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Former Cherokee Nation AG nominated for federal judgeship in Oklahoma

KOSU | By Allison Herrera

Published October 19, 2023 at 6:00 AM CDT

Sara Hill, Cherokee Nation Attorney General, speaks during the "ᏣᎳᎩ: Wherever We Are, Aftermath of McGirt Edition" virtual program in 2022.

President Joe Biden is nominating the former Cherokee Nation Attorney General to serve as a federal judge in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma.

This is President Biden's fourth Native American judicial nominee and if confirmed, Hill would be the first Indigenous woman to serve as a federal judge in Oklahoma.

She recently served as the Cherokee Nation's Attorney General under current Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. Her office prosecuted thousands of cases and implemented huge changes within the tribal nation's criminal justice system in the aftermath of the landmark McGirt v. Oklahoma decision.

In addition to serving the Cherokee Nation as their Attorney General, Hill was the secretary of natural resources for the tribal nation as well as deputy attorney general.