Eldena Bear Don't Walk

Eldena Bear Don't Walk (born c. 1973) 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.^[1] She is the chair of the Indian Law section of the State Bar of Montana.^[2]

She ran in the 2018 election cycle as a Democrat for an open seat in District 93^[3] in 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.^[4] Her mother is the activist and fashion designer Marjorie Bear Don't Walk.^[5] Her daughter, Mitchell Rose Bear Don't Walk, known as Rose, is a botanist^[6] and one of 24 members of the newly formed Tribal Youth Health Advisory Board^[7] to the National Indian Health Board,^[8] as well as a host on the YouTube channel SciShow.^[9]

Eldena Bear Don't Walk received her Masters in Public Administration (MPA) and Juris Doctor from the University of Montana School of Law.^[10] She achieved a master of laws degree (LLM) from the Rogers College of Law, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona in 2013.

See also

• List of Native American jurists

References

1. "Living Her Dream: Eldena Bear Don't Walk Discusses Her Law Career | Indigenous Governance Database". nnigovernance.arizona.edu. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
2. "State Bar Sections - State Bar of Montana". www.montanabar.org. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
3. "Meet Your Legislative Candidates: Eldena Bear Don't Walk". The Montana Post. 2018-04-21. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
4. "In Memorium: Bear Don't Walk, founder of Crow Tribal Court, dies". Montana Lawyer. 44: 37. September 2018 – via Issuu.
5. "Crow-Salish woman builds on family's historic achievements - Missoula Current". www.missoulacurrent.com. 16 March 2017. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
6. "American Indian Graduate Center Alumni Impact Mitchell Rose Bear Don't Walk". YouTube.
7. "Crow-Salish woman builds on family's historic achievements". 16 March 2017.
8. "National Indian Health Board | for Youth".
9. Bear Don't Walk, Rose. "...as a new host of #scishow". @rosedontwalk. Twitter. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
10. "Hon. Eldena N. Bear Don't Walk (Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes)". Native Nations Institute. Retrieved 2018-10-11.