Spotlight - Joseph Morsette

Joseph Morsette Third-year student   Fulfilling a lifelong call to work for the rights of others.     “I look at my educational journey in incremental steps.  My dad had a saying on the wall near the front door of our house that read, ‘Character is what you are, and Reputation is what people think you are.’  When you are placed into leadership positions your character will show through the work that you do.”

 

Joseph Morsette, third-year UND law student with a master’s degree in Criminal Justice Administration, former tribal associate judge, Bureau of Indian Affairs Police Officer, Air Force Military Police officer, and father of two children, is a natural born leader dedicated to his dream of graduating from law school and serving others.  Morsette was recently awarded a prestigious fellowship from the University of Arizona at Tucson to study at the Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy (IPLP) master of laws program for the academic year 2009-2010.  He was one of only three students selected nationally.

The University of Arizona at Tucson offers a highly prestigious masters program recognized as “one of the world’s leading academic centers of learning for the study of indigenous peoples’ cultures, histories, languages, laws, and human rights.”  The IPLP masters program is a hands on one year program that prepares lawyers to work in the challenging field of indigenous human rights.  The program offers an academic track of courses and a research track. Morsette said he has decided to focus on the academic track of study of indigenous peoples’ rights with a goal of developing a Tribal Legal Studies curriculum. 

Morsette said his dream of attending law school, receiving an education, and serving indigenous people has been a lifelong call.  “It has always been a dream of mine to work for the rights of indigenous people, and I think I’ve been preparing my whole life for this type of leadership role,” he said.  Morsette said he has his father to thank for teaching him the importance of such a path in life.
“I get my inspiration from my father.  As a single father, working sometimes two jobs, he prepared me from an early age to be independent and to work with others,” he said.  “My dad had always been involved with indigenous rights.  He fought for children’s rights before the Indian Child Welfare Act was passed in 1978, so I grew up seeing first-hand what he had done.  He has always been a champion of the underdog.  My father said to me not too long ago, ‘I am passing the torch onto you now,’” Morsette said.

UND Law School professor Keith Richotte, Jr. encouraged Morsette to apply for the fellowship, but other factors affected his decision as well.  Morsette is the son of Jim D. Morsette and his paternal grandparents were Joseph Morsette and Ida Gardipee Morsette.  As an enrolled tribal member of the Chippewa-Cree Tribe of Rocky Boy, Montana, Morsette has experienced the need of advocacy for his people.   Having served as a tribal judge on his reservation, Morsette said his experience influenced his decision to continue working in Indian Country after graduation.  As a judge he primarily handled juvenile cases to include overseeing a youth healing to wellness drug court.  “I truly believe that I was getting through to these kids by portraying a positive image as a role model, and someone who was invested in the community,” he said. 

It has been a long journey for Morsette in conquering his dream of graduating from law school.  He was interrupted from attending law school in 2001 when the North Dakota Air National Guard was activated by Governor Hoeven after the events of September 11.  He then continued his education by receiving his master’s degree in Criminal Justice Administration at the University of Great Falls and was able to return to law school last fall to continue working toward the Juris Doctor degree.  In his final year of law school at UND, Morsette is serving as president of the Native American Law Student Association. 

The journey is far from over for Morsette and many dreams are left to be accomplished.  After finishing his master’s degree in the IPLP program, Morsette wants to teach others about their legal rights.  “I want to eventually build a Tribal Legal Studies curriculum for tribal community colleges and universities for undergraduates interested in law.  I am also open to building a curriculum for tribal governments to include initial and reoccurring training for tribal police departments and tribal courts,” he said.  Morsette said it is important for police officers to receive an upgrade in training on both tribal and federal cases.  “As a former BIA police officer and tribal judge, I have seen that there isn’t enough reoccurring training focused upon tribal legal issues,” he said.

Morsette feels his appreciation for education and his leadership skills have been a gift.  “It feels like a natural progression to do this.  Having grown up where your rights are always at stake, this all seems natural to me.  After graduation, I want to be in a much better position to let people know about their rights and how they could be asserting them,” he said.

Although Morsette’s law school experience has been one of many disruptions, he said it is all worth it in the end.  Throughout his life he has been placed in many leadership roles from working as a military police officer to being an accomplished student.  He said, “There are times when I may stumble and not know exactly what I am doing, but my educational journey has basically been something that I’m constantly building upon.  I look at my educational journey in incremental steps.  My dad had a saying on the wall near the front door of our house that read, ‘Character is what you are, and Reputation is what people think you are.’  When you are placed into leadership positions your character will show through the work that you do.”

by: Theresa Rerick