Udall Foundation Selects Tribal Member Hilary Edwards

UDALL FOUNDATION SELECTS TRIBAL MEMBER HILARY EDWARDS FOR A 2020 NATIVE AMERICAN CONGRESSIONAL INTERNSHIP

Native Nations Institute (NNI) announced the selection of the 2020 Native American Congressional Interns, which includes Swinomish tribal member Hilary Edwards!

The program’s newest class of Udall Interns comprises 12 students representing 12 tribes and nine universities from around the country. Hilary was selected along with the other 2020 Udall Interns by an independent review committee on the basis of academic achievement, leadership, and demonstrated commitment to careers in tribal public policy.

Hilary is currently a first-year law student at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University (ASU). In addition to pursuing her Juris Doctorate, Hilary is interested in obtaining the Indian Law and the Health Law and Policy Certificates. She is currently a researcher for the ASU project on violence against American Indians. After graduating, she looks forward to advocating on behalf of American Indians, specifically on issues regarding the missing and murdered Indigenous women movement and the Indian Child Welfare Act.

Udall Interns are placed in Senate, House, and Federal agency offices in Washington, D.C. for an intensive nine-week summer program. Additional professional development and enrichment activities are hosted throughout the internship program and provide opportunities for the Udall Interns to meet and network with key decision makers. However, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Udall Foundation and NNI have made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 Udall Internship program. As a result, all of the 2020 Udall Interns have been offered spots in the 2021 program. In the interim, staff from the Udall Foundation and NNI are working together to provide the 2020 Udall Interns with online professional development and networking opportunities to keep the class connected and supported.

Hilary Edwards

Native American Congressional Internship program. Two Udall Interns have been members of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community.

The Udall Foundation’s Native American Congressional Internship Program, funded and comanaged by NNI, provides Native American and Alaska Native undergraduate, graduate, and law students with the opportunity to gain practical experience with the federal legislative process in order to understand firsthand the government-to-government relationship between tribes and the Federal Government.