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The Indian Law Resource Center is pleased to announce the addition of two new staff attorneys - Caroline LaPorte and Kari Guajajara. These legal advocates will support the Center’s international and domestic projects and its mission to protect Indigenous rights and lands.
Caroline LaPorte, J.D., immediate descendant of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians (LRBOI), comes to the Center after previously serving as Director of the Indigenous Safe Housing Center at the National Indigenous Women's Resource Center. She has also served as NIWRC's Senior Native Affairs Policy Advisor in Washington, D.C. With a background rooted in advocacy for Indigenous women and families, LaPorte brings a sharp legal perspective that strengthens the Center’s mission to protect human rights and promote justice across Indigenous communities. LaPorte is leading the Safe Women, Strong Nations project and will continue to expand the Center’s domestic efforts.
Kari Guajajara will support the Center’s Indigenous Lands Initiative, bringing with her a strong record in Indigenous legal advocacy and public service. An Indigenous lawyer from the Ypaw My`ym Village in the Araribóia Indigenous Land of southern Maranhão, Brazil, she is a member of the Guajajara (Tentehar) people. Guajajara has served as Deputy Secretary of State for Women in Maranhão and as a parliamentary advisor to Joenia Wapichana, Brazil’s first Indigenous member of parliament. Guajajara’s work at the Center will be focused on the Indigenous Lands Initiative, a project dedicated to securing legal land titles for Indigenous communities across Mexico, Central America, and South America.
Following the award of a $20 million grant for its Indigenous Lands Initiative project in October 2022, the Center has led intercultural summits, advocated for the rights of Indigenous peoples, supported Indigenous interests at international forums, and continued hands-on work through community building and training. Upon completion, the Indigenous Lands Initiative will support as many as 100 Indigenous communities throughout Mexico, Central, and South America in obtaining legal titles to their communal lands.
“This is a critical time of growth for the Center, and we are excited to welcome Caroline LaPorte and Kari Guajajara,” said Chris Foley, Executive Director. “Their deep commitment to Indigenous rights and their legal expertise will strengthen the work we are already doing through the Indigenous Lands Initiative and all of our projects. Both Caroline and Kari bring a wealth of knowledge, important perspectives, and lived experiences to our work. Their contributions will help advance our efforts to secure land rights and self-determination for Indigenous peoples throughout the Americas.”
Caroline LaPorte served as Academic Department Head and Associate Professor of Native American Studies at Northern Michigan University. She is a current member of the Trilateral Working Group on Violence Against Indigenous Women and Girls, and she serves on the American Bar Association’s Victims’ Rights Task Force. LaPorte is the current Associate Judge for LRBOI, a Texas Bar Licensed Attorney, and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
Kari Guajajara holds a law degree from the Federal University of Maranhão (UFMA) and a master’s degree in Law, State, and Constitution from the University of Brasília (UNB). She currently serves as Director of Strategic Partnerships at the AmazoniAlerta Institute [https://www.amazonialerta.org] and is a member of the Observatory for the Human Rights of Isolated and Recently Contacted Indigenous Peoples (OPI). Her leadership includes directing the Legal Departments of COIAB and COAPIMA, as well as co-founding both the Network of Indigenous Lawyers of the Amazon and the Indigenous Rights Clinic of the Amazon.
*Portuguese version available.