Michelle Rivard-Parks
Michelle Rivard-Parks
Affiliated Faculty
Assistant Director, Tribal Judicial Institute
mrivard@law.und.edu
Michelle Rivard-ParksMichelle Rivard Parks graduated, with distinction, from the University of North Dakota School of Law in 1999. Mrs. Parks is a licensed attorney in the state of Illinois, in the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota and in the Spirit Lake Tribal Court. Mrs. Parks is an appointed member of the North Dakota Supreme Court State and Tribal Court Committee.
Mrs. Parks served as the Chief Prosecutor for the Spirit Lake Nation for approximately four years and currently serves the tribe as Tribal Attorney, which she has done since 2001. Mrs. Parks has background in training and educating tribal, state and federal law enforcement agencies, attorneys, court staff and other individuals and entities on a variety of topics relating to the practice of both tribal law and federal Indian law. In 2008 Mrs. Parks was appointed as a Special Judge in the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa jurisdiction.
In the fall of 2003, Mrs. Parks joined the staff at UND School of Law as an Adjunct Professor and has since taught courses on Federal Indian Law, Tribal Economic Development and the Law, and Tribal Law. Additionally in 2003, Mrs. Parks was hired to serve as a Tribal Justice Specialist for the Tribal Judicial Institute to provide technical assistance to tribal courts in conjunction with a grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance. In 2005 Mrs. Parks became the Associate Director of the Tribal Judicial Institute at UND School of Law where she continues to provide training and technical assistance to tribal, state and federal officials, judges and personnel on topics relating to the planning, implementation and enhancement of tribal justice systems as well as topics relating to tribal law and federal Indian law.
Mrs. Parks has extensive experience working with tribal elected officials, tribal and state judges, tribal court personnel, social services programs, victim advocacy programs and other tribal justice officials in the area(s) of program development, economic development, business law, code development, child welfare, domestic violence, and sex offender prosecution and management.