Sherri Thomas

Assistant Director, Collection & Systems

Associate Dean of Institutional Climate & Equity

Professor

(505) 277-2228
Office 1311
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

As the Assistant Director of the UNM Law Library, Sherri Thomas coordinates collection management and leads the Library Systems Group of the Law Library. She engages in management of the print and electronic collections and provides reference services to Law School students, staff, faculty, and the public. In addition to teaching the required Legal Research course, Professor Thomas created and teaches the two-credit-hour Indian Law Research course, frequently leads legal research workshops focused on specific legal topics and also presents on substantive areas of law, including Federal Indian, Tribal and Copyright Law.

Professor Thomas is Black and American Indian, and she grew up on the Dine (Navajo) Reservation. Her life in Indian country and her status as an enrolled Tiwa (Taos Pueblo) member have cultivated her concerns and interest in Indian law, history, and current indigenous issues.

Before graduating from the UNM School of Law in 2005 with a certificate in Indian Law, she worked as the Information Manager for Environmental Risk Analysis, Inc., a bio-litigation consulting firm, in San Mateo, CA. She also worked as a Database Specialist and Cataloger for Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati, PC, based in Palo Alto, CA.

Community Engagement

American Association of Law Libraries (AALL)
Southwestern Association of Law Libraries (SWALL)
UNMSOL Academic Success Committee
UNMSOL Indian Law Committee

Publications & Contributions

Academic & Professional Journals

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

Digital Treaties Workshops, part of National Archives and Museum of Indian Arts and Culture Native American Treaties Digitization Project (2020). View the Workshops Online.

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).