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Maia Wikaira
FULBRIGHT-NGĀ PAE O TE MĀRAMATANGA GRADUATE AWARD, 2016
Congratulations to Maia Wikaira on her new role at the Office of Tribal Attorney for the Yurok Tribe, based in Northern California. The tribe is located in Klamath, six and a half hours north of San Francisco. They are the biggest tribe in California and are a river people. Maia completed her Masters in Enviromental Law and Policy at Stanford University in California as part of her Fulbright programme.
“I wanted to get some practical experience working on the water rights issues I have been studying all year because the legal scholarship and practical realities are very different. Yurok have a premier in-house legal team and are currently involved on the biggest dam removal project that has happened to date – ever! I am working on that project as well as a raft of other legal issues. They also have a tribal court administering their own separate system of justice. I will be admitted to practice in that court, which is exciting. The work is really interesting and I am looking forward to getting stuck in through the summer,” said Wikaira.
Check out the news coverage on being admitted to the Yurok Tribe Bar: