Sherri Thomas
Assistant Director, Collection & Systems
Director of the Law and Indigenous Peoples Program
Professor
(505) 277-2228
Office 3329B
thomas [at] law.unm.edu
Education
A.A.S. 1993, San Juan College
B.A. 1996, Fort Lewis College
J.D. with a Certificate in Indian Law 2005, UNM School of Law
Profile
Professor Sherri Nicole Thomas is the Director of the Law and Indigenous Peoples Program (LIPP) and Assistant Director of the Law Library at the University of New Mexico School of Law (UNMSOL), where she also serves as co-Faculty Advisor for the Tribal Law Journal. In her library role, she coordinates collection management, oversees print and electronic resources, leads the Library Systems Group, and provides research support to students, faculty, staff, and the public.
Professor Thomas teaches required Legal Research courses and developed a specialized two-credit Indian Law Research course. She frequently leads workshops and presents on topics including Federal Indian Law, Tribal Law, Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Advocacy. She also teaches Advocacy in the American Indian Law Center’s Pre-Law Summer Institute (PLSI). From 2019 to 2024, she served as Associate Dean of Institutional Culture and Equity (ADICE) at UNMSOL. In that role, she served on the New Mexico Supreme Court Commission on Equity and Justice, the UNM Diversity Committee, and continues her service as a member of the UNM Liaisons for Excellence, Innovation, and Development (LEID) Council.
Her recent university service includes leadership in two major initiatives led by the UNM Policy Office from 2023 to 2025: (1) serving as a group leader on the Policy Equity and Inclusion Taskforce, which reviewed all University Administrative Policies for accessibility and equity in alignment with UNM 2040, and (2) proposing and facilitating a Law Library/Policy Office collaboration in which library staff and post-doctoral fellows reviewed policies for outdated links, statutes, and legal references. She currently serves on the UNM Policy Review Committee.
Professor Thomas’s scholarly work and service have been widely recognized. In 2021, the Society of American Archivists awarded the C.F.W. Coker Award to the Indigenous Digital Archive Treaties Explorer, recognizing her contributions to developing innovative tools that improve access to historical records. In 2024, she was honored as a PLSI Champion by the American Indian Law Center for her longstanding dedication to the program. She was also acknowledged by the editors of the 22nd edition of The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation for her contributions to creating a citation rule addressing Tribal legal materials.
Professor Thomas is Black and American Indian. She grew up on the Diné (Navajo) Reservation and is an enrolled member of Taos Pueblo. Before earning her J.D. and Indian Law Certificate from UNMSOL in 2005, she worked as an Information Manager at Environmental Risk Analysis, Inc., a bio-litigation consulting firm in San Mateo, California, and as a Database Specialist and Cataloger at Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati, PC, in Palo Alto, California.
Community Engagement
American Association of Law Libraries (AALL)
Southwestern Association of Law Libraries (SWALL)
UNMSOL Academic Success Committee
UNMSOL Indian Law Committee
Publications & Contributions
Books & Book Chapters
Premeditated Management: The Law Library as a Long-Term Project, Chapter in Inside the Minds: How to Manage a Law School Library, (Aspatore Books, 2008).
Academic & Professional Journals
Sovereignty and Citation: The Making of Rule 22 and the Recognition of Tribal Nations, AALL Spectrum, March/April 2026, pp. 16-20. Co-authored with Amber Kennedy Madole.
OCLC Update Session, 43 Technical Serv. L. Libr. (Sept. 2017) at 15-16.
I thought it was called “The Big Easy”, Impressions from the AALL Annual Meeting, 30 RIPS LIBRARIAN 6, Spring 2008.
Letter From the Chair, Native Peoples Law Caucus Newsletter Summer 2007, at 1.
Indian Law on State Bar Exams, Native Peoples Law Caucus Newsletter Summer 2007, at 4.
Developing specialized legal research instruction in Indian law, 29 RIPS LIBRARIAN 6, Spring 2007.
When the State Bar Exam Embraces Indian Law: Teaching Experiences and Observations, 82 N.D. L. Rev. 741 (2013). Co-authored with Gloria Valencia-Weber.
Presentations
November 14, 2025 – Native American Law and Sovereignty Institute Annual Native Law Symposium – Presenter, Saving the Sacred from the Profit: Indigenous Intellectual Property, Mitchell Hamline School of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota
October 10, 2025 – Utton Center CLE - Functional, Ethical & Environmental Considerations for Using Artificial Intelligence in Legal Practice – Co-presenter with Professors Matthew Murrell and Jennifer Laws
June through July 2025 American Indian Law Center, Pre-Law Summer Institute, (8-week Program) – Lead Advocacy Professor
June through July 2024 American Indian Law Center, Pre-Law Summer Institute, (8-week Program) – Lead Advocacy and Indian Law Professor
June 8, 2023 New Mexico Judicial Conclave – New Mexico FourSource: Legal Research in Four (sort of) Easy Steps – co-presenter with Logan Migliore
June through July 2023 American Indian Law Center, Pre-Law Summer Institute, (8-week Program) – Lead Advocacy and Indian Law Professor
American Association of Law Libraries Annual Meeting – July 16-19, 2022 – Denver, CO – Panelist - The Troubling Exclusion of Tribal Governments, Tribal Courts, Tribal Law, and Indigenous Knowledge from the Bluebook
June through July 2022 American Indian Law Center, Pre-Law Summer Institute, (8-week Program) – Lead Advocacy Professor
Pre-Law Summer Institute 55th Anniversary CLE – September 22-23, 2022, Isleta Pueblo, NM – Panelist - Who is Native American? Who Decides, and Why?
2021 National Trust for Historic Preservation, PastForward National Preservation Conference – November 2-5, 2021 Panels for “As Long as the Grass Grows and the Water Runs: Treaties with Native Nations and Their Relevance Today” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zl860bSFJ_o
June through July 2021 American Indian Law Center, Pre-Law Summer Institute, (8-week Program) – Lead Advocacy Professor
June through July 2020 American Indian Law Center, Pre-Law Online Summer Institute, (8-week Program) – Lead Advocacy Professor
University of New Mexico Institute for Public Law – Student Advocate Training - Reluctant Leadership – February 20, 2020
Legal Writing Institute – Dismantling the Separate but Equal Paradigm, December 6, 2019, Penn State’s Dickason Law School, Taking Collective Action to Integrate into the Law School Curriculum – co-presented with Michelle Rigual
December 10, 2019 – Treaties – What are they?
Session 1 defines what treaties represent and what they are designed for in the global context, and then focusing in on the significant structuring of Indian treaties in the United States.
December 11, 2019 – Indian Treaties – History
Continuing to build on the foundation of the previous session, Session 2 gives historical context to the relationship between the United States Government and Tribal Nations, and the role of Indian treaties in that relationship.
American Association of Law Libraries Webinar, November 14, 2019 - Implicit Bias in Legal Research Instruction – co-Panelist – Raquel Gabriel – Director, CUNY Law Library, Mike Martinez, Director of St. Mary’s Law Library, Ron Wheeler, Boston University Law School Library Director,
New Mexico State Bar – Bridging the Gap - Implicit Bias and Cultural Competency, October 19, 2019
June through July 2019 American Indian Law Center, Pre-Law Summer Institute, (8-week Program) – Lead Advocacy Professor
Southwest Association of Law Libraries Annual Conference – Little Rock, AK (April 13–15, 2019): Putting the “Person” back into “Personnel”: Emotional Intelligence in Law Libraries
9th Annual Tribal Leadership Conference: Transitions – Isleta Pueblo, NM (September 25, 2018) – Presented: Case Update
Western Law Professors of Color Conference, Las Vegas, NV (October 17-19, 2018) – Presented Working Paper: “The Tribal Law and Order Act’s Impact on Access to Tribal Law.”
Southwest Association of Law Libraries Conference – Houston, TX (April 6–7, 2018) – Presented: Putting the “Person” back into “Personnel”: Emotional Intelligence in Law Libraries
American Association of Law Libraries Annual Meeting (Austin, Texas, July 15-18, 2017) – Minority Teachers: Expectations, Experiences and Exultations – co-presenter with Raquel Gabriel, Anne Robbins, Ronald E. Wheeler (July 16, 2017).
September 22 and 23, 2015 – Case Law Update, 8th Annual Tribal Leaders Conference (TRANSITIONS: New Directions in Tribal Leadership) – Isleta Pueblo Resort and Casino, New Mexico
July 17, 2015 – The UNM Law Library: An Information Partner for You and Your Community, Administration for Native Americans Grant Program, Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico
September 17, 2014 – Case Law Update, 7th Annual Tribal Leaders Conference (TRANSITIONS: New Directions in Tribal Leadership) – Isleta Pueblo Resort and Casino, New Mexico
September 16, 2014 – Meeting the Legal Needs of Native American Children and Families in New Mexico--An open discussion of how the UNM School of Law can help recruit, train, and facilitate the placement of Native American lawyers to best serve Native American children and families, 7th Annual Tribal Leaders Conference (TRANSITIONS: New Directions in Tribal Leadership) – Isleta Pueblo Resort and Casino, New Mexico
Institute for American Indian Research – University of New Mexico (Albuquerque, New Mexico, February 20-21, 2014) – Moderator for 3 Panels: Authenticity and Indigeneity, Technology and Media, and Sovereignty, UNDRIP, & Concepts of Healing
September 24, 2013 – Case Law Update, 6th Annual Tribal Leaders Conference (TRANSITIONS: New Directions in Tribal Leadership) – Isleta Pueblo Resort and Casino, New Mexico
American Association of Law Libraries Annual Meeting (Seattle, Washington, July 13-16, 2013) – American Indian Law: Access and Collections – co-presenter with Catherine Kellett, Eugenia Newton, David Selden, Bob Anderson (July 15, 2013).
Southwest Association of Law Libraries – Annual Conference (Phoenix, Arizona, April 5-6, 2013) Mission Critical: Collection Development in Academic Law Libraries – co-presenter with Michelle Rigual
September 10, 2012 – Fundamental Skills for Tribal Court Clerks and Administrators - An Overview of Jurisdiction and the Indian Civil Rights Act (ICRA) and Due Process, Bureau of Indian Affairs Training Center, Albuquerque, NM
UNMSOL Faculty Colloquium (September 12, 2012) Half-Baked Ideas, Presented initial work on The Tribal Law and Order Act’s Impact on Access to Tribal Law (article-working title)
Fundamental Skills for Tribal Court Clerks and Administrators - An Overview of Jurisdiction and the Indian Civil Rights Act (ICRA) and Due Process, Bureau of Indian Affairs Training Center (Albuquerque, New Mexico September 10, 2012)
Fundamental Skills for Tribal Judges - An Overview of Jurisdiction and the Indian Civil Rights Act (ICRA) and Due Process, Bureau of Indian Affairs Training Center (Albuquerque, New Mexico, April 24, 2012)
June 2012 – Native American – Pre-Law Undergraduate Scholars Program (NA-PLUS) – University of New Mexico School of Law – Rhetoric, Reasoning and Writing
April 24, 2012 – Fundamental Skills for Tribal Judges - An Overview of Jurisdiction and the Indian Civil Rights Act (ICRA) and Due Process, Bureau of Indian Affairs Training Center, Albuquerque, NM
March 16, 2012 – American Indian Law Center Presents: The First Thirteen Symposium (Presentations from the first thirteen Native American attorneys to argue in front of the United States Supreme on the behalf of tribes), University of New Mexico School of Law, Albuquerque, NM
December 14, 2011 – Southwest Inter-Tribal Court of Appeals Quarterly Meeting – Presentation with Melanie Fritzsche on the Domestic Violence Virtual Courtroom and Case Law Update – The Santa Claran Hotel, Espanola, NM
November 18, 2011 – Southwest Inter-Tribal Court of Appeals Quarterly Meeting – Case Law Update
November 18, 2011 – Southwest Inter-Tribal Court of Appeals Quarterly Meeting – Presentation with Melanie Fritzsche on the Domestic Violence Virtual Courtroom
September 12, 2011 – Fundamental Skills for Tribal Court Administrators and Clerks - An Overview of Jurisdiction and the Indian Civil Rights Act (ICRA) and Due Process, Bureau of Indian Affairs Training Center, Albuquerque, NM
July 24-30, 2011 – Southeast Association of Law Schools Annual Meeting (Hilton Head Island, South Carolina) - Building Bridges: Realizing Our Common Goals across Faculty Roles while Understanding our Differences - Presenter (July 25, 2011)
July 19, 2011 – Sovereigns within a Sovereign Project (Law Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.) National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) and Law Library of Congress (LLOC) Meeting
June 24, 2011 – Southwest Inter-Tribal Court of Appeals Quarterly Meeting – Case Law Update
March 3, 2011 – Case Law Update, 4th Annual Tribal Leaders Conference (TRANSITIONS: New Directions in Tribal Leadership) – Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico
