The purpose of the Indigenous Law Center is to educate students and expand knowledge about how U.S. law affects Native and Indigenous peoples. Its central responsibilities are to enhance the school’s Indigenous Law curriculum and to promote related research opportunities.

The Center will feature an annually appointed Visiting Professor of Law. It will also conduct a public law and policy lectures series; initiate an affiliated scholar program; and develop courses, seminars, and panels.

The program’s inaugural Visiting Professor of Law is Matthew Fletcher, who will join the UC Hastings faculty for the 2021-2022 academic year. A distinguished scholar of Federal Indian Law, Fletcher is Foundation Professor of Law and Director of the Michigan State University College of Law Indigenous Law and Policy Center. At UC Hastings, Professor Fletcher will teach a seminar on Tribal Law.

Located on an urban campus in the heart of San Francisco, UC Hastings is deeply engaged with organizations across the Bay Area and beyond. Likewise, the Indigenous Law Center seeks to engage diverse voices on issues of importance to Native and Indigenous Nations, communities, and individuals.