August 10, 2011

Law students commit "ethnic fraud"

ABA Wants Proof of Native American Status From Aspiring Lawyers

By Karen SloanBetween 1990 and 2000, 2,600 Native Americans graduated from American Bar Association-accredited law schools, according to the ABA. According to the U.S. Census, however, the number of Native American attorneys in the United States increased by just 200 during that time.

The discrepancy points to a disturbing trend in law school admissions, according to the National Native American Bar Association Center for Racial and Ethnic Diversity: That some law school applicants falsely report that they are Native American.

The ABA's House of Delegates approved a resolution on Monday urging the Law School Admissions Council and ABA-approved law schools to require additional information from people who indicate on their registration for the Law School Admission Test and law school applications that they are Native American. Specifically, that information about their tribal citizenship, tribal affiliation or enrollment number. Applicants who don't belong to a tribe recognized by the government would provide a "heritage statement."

In a report accompanying the resolution, the National Native American Bar Association wrote that the false reporting of Native American status is a "large, systemic problem" that amounts to "academic ethnic fraud."
Comment:  For more on the subject, see Defining Tribes by Peoplehood and The Trap of Blood Quantum.

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous2:15 PM

    This is Institutional Racism. It seems that the *SUPREME* and "superior" White man in the system are somewhat aghast at the thought of more Native Americans becoming educated. It scares them.

    Regardless if they are Native or not, its also a fact that more Natives are indeed becoming more educated now than any time in recent or distant memory.

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  2. There's institutional racism alright. In the form of racist quotas (affirmative action). At the University of Michigan law school, for example, applicants are boosted or denied based on their ethnicity. This encourages 'pretendians'.

    The solution is to admit students with absolutely no regard to ethnicity/race. On real merit.

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