Emily’s practice focuses on tribal sovereignty, self-governance, and economic development, including both transactional and litigation matters on behalf of the firm’s Tribal clients.
Emily joins Galanda Broadman from another firm where she also worked on behalf of Indigenous and Tribal clients. She previously spent two years as a law clerk to Hon. Sunshine S. Sykes (Diné) of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in Riverside, California.
Before clerking, she completed a fellowship at the Native American Rights Fund (NARF), during which she worked with rural Tribes to improve Native voters’ access to the ballot and political representation through legislative redistricting following the 2020 census.
Emily graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2021. During law school, she was a federal Indian law teaching assistant, externed with Southern Arizona Legal Aid’s Indian communities practice, and clerked in NARF’s Washington, DC office.
Cases
Counsel for Amici in Support of Petitioner, Landor v. Louisiana Dep’t of Corrections, No. 23-1197 (2025).
Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians v. Jaeger (D.N.D. 2022).
Spirit Lake Tribe v. Benson County (D.N.D. 2022).
Bar Admissions
Washington State
Washington, DC
Education
University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, J.D., 2021
University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences, B.A. (American History), 2016
Publications
Knight v. Thompson, Revisited: Ramirez v. Collier’s Implications for Native Prisoners’ Religious Exercise, Federal Lawyer (July/August 2022)
An Unfulfilled, Hollow Promise: Lyng, Navajo Nation, and the Substantial Burden on Native American Religious Practice, co-authored with Joel West Williams, 48 Ecology L. Q. (2021)
Promoting Indian Child Welfare Through Inquiry and Data, Regulatory Rev. (Apr. 7, 2021)
Presentations
Panelist, California Tribal Nations Summit, March 2025, Sacramento, CA
“Every Native Vote Counts – Improving Access to the Ballot in Indian Country,” NCAI Mid-Year Conference, June 2022, Anchorage, AK
“Every Native Vote Counts – GOTV Strategies in Wisconsin Tribal Communities,” March 2022, Baraboo, WI
