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Precious Benally
Director, New Jersey Center for Indigenous Justice, College of Humanities and Social Sciences
- Office:
- Dickson Hall 411
- Email:
- benallyp@montclair.edu
- vCard:
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Profile
Precious Benally (she/her) is the Director of the New Jersey Center for Indigenous Justice. Through community collaboration and tribal partnerships, she works closely with colleagues in the Native American and Indigenous Studies program to create educational environments that honor, support, and highlight Indigenous perspectives and knowledge. Bringing to this role her lived experience as an indigenous woman (Diné/Navajo) and her expertise in program development and tribal justice, Precious is dedicated to cultivating interdisciplinary learning communities while nurturing and strengthening relationships with tribal partners and tribal communities in New Jersey .
Prior to joining the New Jersey Center for Indigenous Justice, Precious was a tribal law and policy consultant providing indigenous nation-building support to Native Nations, tribal communities, and federal and state agencies, focusing on issues related to tribal economic development, justice system enhancement, traditional dispute resolution, and intergovernmental collaboration.
Precious is also teaches the Native American Law seminar at both Columbia and Brooklyn Law schools, as well as the NAIS 101 class at Montclair State.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Dartmouth College in Native American Studies and Philosophy, and a Juris Doctorate from Columbia Law School. Raised in the Four Corners area of New Mexico, she is a citizen of the Diné (Navajo) Nation.
Specialization
Federal Indian Law and Policy; Tribal law and justice; traditional/indigenous and alternative forms of dispute resolution; problem-solving and justice-related program development