JUNEAU, AK – Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (Central Council) announced that Madeline Soboleff Levy (Shaa Xei di Tlaa / Gaayjuwaay) accepted a new position as General Counsel. Madeline formerly served as the Tribe’s Child Support Attorney where she provided legal services and representation in all paternity and child support cases.
As General Counsel, Madeline will provide professional legal counsel to the Tribe in the areas of tribal government, federal-tribal relations, jurisdiction issues, environmental and natural resources law and policy, economic development, tribal business enterprise, and employment issues.
Madeline holds a degree of Juris Doctor from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies from the University of Puget Sound. She formerly served as law clerk for a superior court judge in Fairbanks and as an adjunct professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks where she taught law and policy courses in Native Studies, Federal Indian Law, and Tribal Self-Governance.
“As the Tribe continues to focus on expanding its self-governance and self-determination, it’s important that we have the legal support in place to address items involving Tribal, State, and Federal law,” said President Richard Peterson. “Business development and land-into-trust are just some of the activities the Tribe is currently involved in and my priority remains to advance opportunities for collaboration and building new partnerships. Maddie’s education and work experience in Indian law is exactly what I was looking for and I am very pleased to have her join our executive team.”
Madeline is Tlingit, Haida, and Norwegian. She is of the Raven moiety, L’eineidi clan (Dog Salmon), Aanx’aakhittaan house (House in the Middle of Town), and is a member of the Xaadas Git’ alang (Children of the Haida) dance group. She is married to Trinidad Contreras and is mother to two children (Sofia and Guillermo).
Madeline has been on maternity leave following the birth of her son and will be reporting to her first day of work as General Counsel on September 19th. [xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]
