POP Talks 2025: Tribal Law Clinic as a path to justice and sovereignty
Jess Millward shows how law students gain hands-on experience in tribal courts
BY University of Idaho
Photography by Melissa Hartley and Leah Reitcheck; Videography by Visual Production
November 20, 2025
Lawyering isn't just about enforcing rules
In this POP Talk, Jess Millward, director of University of Idaho’s Tribal Law Clinic, explores how future lawyers can advance justice and sovereignty through the power of law. By guiding law students through real cases in Tribal and rural communities, Millward shows how legal education can be a powerful tool for justice and self-determination.
How Tribal Courts advance sovereignty and justice
Discover how law students at University of Idaho’s Tribal Law Clinic learn to advocate for real clients in tribal courts — building legal skills while honoring tribal sovereignty.
Jess Millward, J.D., LL.M., tribal law and legal advocacy
Millward is advancing justice and sovereignty through the power of law. She guides students in real-world legal work that reinforces Native American sovereignty and strengthens rural communities.
Millward’s work centers on tribal law, poverty law, health law and rural legal issues, blending hands-on experience with a passion for client-centered lawyering. Through teaching and clinic work, she’s shaping the next generation of lawyers ready to serve tribal nations.
POP Talks: The Power of Possibility
Every discovery begins with a story — a question, a spark, a moment of curiosity. At POP Talks, eight University of Idaho faculty annually invite you into their journeys of exploration, where challenges become opportunities and ideas reshape the world. These Power of Possibility Talks reveal the human side of research: the passion, persistence and creativity behind breakthroughs that matter. Listeners join researchers for an hour of stories that inspire and possibilities that transform.