Pierce Hickerson Award

• About the Pierce Hickerson Award
• Award Eligibility and Criteria
• Award Nomination Process
• Pierce Hickerson Nomination Information Sheet (msword, 75 Kb)

About the Pierce Hickerson Award

The National Legal Aid & Defender Association is pleased to announce the creation of the Pierce-Hickerson Award to recognize outstanding contributions to the advancement or preservation of Native American rights. The inaugural Pierce-Hickerson Award will be given at NLADA’s Annual Conference in November. The award was created by advocates in civil legal assistance programs to honor the legacies of two outstanding advocates who devoted their life’s work to the pursuit of justice for Native Americans.

Julian Pierce was a Lumbee Indian who served as executive director of Lumbee River Legal Services in Pembroke, North Carolina from 1978 until 1988. He was murdered after resigning to run for Superior Court Judge. Pierce’s energetic representation of Native Americans across the state, particularly in pursuit of federal recognition for the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation, continue to inspire advocates in North Carolina and throughout the nation.

Robert K. Hickerson, as director of the Oklahoma Legal Services Center and the executive director of Alaska Legal Services, became recognized as one of the country’s leading voices in pursuing equal justice for Native Americans. Hickerson’s forceful advocacy on their behalf led to significant victories for a variety of tribes in Oklahoma and for indigent Alaskans and their tribes. He died in 2001.

We invite you to nominate exceptional colleagues.

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Award Eligibility and Criteria

To qualify for consideration, the nominee must be a provider of legal representation, in either civil or criminal matters, to low-income Native Americans or tribes. The nominee does not have to be an attorney to be eligible for the award. Current members of the NLADA Board of Directors, Policy Groups, Conference Committee and staff are not eligible for consideration.

The nominee must meet one or more of the following criteria:

• The advocate has provided extraordinary and successful legal advocacy on behalf of clients who could not otherwise afford counsel;
• The advocate has significantly advanced the cause of equal justice for individual Native Americans or tribes; and
• The advocate exemplifies, through his or her record of exceptional advocacy, leadership and dedication, the very best the equal justice community has to offer.

Award Nomination Process

The deadline for receipt of all award nominations and their supporting documents is Tuesday, October 1. Your nomination must be submitted in a timely manner for consideration. Acknowledgement of receipt of nominations will be sent via e-mail. The nominations will be reviewed and a committee will make award decisions. All decisions of the committee will be final and binding.

Announcement letters will be mailed in October. The winner will be recognized at NLADA’s Annual Conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on November 15, 2002. The winner (or their designated representative) will be invited to attend the formal presentation. NLADA does not underwrite the cost of travel to the conference to accept the award.

The nomination should be on 8 ˝ x 11-inch paper. Each nomination must include the nomination information sheet and a letter of nomination. The nomination information sheet can be found here or by calling Aiyana Bullock at (202) 452-0620 x207 and a copy will be faxed to you. The nomination may also include any of the optional documents.

The Letter of Nomination should include the following:

• Name of the award for which the nominee is a candidate.
• Explanation of how the nominee fits the enumerated criteria.
• A detailed description of the nominee’s achievements.
• Outstanding events or work beyond the call of duty.
• Information about the impact of the nominee’s achievements on the client community, the community in general, or the development of law in the jurisdiction.

The Optional Documents include the following:

• Letters of Support (no more than three). These should not be as detailed as the nomination letter, and should address the nominee’s impact on the letter writer or the nominee’s community. Letters of Support should not exceed one page each.
• Other Supporting Documents (limited to 10 pages). These may include newspaper clippings, other publicity received, awards received or other supporting materials. Additional documents must be limited to 10 pages.
• Nominee’s Resume.

Nomination packets must be received in the NLADA office by Tuesday, October 1, 2002.

Applications should be mailed to:

You may also submit nominations by e-mail to Training@nlada.org

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