Kirsten Gerbatsch joins NARF as a Fellow in our Boulder office. Kirsten brings with her a deep dedication and many years of nonprofit, advocacy, and campaign work on Indian law, legislative action, and state-tribal policy advocacy. Among her diverse experiences, she has served as Deputy Director of Communications and Outreach for the Montana Budget and Policy Center, a clerk at Earthjustice’s Northern Rockies office, and a legal intern at the U.S. Department of Interior Office of the Solicitor, Division of Indian Affairs.

Most recently, she was a judicial clerk for the Honorable Chief Judge Brian M. Morris in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana. She also serves as the Native American Resources Committee Written Content Vice Chair for the American Bar Association Section of Environment Energy and Resources.

Kirsten decided to study Federal Indian Law because of her experiences lobbying alongside and on behalf of tribal advocates in the Montana legislature. She is inspired by the significant contributions made by—as well as ongoing challenges faced by— tribal nations and Native communities in the state. It is her desire to be a highly effective advocate to hold governments accountable. At NARF, Kirsten is harnessing that inspiration and experience in her work to address a broad range of issues to protect Native rights and tribal sovereignty through litigation and resource development.

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Education

• Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana, J.D. with Honors & Pro Bono Honors
  • Conference Editor of the Public Land and Resources Law Review
  • Certificate in Indian Law
  • Certificate in Natural Resources & Environmental Law
  • Montana Public Interest Scholar
  • Wyss Scholar for Conservation in the American West
  • William S. Frost & Maylinn Smith Award for Exceptional Work in the Margery Hunter Brown Indian Law Clinic
  • Edward A. Cremer III Award for the Best Environmental Law Research Paper
  • National NALSA Moot Court Semifinalist & 2nd Overall Best Advocate
  • National Environmental Moot Court Quarter-Finalist
• Reed College B.A. History
• American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy & Resources Leadership Development Program (2022-23)

Admissions to Practice

• U.S. District Court for the District of Montana
• Montana

Publications

• Treaty-Based Climate Change Claims: Litigation Pathways in the Face of Cultural Devastation, 45 Public Land and Resources Law Review 155 (2022)
• Beyond Culverts: Treaty-Based Claims to Restore Usual & Accustomed Fishing Grounds, ABA Section on Environment, Energy & Resources Native American Resources (2022)