The Goldmark Luncheon celebrates 40 years of advocacy by the Legal Foundation of Washington
By Sunitha Anjilvel
Greetings from your Bar president! In the midst of this deep winter, Feb. 14 was a love note to civil legal aid at the Goldmark Luncheon, an event celebrating over 40 years of advocacy by the Legal Foundation of Washington (LFW). The event could not have come at a better moment for many. In this time of growing uncertainty and shifting landscapes in our nation and our state, many struggle to find a hopeful, positive path forward. Mercifully, a beacon of hope was visible at the Goldmark Luncheon, by way of a call to action from keynote speaker Bree Black Horse, the first MMIP (Murdered or Missing Indigenous Peoples) assistant U.S. attorney for the Northwest Region.
For some background, the LFW is the fruit of a seed created by a Washington Supreme Court rule in 1984 which provided that the funds from IOLTAs should be given to a foundation dedicated to civil legal aid. Forty years later, the LFW is a full-fledged organization that distributes nearly $30 million annually to over 60 agencies and organizations that provide legal services. Cumulatively, the LFW has granted over $300 million to legal aid organizations across Washington that have, in turn, served thousands of unrepresented clients. This year the foundation established the Native American and Tribal Communities Grant wherein nearly $5 million will be allocated to a variety of Tribal governments and nonprofit organizations that serve Indigenous people across the state.
In her address, Bree Black Horse delivered a powerful message about facing the future bravely and with purpose. Urging her audience to take an “Indigenous perspective,” Black Horse spoke of the deep-seated socioeconomic inequities that challenge Indigenous communities such as high poverty rates, high-school dropout rates, and low life-expectancy rates. But as Black Horse points out, the Indigenous perspective or response to inequity is one that was and is imbued with active imperatives of resistance and advocacy.
Black Horse pointed to the tragic history of separating Indigenous children from their families:
By 1926, over 80 percent of all Indian school-age children were attending a federally funded residential boarding school. Fifteen of those boarding schools operated here, in Washington. … During the termination era of the 1950s and 60s, our Native children were again targeted by renewed civilization and assimilation efforts. It’s estimated that between 25 and 35 percent of Indian children were removed from their Tribal families during the termination era. In response, Tribal leaders and organizations advocated for the passage of the Indian Child Welfare Act [ICWA] which was signed into law by President Carter in 1978. This law codifies and protects the right of Native children to remain in their Tribal families and in their Tribal communities. When ICWA was challenged in 2018, hundreds of Tribal Nations and Native organizations stood up for our families in the courtroom and this advocacy led to the affirmation of the constitutionality of ICWA by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2023.
Black Horse ended her address by delivering a message of optimism and hope:
Do not be disheartened just because the circumstances you now face are unprecedented. Do not lose faith in our political and legal systems just because you see injustices. If Indigenous people had given up in the face of unprecedented government efforts to remove, assimilate, and terminate us, if we had not advocated in our political and legal systems in the face of injustice, we would not be here. I would not be standing before you.
The efforts of pro bono service organizations such as the LFW and the entities they support are examples to us all of the unifying power of community. By engaging law firms, big and small, in the process of fundraising and volunteerism, the LFW not only realizes its purpose of expanding access to justice in our state but also expands the concept of legal community itself. The LFW’s inclusion and support of Tribal communities is a positive step.
Let Bree Black Horse’s words ring true for us all. In these challenging times, we need to refrain from the temptation to be disheartened and to lose faith in our legal system. Let us continue to honor the values of building community and supporting service to others. Let us continue to advocate for due process and fairness for all Washingtonians. The promise of justice for all deserves nothing less.
About the author
Sunitha Anjilvel is the 2024-2025 WSBA president.
This article is reprinted from the March, 2025 issue of Washington State Bar News with the permission of the Washington State Bar Association. Any other use of this material without the express written permission of the Washington State Bar Association is prohibited.