In 2013, Sunshine S. Sykes became the first judge of Native American descent appointed to the Riverside Superior Court, and in 2022, she became California's first Native American federal judge when President Biden appointed her to the U.S. District Court, Central District of California.

(Subscription required) Superior Court Judge Elizabet Rodriguez grew up watching, and sometimes helping, her parents toil in grape fields in Kern County, and vowing she wouldn't do that for the rest of her life.

(Subscription required) During her nomination hearing in May, she emphasized the pro bono work she did while she was an employment lawyer at Lang, Richert & Patch, a Fresno firm where she practiced before joining the state bench. De Alba cited the example of her mother, with whom she said she and her brothers worked in the fields of the Central Valley as a child.

The Boulder-based Native American Rights Fund Monday announced the formation of a first-ever institute that will provide tribal nations with resources and training to advocate for their water rights.