Sarah Crawford combines her experience working on both Capitol Hill and in the executive branch with her juris doctor from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University to provide tribal clients with the advice necessary to make informed decisions that reflect legal, political, and public policy realities. Ms. Crawford focuses on providing legal counsel for tribal governments and tribal organizations on numerous key issues including establishment and revision of tribal code and policy, development and review of contracts, evaluation of federal programming matters and analysis of employment law issues. Ms. Crawford avidly represents tribes in state courts on matters including Indian Child Welfare Act cases and issues impacting tribal sovereignty. She has spent considerable efforts on setting the foundations and building up key tribal programming and services including housing, elections, enrollment and courts.

During law school, Ms. Crawford’s strong work ethic and legal acumen earned her awards from the National Native American Bar Association, the National Order of Barristers, and the Native American Bar Association of Arizona. Ms. Crawford strove to supplement her classroom legal education with real world experience that not only helped her to hone her skills but also made a tangible difference in Indian Country.  She was a legal clerk at the Native American Rights Fund, where she focused on cases related to discriminatory voter identification laws, the protection of ancestral lands, and revisions to a tribal constitution.  Ms. Crawford was also a legal intern at the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community Office of the Prosecutor where she drafted court motions and filed criminal charges.

Before attending law school, Ms. Crawford spent five years in Washington, D.C. working in federal Indian policy.  She spent several years working for U.S. Senator Tim Johnson of South Dakota, where she helped the Senator with his tribal portfolio. She wrote and aided in the introduction of legislation and appropriations provisions to preserve Native languages, provide tribal tax parity, eliminate barriers to economic development, ensure housing grants for Native communities, and retain the protection of Indian arts and crafts.  After Senator Johnson’s retirement, she transitioned to the National Indian Gaming Commission, where she was charged with the agency’s legislative and intergovernmental affairs.  Ms. Crawford was also detailed to the White House to help plan the Tribal Nations Conference, assisting in writing high-level memoranda to federal agency secretaries and President Obama.

Ms. Crawford is a Dakota tribal member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate and grew up on her tribal lands near Sisseton, South Dakota. In her free time, which there isn’t much of with a growing family, Ms. Crawford works on traditional regalia and playing Sudoku. She also loves the outdoors. You will often find her hiking or hunting with her two German Shorthaired Pointers – “the boys.”

Publications

• U.S. Supreme Court Decisions Impacting Indian Country, Co-Authored (2023), The Montana Lawyer, State Bar of Montana
• Elusive Justice in Violence Against Native Women, Legal Insight (2021), The Washington Lawyer, District of Columbia Bar
• The Year of the Native Voter, Authored (2019), Arizona Attorney Magazine, State Bar of Arizona

Activities & Affiliations

• Board Member, State Bar of Montana Indian Legal Section (2022-Present)
• Board Member, Gallatin County Bar Association (2023-Present)
• Member, Child Protection Working Group, Cascade County, Montana Eighth Judicial District Court, (2025-Present)
• Presenter, Montana Indian Child Welfare Act: Montana’s Gold Standard, Annual Conference, Montana State Bar (2025)
• Co-Presenter, Federal Indian Law & Montana’s Statewide Water Adjudication, Gallatin County Bar Association (2025)
• Panelist, Navigating the Indian Child Welfare Act, Annual Conference, Montana State Bar Women’s Law Section (2025)
• Panelist, Tribal/Legal Perspective Panel, Moving the Dial Conference, Hosted by the Montana Supreme Court – Court Improvement Program, MT DPHHS, and the Casey Family Programs (2025)
• Guest Speaker, Tribal Application of the Indian Child Welfare Act, Federal Indian Law Class, University of Wisconsin Law School, (2025)
• Judge, National Native American Law Student Association Annual Moot Court Competition (2024)
• Panelist, Tribal Panel, Moving the Dial Conference, Hosted by the Montana Supreme Court – Court Improvement Program, MT DPHHS, and the Casey Family Programs (2022)
• Board Member, National Native American Bar Association (2022-2024)
• Board Member, Native American Bar Association of DC (2020-2022)
• Presenter, Federal Update on COVID-19 Programming & Funding, Legal Symposium, National American Indian Housing Council (2021)
• President, National Native American Law Student Association (2018-2019)
• Vice President & Moot Court Administrator, National Native American Law Student Association (2017-2018)