December 17, 2010 – Senior Law Section, Continuing Legal Education Class – Fundamentals of Online Legal Research
November 19, 2010 – Southwest Inter-Tribal Court of Appeals Quarterly Meeting – Appellate Rules of Procedure
September 8, 2010 – Transforming the Legal Profession: An Oral History Project (Antoinette Sedillo-Lopez) – Overview of Copyright Issues for the Freshman Learning Community Course
American Association of Law Libraries Annual Meeting (Denver, Colorado, July 11-13, 2010) – Pre-Conference Workshop on Tribal Law – Presenter (July 10, 2010); Reference, Instruction and Patron Services-Special Interest Section Program - Topical Forum: To Serve Man? Patron Services to the Disadvantaged During and after the Downturn – Panelist (July 12, 2010)
March 22-23, 2010 - Case Law Update: Sovereignty and Tribal Court Jurisdiction, 3rd Annual Tribal Leaders Conference (TRANSITIONS: New Directions in Tribal Leadership) – Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico
American Association of Law Libraries Annual Meeting (Washington D.C., July 25-28, 2009) – Panelist at the Diversity Symposium, presenting on the Native Peoples Law Caucus (July 25, 2009); Panelist on Legal Research Questions on the Bar Exam, presenting on Specialized Legal Research – Indian Law Class and how it can help preparation for state bar exams (July 26, 2009)
American Association of Law Schools Annual Meeting (San Diego, California, January 6-10, 2009) – Presenter for the Law and Anthropology Panel, Origins and Solutions to the Indian Freedmen Disputes, presented work-in-progress, Continual Existence: Enrollment Disputes and the Demise of Tribal Self-Determination – Podcast available at: http://turtletalk.wordpress.com/2009/01/21/podcast-on-indian-freedmen-panel-at-aals/
September 25, 2008 – Case Update, Southwest Indian Tribal Court of Appeals Quarterly Meeting (Laguna Pueblo, New Mexico).
Southwest Association of Law Libraries (Albuquerque, New Mexico, March 26-28, 2009) – Presenter for the Federal Indian Law: A Trip Through Indian Country Panel; Moderator for the Federal Judiciary Libraries Panel; Local Arrangements Committee
March 14, 2008 – Legal Research Skills in Indian for AILC Tribal Leadership: TRANSITIONS Conference, Tamaya Resort, Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico
October 18, 2007 – Adult Learning Theory: Possible Applications for Teaching Legal Research to Law Students
September 14, 2007 – Indian Law Resources for Native American Day at University Libraries.
Energy Water/Nexus Technology Innovation Workshop – (San Diego, California, May 9-11, 2006) - Selected as a facilitator for expertise in indigenous and tribal laws, issues, and governments
Southeast/Southwest People of Color Conference – Coalition Building Among Communities of Color in a Post "Integration" World (Santa Fe, New Mexico, April 6-9, 2006) – Presented in a Works in Progress Session: Convergence and Divergence: Historical and Legal Analysis of Relations Between Northeastern Tribes and African Slaves
February 8, 2006 - Native American Rights – Workshop on how to research indigenous law issues, identification of resources for domestic and international law (Gloria Valencia-Weber)
Energy Water/Nexus Western Workshop – (Salt Lake City, Utah, January 10-11, 2006) - Selected as participant for expertise in indigenous and tribal laws, issues, and governments
Energy Water/Nexus Eastern Regional Workshop – (Baltimore, Maryland, December 15-16, 2005) - Selected as participant for expertise in indigenous and tribal laws, issues, and governments
November 15, 16, 17, 2005 - San Juan College Business Law– Workshop outlining business law resources for the entrepreneur (Doug Coyner)
University of New Mexico 4th Annual Scholarly Communications Symposium (Albuquerque, New Mexico, November 1, 2005) – Dspace Poster Session: Libraries as Publishers, Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez, Indian Law Transcript
University of North Dakota Law Conference: The Pedagogy of American Indian Law (Grand Forks, North Dakota, October 13-14, 2006) – Presenter for the When the State Bar Exam Embraces Indian Law: Teaching Experiences and Observations panel
The UNM Law Library—An Information Partner for You and Your Community, Administration for Native Americans Grant Workshop for pueblo community library staffs (2015). Co-presented with Michelle Rigual.
Case Law Updates: Dollar General, Tribal Sovereignty, Child Custody, Tribal Court Jurisdiction, and Exhaustion of Tribal Remedies, 8th Annual Tribal Leadership Conference: Transitions (2015).
