Whitney Gravelle

Guest Author

Whitney Gravelle is a citizen of the Bay Mills Indian Community “Gnoozhekaaning” (Place of the Pike) in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. After graduating from Michigan State University College of Law in 2016 with a Juris Doctorate and a certificate from the Indigenous Law Program, Whitney worked for the Department of Justice with the Environment and Natural Resource Division in the Indian Resource Section, where she worked on cases related to the scope of tribal lands and jurisdiction, treaty rights, and the protection of lands held in trust for tribes and individual Indian lands. Whitney has also served as Chief Judge of Bay Mills Tribal Court where she worked on transforming restorative justice within her community, and again as In-House Counsel and attorney for Bay Mills Indian Community where she worked on a variety of legal issues that impact Indian Country, including the Indian Child Welfare Act. Currently, Whitney serves as President of the Executive Council on behalf of Bay Mills Indian Community; and sits serves as Chair of the Department of Interior’s Secretary’s Trial Advisory Committee and Commissioner on the Michigan Advisory Council on Environmental Justice.