time with the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Environmental Defense Fund, and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.
For her professional excellence, Ms. Goodin-Whitegrass received several college scholarships, was named to Outstanding Young Women of America in 1987 and was honored as a Lawyer of Distinction through the Washington Association of Minority Entrepreneurs in 2020. Within the coming years, she aims to retire and begin writing novels that deal with the historic trauma experienced by Native Americans. Ultimately, Ms. Goodin-Whitegrass aims to pursue a master's degree in creative writing and fine arts at the Institute of American Indian Arts in New Mexico.
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