The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed President Joe Biden's nomination of Sara E. Hill as a U.S. District judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma (article available here).
Hill, who is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, is the first Native American woman confirmed for a lifetime judicial appointment in the state.
She has dedicated her legal career to Indigenous tribes and peoples, serving as the first Secretary of Natural Resources for the Cherokee Nation then as its Attorney General.
Hill served as the Cherokee Nation’s attorney general from 2019 to 2023 during the overhaul of the tribe’s criminal prosecution system set in motion by the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in McGirt v. Oklahoma.
With Oklahoma home to 39 federally recognized Tribal Nations, her confirmation is not just an historic milestone but a meaningful step forward in ensuring the federal judiciary reflects the communities it serves.
Three Native Americans have been appointed under President Joe Biden’s administration. Hill is Biden’s fourth Native American judicial appointment, according to the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, which represents roughly 230 U.S. civil rights advocacy organizations.
Hill is the eighth Native American in U.S. history appointed to a lifetime judge position.