Emily White Hat has worked with the attorneys at Smith, Shelton, Ragona & Salazar, LLC, since 2008.
She received her Juris Doctorate and a Natural Resources Law Certificate from the University of New Mexico School of Law in May 2007, where she received Clinical Honors for Outstanding Performance in the Law Clinic. Emily received the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation Scholarship and the University of New Mexico School of Law Native American Economic Development Scholarship. She has a Bachelors of Science degree in Forestry and a minor in Rangeland Ecology from Colorado State University, and an Associate of Arts degree in Lakota History and Culture from Sinte Gleska University.
Following law school Emily returned home to the Rosebud Reservation where she worked as an assistant prosecutor. She helped Sinte Gleska University establish curriculum for their land institute, and has taught college-level courses such as Environmental Law and Land Tenure Issues. Pursuing her interest in land tenure issues, Emily worked as the Deputy Director of Policy and Research for the Tribal Land Enterprise. She also serves as a consultant for Sicangu Child and Family Services, the social services agency of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe.
Emily has also been a legal researcher for the Utton Transboundary Resource Center and the Skokomish Indian Nation. Emily is a member of the Aske Tiospaye of the Sicangu Lakota, and she was born and raised on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota.