Monte Mills

  • Director, Native American Law Center
  • Charles I. Stone Professor of Law

Contact

Phone: (206) 616-3482
Email: mtmills@uw.edu

Education

B.A. 1999, Lewis & Clark College J.D. 2003, University of Colorado

Areas of Expertise

American Indian Law — Environmental Law — Natural Resources Law — Tribal Law — Water Law

Recent Courses

Course Number Course Name
Property I
Water Law
American Indian Law
Land, American Culture, and the Law
Indigenous Economic Development and the Law Seminar

Selected Publications

See the full list under the Publications tab below.

Monte Mills joined the UW faculty in 2022 as Charles I. Stone Professor of Law and the Director of the Native American Law Center (NALC). He teaches American Indian Law, Property, and other classes focused on Native American and natural resources related topics.

Monte's research and writing focuses on the intersection of Federal Indian Law, Tribal sovereignty, and natural resources as well as race and racism in the law and legal education. He has published several law review articles and serves as a co-author on two textbooks: American Indian Law, Cases and Commentary (along with Robert T. Anderson, Sarah A. Krakoff, and Kevin K. Washburn) and Native American Natural Resources Law (with Michael Blumm and Elizabeth Kronk Warner). Monte also co-authored A Third Way: Decolonizing the Laws of Indigenous Cultural Protection, which was published by Cambridge University Press in July 2020.

Prior to joining the UW faculty, Monte was a professor and Co-Director of the Margery Hunter Brown Indian Law Clinic at the Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana. Prior to joining that faculty, Monte was the Director of the Legal Department for the Southern Ute Indian Tribe in Colorado, an in-house counsel department that he helped organize and implement in 2005 following completion of a unique two-year in-house attorney training program. As Director of the Tribe's Legal Department, Monte represented and counseled the Tribe on a broad array of issues, including litigation in tribal, state and federal courts, legislative matters before the Colorado General Assembly and the United States Congress, and internal tribal matters such as contracting, code-drafting, and gaming issues.

Peer Reviewed Journals & Law Reviews


Books or Treatises

  • Judith V. Royster, Michael C. Blumm, Elizabeth Ann Kronk Warner & Monte Mills, Native American Natural Resources Law: Cases and Materials (Carolina Press 4th ed. 2018). 758 pgs.

Book Chapters

  • Monte Mills, Current Developments in Indian Water Law and Treaty Rights: Old Promises, Recent Challenges, and the Potential for a New Future, 64 Rocky Mt. Min. L. Inst. 9-1 (2018).
  • Monte Mills, Why Indian Country? An Introduction to the Indian Law Landscape, Ch. 1, in Indian Law and Natural Resources: The Basics and Beyond 1–21 (Rocky Mt. Min. L. Fdn. 2017).

Professional Publications


News Media


  • Speaker, Water Law Adjudication CLE, Whatcom County (January 9, 2024)
  • Speaker, Washington State Riparian Working Group Series 2: Meeting #4, (December 1, 2023)
  • Speaker, State of Washington Office of the Attorney General Annual CLE, (November 7, 2023)
  • Speaker, Tribal Water Law Conference, (November 6, 2023)
  • Speaker, 2023 Annual State Conference, American Water Resources Association (September 28, 2023)
  • Speaker, Tribal Resources and Sovereignty Clinic, Yale School of the Environment (September 13, 2023)
  • Speaker, Important Developments in Water Law, ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources (July 27, 2023)
  • Speaker, Indian Law Section Annual CLE, Montana State Bar (April 21, 2023)
  • Panelist, with Emily Haley & Dylan Hedden-Nicely, Indian Law Section Annual Conference, Federal Bar Association (April 18, 2023)
  • Panelist, "Stewart Udall and the Politics of Beauty," with Eric Eberhard, John de Graaf, Mark Udall & Sanne Knudsen, Native American Law Center Film Screening and Discussion, ºìÌÒÊÓÆµ (April 7, 2023)
  • Panelist, with Craig Andrews & Majel Russel, Spring Symposium, Arizona Journal of Environmental Law and Policy (April 7, 2023)
  • Panelist, "Advancing and Expanding an American 30 by 30," with Jamie Pleune, Adell Amos & Jessie Owley, 2023 J.B. & Maurice C. Shapiro Environmental Law Symposium, George Washington University (April 6, 2023)
  • Panelist, "Foundations of Federal Indian Law, Treaties, and Natural Resources," with Eric Eberhard & Kate Fort, Appellate Conference, Washington State Courts (March 27, 2023)
  • Speaker, "Restoring our Nation’s Legacy: Native Nations, Co-Management, and the Future of Federal Public Lands," Case Western Reserve University School of Law (March 22, 2023)
  • Panelist, "Integrating Content on Native American Law and Indigenous Identities," with Matthew L.M. Fletcher, Rebecca Plevel, Nicole P. Dyszlewski (moderator), Integrating Doctrine & Diversity Speaker Series, Roger Williams University School of Law, CUNY School of Law, George Washington Law, Berkeley Law, Jurist (October 19, 2022)
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  • Sep 25, 2023 | Source: Mercury News
  • Sep 19, 2023 | Source: Missoulian
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  • Jun 22, 2023 | Source: Here & Now
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  • Mar 16, 2023 | Source: UW News
  • Feb 08, 2023 | Source: Native American Rights Fund
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