Judge Terri Yellowhammer (Standing Rock Sioux Tribe)

Judge Terri Yellowhammer grew up in north Minneapolis. Yellowhammer is a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe with heritage in the White Earth Nation on her mother’s side. She says her parents instilled her Native identity in her at a very young age, and that she’s never been afraid to be heard. This drew her to a career practicing law on behalf of Native American communities before being appointed as a judge in Minnesota’s 4th Judicial District by Gov. Tim Walz. Prior to this, she served as an assistant state attorney general and as an attorney at the Indian Child Welfare Law Center, among other things. She has also represented indigenous clients in adult and juvenile child protection cases at the Indian Child Welfare Law Center, worked as a White Earth Nation Tribal Court Judge, and served as a Minnesota Assistant Attorney General. Yellowhammer earned a bachelor’s degree from the College of St. Catherine and a J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School.