Smoke signals., December 01, 2025, Image 8

8
SMOKE SIGNALS
DECEMBER 1, 2025
Position of Honors Attorney created for Tribal members
LEGAL continued
from front page
In 2013, Partridge joined the
Tribal Attorney’s Offi ce as an in-
tern, working for six months as
a Ceded Lands specialist. In that
role, she served as the Tribal rep-
resentative in negotiations over the
Superfund site in the Portland Har-
bor. Two weeks later, she passed
the Oregon State Bar Exam and
later in 2013, she became the fi rst
Tribal member hired by the Tribal
Attorney’s Offi ce.
The Tribe had created a position
of Honors Attorney for Tribal mem-
bers lacking the required two years
of legal experience, to give them a
way to join the department while
they are gaining experience.
“I did not expect to get hired here
as my fi rst job: I thought it would be
years before I worked for the Tribe,”
Partridge said.
After deciding against pursuing
criminal law, she thought back
over her studies of Tribal law and
sovereignty.
“It seemed like a natural fi t,” she
said.
The Honors Attorney position
was another perfect fi t, she said.
“My family wanted to come back;
my dad grew up here and connect-
ing with the Tribe is important to
all of us,” Partridge said. “Now we
all live here; my parents, my sister
and me.”
Partridge is still working on the
Portland Harbor cleanup; now as
the legal representative for Ceded
Lands.
“What I learned in those fi rst six
months really made it easier to do
my job today,” she said.
Like all of the Tribe’s attorneys,
Partridge also does her share of
child welfare cases. Her work often
deepens her appreciation of Tribal
ceremonies and milestones, she
noted.
“It makes it
more reward-
ing, when I
go to a First
Fish ceremo-
ny, knowing
I have a role
in making the
river safe for
those fish,”
Brooks Wakeland
she said.
“When I go
to harvest
lamprey,
knowing I
have a role in
keeping the
Willamette
River clean.
… When I’m
there for
the worst
Holly Partridge
moments of
someone’s life, like when we’re tak-
ing someone’s children – I’m also
there at their best moments, when
we return someone’s children and
they’re being the best parents they
can be. I don’t get to celebrate with
them but I get to see it and know
I had a role in keeping that family
together,” she said. “When I went to
the opening for Stratus Village – I
was there, every step of the way …
and now I get to go on a tour of it.”
She said she most enjoys her en-
vironmental work.
“I am not a litigator,” she said.
“I can tell you what is not my fa-
vorite part; going to court. I do it
and I think I’m good at it, but it’s
not my favorite part. What I really
enjoy is working with my clients;
helping them be successful. I really
enjoy that.”
Wakeland said he had intended to
pursue a medical career in forensic
psychology, earning degrees in sci-
ence and sociology.
“It wasn’t until my last two se-
mesters at Portland State (Univer-
sity) that just for fun, I took a class
in forensic evidence by a professor
who used to be a defense attorney
in California,” he said.
The professor suggested that he
consider law school instead and
Wakeland said the idea appealed.
He was earning an A in the class,
while struggling with Cs in his cho-
sen major. After he earned a second
A in a follow-up class suggested by
the professor, he called his parents to
announce he was changing his focus.
His father, Tribal Elder Pete
Wakeland, who was working for
the Tribe in forestry, told him
there was an internship open in the
Tribe’s legal offi ce.
“So, I’ve been in the legal offi ce
since 2012; I interned there before I
even went to law school,” he said. “I
really enjoyed it. … I came back ev-
ery summer until 2015, then gradu-
ated and got hired on permanently.”
Wakeland said he focused on
business in law school. “I had zero
interest in property or tax law,” he
said. “Everyone in our offi ce does a
little bit of everything. My prima-
ry focus is contracts and contract
negotiation.”
Wakeland said his clients include
“Natural Resources, the Tribal
Police Department, the Tribal Fire
Department. And a lot of boards and
committees... My biggest clients are
the casino and child welfare work.
… Also employee litigation … I’m
now the primary litigator in the
offi ce, so I am the one who goes to
court most often.”
Wakeland said he particularly
enjoys that aspect.
“I love going to court; it’s one of
my favorite parts of my job,” he
said.
Theater improvisation classes
and speaking classes as a kid
helped build his enjoyment of being
in the courtroom, he said.
Wakeland said he was born in
Eugene and the family moved to Sa-
lem when he was in middle school.
His father’s work for the Tribe in
forestry led to hunting and fi shing
trips on the reservation, he said, “so
I’ve always kind of been around.”
Partridge and Wakeland both
encouraged Tribal youth to pursue
any interest they have in education
and law, noting that the Honors At-
torney position can be an important
step in pursuing a career.
“I would like all Tribal members
to know they can be successful in
anything they choose and education
is the key to that,” Partridge said.
“I was the fi rst in my family even
to go to college, let alone all the
way through law school, so it can
happen for anyone.”
Wakeland encouraged members
with questions about law school or
a legal career to call him at 503-
879-2344. n
Clothes Closet open
The Clothes Closet is open from 9 to 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 to 2 p.m. every
Friday on the Tribal campus near the Elders Activity Center at the end
of Blacktail Drive. The Clothes Closet accepts clothing, small appliances
and pieces of furniture, electronics and household goods that are clean
and in good condition. It does not accept books, large TVs or furniture,
but there is a community board where people can post those items. For
more information or emergency clothes, contact Lori Walker-Hernandez
at 559-847-7565. n
COMING
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Public Health
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