Tribal Court judge awarded 2023 Judith S. Kaye Award for Judicial Excellence

On Friday, August 4, during a ceremony at the American Bar Association (ABA) Annual Meeting in Denver, the Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence awarded Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi (NHBP) Tribal Court Chief Judge Melissa L. Pope with the 2023 Judith S. Kaye Award for Judicial Excellence.

This award recognizes dedicated service by judicial officers who demonstrate knowledge of domestic and sexual violence and exemplary leadership developing courtroom responses to these issues.

“I am incredibly honored and humbled to have been selected by the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence to receive the Judith S. Kaye Judicial Excellence Award,” said Pope.

Currently serving as the chief judge of the NHBP Tribal Court, Pope has been consistently reappointed by Tribal Council since February 2011, with the most recent four-year appointment in December 2022. Pope has also served in the elected position of chief justice of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians Tribal Court of Appeals since 2009. In addition, Pope has been teaching American Indian Law as a member of the adjunct faculty at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law since 2007.

“Receiving this award not only reminds me of the Seventh Generation to come that I must work to protect so that violence, hopefully, does not touch their lives, but fills my heart with gratitude for the Seventh Generation who came before me and who sacrificed so much - many their very lives - so that I may do this work today,” said Pope. “I honor all those who have worked, are currently working, or will work in the future to end the violence that permeates the lives of Indigenous People, Tribal Nations, and Indigenous communities.”

Pope has been actively engaged in the anti-violence movement throughout her life.

Since being appointed as chief judge of NHBP Tribal Court, she has been involved with the efforts of NHBP to address the epidemic of violence against Indigenous People. As a delegate of the Intertribal Technical-Assistance Working Group on Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction (ITWG) and the NHBP Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Enactment Team, Pope worked in collaboration with NHBP Staff to develop the infrastructure, programs, and services needed to adopt a Domestic Violence Code that included restored jurisdiction pursuant to VAWA.

She has further utilized her knowledge, skills, and passion for building the NHBP court system in collaboration with the Tribal Council, Tribal Elders, and Tribal Citizens to not only create a Victim Services Department (VSD) but also integrate trauma-informed, victim-centered, traditional culturally honoring care into the very foundation of the NHBP Tribal Court. Under her leadership, she has expanded the VSD to now include two full-time staff, one staff in the Culture Department to plant, care for, and harvest Sacred Medicines to empower survivors, consistent access to a traditional female healer, and services that span the specific needs of each survivor.

Pope is committed to the fundamental belief that equality for one community can only be achieved through the equality of all.

She has developed opportunities for paths towards healing that extend across the types of cases before the NHBP Tribal Court and for providing paths to avoid entering or returning to court systems. In recognizing the importance of providing opportunities for healing to defendants and respondents, she continues to prioritize the safety of Survivors, their families and the community, as well as the fundamental requirement of accountability.

“The Judith S. Kaye Judicial Excellence Award and the breathtakingly beautiful blanket I was gifted with this award will be my inspiration as I continue to promote the development of trauma-informed approaches within mainstream courts while creating systems in Tribal Courts that promote the safety and healing of victims and survivors through traditional culturally honoring services, provide culturally honoring care to support the wellbeing of children and vulnerable adults, develop methods to protect the safety of the community, and offer defendants trauma-informed opportunities for healing along with their requirements for accountability,” said Pope.

“I am especially appreciative,” Pope added, “that in honoring the work of a tribal judge, the ABA Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence has recognized both the importance of Tribal Courts within the legal profession and that Tribal Courts work diligently to protect the safety of the community while protecting the rights of all those appearing in Tribal Courts pursuant to Tribal Constitutions, Tribal laws, federal laws where applicable, and the values of each Native Nation. We are excited to share – and thank the ABA Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence for honoring – that traditional approaches Native Nations have used for hundreds of years can be incorporated into justice systems to address current problems, such as utilizing what is now called a trauma-informed approach to promote the healing necessary for restorative justice approaches that we have found benefit all Tribal Citizens, visitors to Tribal lands, residents of Tribal lands, and the overall community.”