Amber is an Indigenous environmental attorney and a managing partner at Galanda Broadman.
Her practice focuses on environmental protection and assisting in the economic development of Indigenous tribes. Her work heavily involves supporting tribal sovereignty, including assisting Indigenous tribes in broadening their authority and jurisdiction over a wide variety of practice areas, including air and water quality, hunting and fishing, forestry and timber, and telecommunications. Her work also includes transactional work, including contract negotiation, entity formation and environmental compliance and permitting.
She has been named a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers® from 2017 to 2025. She served as an Editor on the National Lawyers Guild Review.
Amber has lectured on environmental justice, Indigenous rights and tribal sovereignty across the Pacific Northwest, having delivered talks at the University of Washington and Oregon State University.
Amber has worked in the Native American Unit of the Northwest Justice Project, working to further tribal interests and to provide access to justice to low-income tribal populations. At her former firm, K&L Gates, Amber represented the Duwamish Tribe, pro bono, in its efforts to seek federal recognition.
Amber is an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation.
Cases
In the matter of Tesoro Savage, LLC (Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council 2018) (rejecting Tesoro Savage’s application to build the Vancouver Energy Distribution Terminal)
Union Pacific Railroad Company v. Wasco County Board of Commissioners, et al. (Columbia River Gorge Commission 2017) (upholding Wasco County’s decision to deny Union Pacific Railroad Company’s application to construct a mainline track)
Alexander v. Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde (Grand Ronde Ct. App. 2016) (reversing the disenrollment of 66 Grand Ronde Tribal Members who directly descend from a Treaty Chief)
CTGW v. Thurston County Treasurer (Thurston Cty. Bd. of Equal. 2014) (prevailed against a county tax assessor who attempted to tax roughly $60 million on personal property owned by a joint venture between a tribal government and a publicly-traded company; company found 100% tax exempt).
MEMBERSHIPS
Washington State Bar Association
Environmental and Land Use Law Section
Indian Law Section
Northwest Indian Bar Association
Governing Council, 2011-2012
King County Bar Association
American Bar Association
National Lawyers Guild Review
Editorial Board, 2017-Present
Bar Admissions
Washington State
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
Chehalis Tribal Court
Cow Creek Tribal Court
Grand Ronde Tribal Court
Hualapai Tribal Court
Nooksack Tribal Court
Quinault Tribal Court
Swinomish Tribal Court
Tulalip Tribal Court
Education
University of Washington School of Law (J.D.)
Washington State University, B.A., Business, summa cum laude
Publications
Trump’s Dismantling of the National Monuments: Sacrificing Native American Interests on the Altar of Business, National Lawyers Guild Review, Volume 75, Number 1, Spring 2018.
Standing Rock and the Erosion of Tribal Rights, National Lawyers Guild Review, Volume 73, Number 3, Fall 2016.
Supreme Court Moves Washington in the Wrong Tribal Direction, King County Bar Association Bar Bulletin, May 2015.
Indian Country Stylebook, December 1, 2014.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Personal Liability Exposure for Tribal Officials in the Wake of Maxwell v. County of San Diego, Turtle Talk, June 2014.
Koontz: The Latest Chapter in Land Use Permitting and Takings, K&L Gates Environmental, Land and Natural Resources Alert, November 2013.
Recourse Carve-Out Liability for Borrowers and Guarantors, Washington State Bar Association Creditor Debtor Rights Quarterly Newsletter, Summer 2012.
Awards
Super Lawyers® Rising Star, 2017–2025
