Kolby KickingWoman
ICT
MISSOULA, Mont. — Danna Jackson, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, has become the latest Native to be nominated by President Joe Biden to sit on the federal bench.
Jackson is the fifth Native to be nominated by Biden to the federal bench and if confirmed, would become the first American Indian, Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian to serve as a federal judge in Montana.
Jackson works as a tribal attorney for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and has a long career in public service.
U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat representing Montana, said that as a born-and-raised Montanan, Jackson has the necessary experience at all levels of the state’s legal system to be a federal judge.
“Danna Jackson has a proven track record of applying the law with fairness and integrity throughout her legal career, and I have no doubt that she’ll bring these high standards to the federal judiciary and District of Montana,” Tester said in a statement.
The senator also added he looks forward to working to get her nomination “across the finish line with bipartisan support.”
The announcement of Jackson’s nomination was applauded by several national Native organizations, including the Native American Rights Fund, National Congress of American Indians and the National Native American Bar Association.
“We commend the Biden Administration’s selection of this historic nominee and exhort her confirmation. She will be a strong addition to the federal judiciary in Montana,” Native American Rights Fund Executive Director John Echohawk, Pawnee, said in a press release.
Together, these organizations have long advocated for Native representation on the federal bench and through a joint press release said “It is imperative to have federal judges who understand the unique relationship between the United States and Tribal Nations and who reflect the diversity within the districts that they serve.”
National Native American Bar Association President Matthew Archer-Beck, Cherokee Nation, said Jackson will be a great asset to Montana’s judicial system.
“Inclusion of Native Americans in the courts that preside over matters in Montana is critically important to advancing trust in the judicial system and the rule of law,” Acher-Beck said. “Danna Jackson’s deep experience in Montana in criminal and civil matters and her connections to the communities she has served her whole career will be a great asset to the court.”
Prior to working for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Jackson served at the U.S. Department of the Interior as senior counselor to the director of the Bureau of Land Management and then senior counselor to the assistant secretary for Water and Science from 2021 to 2023.
From 2010 to 2016, she worked as an assistant U.S. Attorney and tribal liaison in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana before becoming the chief legal counsel at the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation in Helena, Montana.
Jackson received her J.D. and her B.A. from the University of Montana in 1996 and 1993, respectively.
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