Ethel Branch
{{short description|Native American lawyer}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Ethel Billie Branch
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| image = Ethel Branch Confirmation Hearing (cropped).jpg
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| caption = Confirmation of Ethel Branch as Navajo Nation Attorney General in 2015
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| birth_place = Tuba City, Arizona
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| nationality = Navajo
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| education = {{plainlist|
- Harvard University (BA, JD, MPP)
}}
| occupation = Lawyer, politician
| office1 = 11th Attorney General of the Navajo Nation
| term_start1 = 2015
| term_end1 = 2019
| predecessor1 = D. Harrison Tsosie
| successor1 = Doreen McPaul
| office2 = 13th Attorney General of the Navajo Nation
| term_start2 = 2023
| term_end2 = 2024
| predecessor2 = Doreen McPaul
| successor2 = Heather L. Clah
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Ethel Branch is an American attorney and politician. A member of the Navajo Nation, Branch was the 11th and 13th Attorney General of the Navajo Nation.
Early life and education
Branch was born in Tuba City, Arizona and was raised on her family's ranch in the nearby town of Leupp where they raised pigs, sheep, horses, and cattle.{{Cite web |title=Ethel Branch |url=https://nndoj.navajo-nsn.gov/Directory/Office-of-Attorney-General |website=Navajo Nation |access-date=6 August 2023 |language=en}} In high school, she was president of the 4-H club.{{Cite news |title=Navajo Nation Attorney General Receives 4-H Luminary Award |url=https://news.arizona.edu/story/navajo-nation-attorney-general-receives-4h-luminary-award |publisher=University of Arizona |last=Schwartz |first=Faith |date=24 April 2018 |access-date=6 August 2023 |language=en}}
Branch earned her bachelor's degree cum laude in history from Harvard College in 2001. She earned her JD from Harvard Law School in 2008, and later earned her Master of Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. While in graduate school, Branch was a Zuckerman Fellow, and served as a senior editor for the journal Harvard Environmental Law Review.
While studying at Harvard Kennedy, Branch recognized that there were few classes directly relevant to tribal law, and focused on the topic through her research projects. According to Branch: "[T]he way to ensure that there are more attorneys on the Nation and more help available to all aspects of our local governments is to have more law-trained Navajos."{{Cite web |title=Branch Returns to Her Navajo Roots |url=https://hls.harvard.edu/today/branch-returns-navajo-roots/ |website=Harvard Law School |last=Deakin |first=Michelle |date=26 June 2018 |access-date=6 August 2023 |language=en}}
Career
After graduating from Harvard College, Branch returned to the Navajo Nation to teach, with the stated goal of trying to “open up doors of access for Navajo children.”
After law school, Branch sought law experiences outside of the Navajo Nation. She worked for the legal firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe in Seattle, Washington, focusing on tribal finance law. She also worked as an associate at Kanji & Katzen, a firm that focuses solely on native advocacy.{{Cite web |title=Ethel Branch |url=https://www.mountainfilm.org/people/ethel-branch/ |website=Mountainfilm |access-date=7 August 2023}}
In 2015, Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye appointed Branch as the 11th Attorney General of the Navajo Nation. She served in this capacity from 2015 through 2019. As Attorney General, Branch oversaw the legal work involved with the 2015 Gold King Mine waste water spill, as well then-President Trump's attempt to revoke and replace the Bears Ears National Monument.{{Cite news |title=Environmental lawyers to watch in 2023 |url=https://www.eenews.net/articles/environmental-lawyers-to-watch-in-2023/ |publisher=Environment & Energy Publishing |last=King |first=Pamela |date=18 January 2023 |access-date=6 August 2023 |language=en}}
Following her tenure as Attorney General, Branch returned to the law firm Kanji & Katzen in April 2019.{{Cite web |title=Ethel Branch, Former Navajo Nation Attorney General, to Return to Kanji & Katzen and Lead Flagstaff Office |url=https://kanjikatzen.com/ethel-branch-former-navajo-nation-attorney-general-to-return-to-kanji-katzen-and-lead-flagstaff-office/ |website=KanjiiKatzen.com |date=9 April 2019 |access-date=7 August 2023}} In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Branch resigned from the law firm to focus on community response efforts to the virus. She started an organization called Navajo Hopi Solidarity which provides assistance to the elderly, single parents, and struggling families. By September 2020, she had raised over $5 million and assisted more than 5,000 families.{{Cite web |title=7 unsung heroes of the pandemic |url=https://www.gatesnotes.com/7-unsung-heroes-of-the-pandemic |website=GatesNotes.com |last=Gates |first=Bill |date=8 September 2020 |access-date=7 August 2023 |language=en}}
In 2023, Branch was re-appointed Attorney General for the Navajo Nation by President Buu Nygren.{{Cite news |title=Branch appointed as 13th Attorney General of Navajo Nation |url=https://www.nhonews.com/news/2023/jan/31/branch-appointed-13th-attorney-general-navajo-nati/ |publisher=NHONews.com |date=31 January 2023 |access-date=7 August 2023 |language=en}}
On December 16, 2024, Branch was removed from office by the Navajo Nation Council. In accordance with tribal law, Navajo Nation Deputy Attorney General Heather L. Clah will serve as interim attorney general until a permanent replacement is approved by the council. {{Cite web |title= Navajo Nation Council removes AG Ethel Branch from her post |url= https://azmirror.com/briefs/navajo-nation-council-removes-ag-ethel-branch-from-her-post/ |website= AZMirror |access-date=18 December 2024}}
Political career
In April 2022, Branch announced her candidacy for president of the Navajo Nation,{{Cite news |title='Back to our mother': Branch plans transform government to serve the people |url=https://navajotimes.com/rezpolitics/election-2022/back-to-our-mother-branch-plans-transform-government-to-serve-the-people/ |work=Navajo Times |last=Krisst |first=Rime |date=28 April 2022 |access-date=7 August 2023 |language=en}} with the aim of becoming the first woman to become Navajo Nation president.{{Cite news |date=3 August 2022 |title=Jonathan Nez, Buu Nygren Advance in Navajo Presidential Race |work=U.S. News & World Report |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/arizona/articles/2022-08-02/navajos-to-narrow-list-of-15-presidential-hopefuls-to-2 |access-date=7 August 2023}} She was eliminated in the primary.{{Cite news |title=Navajos narrow list of 15 presidential hopefuls in primary |last=Fonseca |first=Felicia |work=Yahoo! News |url=https://news.yahoo.com/navajos-narrow-list-15-presidential-154703755.html |date=29 July 2022 |access-date=8 August 2023}}
Awards and honors
In 2018, Branch was awarded a 4-H Luminary Award. The Luminary Award honors influential 4-H alumni from across the nation.
In 2021, Branch was named Woman of the Year by the Phoenix Indian Center for her work on providing COVID-19 relief.{{Cite news |title=Arizona American Indian Excellence in Leadership names Ethel Branch Woman of the Year |url=https://www.nhonews.com/news/2021/jun/22/arizona-american-indian-excellence-leadership-name/ |publisher=NHONews.com |date=22 June 2021 |access-date=8 August 2023 |language=en}}
References
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Category:21st-century Native American politicians
Category:21st-century Native American women
Category:American women lawyers
Category:Harvard College alumni
Category:Harvard Kennedy School alumni
Category:Harvard Law School alumni
Category:Native American lawyers