Eldena Bear Don't Walk

{{Infobox officeholder

| birth_place = Missoula, Montana, U.S.

| occupation = Lawyer, judge

| birth_date = {{Birth based on age as of date|40|2014|02|10}}

| alma_mater = {{Plainlist|

• University of Montana School of Law {{Small|(MPA, JD)}}
• University of Arizona College of Law {{Small|(LL.M.)}}

}}

}}

{{short description|American politician and judge}}

Eldena Bear Don't Walk (born {{Birth based on age as of date|40|2014|02|10|noage=1}} in Missoula, Montana){{Cite web |last=Steinberger |first=Heather |date=2018-09-13 |title=Living Her Dream: Eldena Bear Don't Walk Discusses Her Law Career |url=https://ictnews.org/archive/living-her-dream-eldena-bear-dont-walk-discusses-her-law-career |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=ICT News |language=en}} is an American lawyer, judge and politician. She is an enrolled citizen of the Crow Tribe of Montana and was the first woman to serve as the Chief Justice of that tribal court. She is also a descendant of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. She has served as a judge for several other Tribal Courts. She is the chair of the Indian Law section of the State Bar of Montana.{{Cite web|url=https://www.montanabar.org/page/Sections|title=State Bar Sections - State Bar of Montana|website=www.montanabar.org|language=en|access-date=2018-10-11}}

She ran in the 2018 election cycle as a Democrat for an open seat in District 93{{Cite news|url=https://themontanapost.com/2018/04/21/meet-your-legislative-candidates-eldena-bear-dont-walk/|title=Meet Your Legislative Candidates: Eldena Bear Don't Walk|date=2018-04-21|work=The Montana Post|access-date=2018-10-11|language=en-US}} in the Montana House of Representatives which is in the Mission Valley and includes part of the Flathead Indian Reservation.

Her father was Urban Bear Don't Walk, who was one of the first Native American lawyers graduating from the University of Montana School of Law in 1975. He founded the Crow Tribal Court.{{Cite journal|date=September 2018|title=In Memorium: Bear Don't Walk, founder of Crow Tribal Court, dies|url=https://issuu.com/statebarmt/docs/montana_lawyer_october2018|journal=Montana Lawyer|volume=44|page=37|via=Issuu}} Her mother is the activist and fashion designer Marjorie Bear Don't Walk.{{Cite web|url=https://www.missoulacurrent.com/general/2017/03/montana-native-american-health/?print=print|title=Crow-Salish woman builds on family's historic achievements - Missoula Current|website=www.missoulacurrent.com|date=16 March 2017 |access-date=2018-10-11}} Her daughter, Mitchell Rose Bear Don't Walk, known as Rose, is a botanist{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYNjwMZB07c | title=American Indian Graduate Center Alumni Impact Mitchell Rose Bear Don't Walk | website=YouTube | date=10 February 2021 }} and one of 24 members of the newly formed Tribal Youth Health Advisory Board{{cite web | url=https://missoulacurrent.com/montana-native-american-health/ | title=Crow-Salish woman builds on family's historic achievements | date=16 March 2017 }} to the National Indian Health Board,{{cite web | url=https://www.nihb.org/for_youth/ | title=National Indian Health Board | for Youth }} as well as a host on the YouTube channel SciShow.{{cite web |last1=Bear Don't Walk |first1=Rose |title=...as a new host of #scishow |url=https://twitter.com/rosedontwalk/status/1330753411487129600 |website=@rosedontwalk |publisher=Twitter |access-date=24 December 2020}}

Eldena Bear Don't Walk received her Masters in Public Administration (MPA) and Juris Doctor from the University of Montana School of Law.{{Cite news|url=https://nni.arizona.edu/people/associates/iac-members/eldena-n-bear-dont-walk|title=Hon. Eldena N. Bear Don't Walk (Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes)|work=Native Nations Institute|access-date=2018-10-11|language=en-US}} She achieved a master of laws degree (LLM) from the Rogers College of Law, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona in 2013.