Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren gave the following statement on the passing of U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor:
On behalf of the Navajo Nation, today I offer my sincere condolences to the friends and family of the late U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. Justice O’Connor died in Phoenix on Friday at the age of 93.
Justice O’Connor was born in Arizona and spent her childhood riding horses and ranching on her family’s Lazy B, a 250-square-mile cattle ranch along the Arizona-New Mexico border.
At age 10, Justice O’Connor went to school in El Paso, Texas. When she was 16 she enrolled at Stanford University and stayed until graduating from its law school third in her class.
The United States has lost a judicial trailblazer and extraordinary and gentle woman who was not afraid to push boundaries as the first woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Her appointment came in 1981 with the retirement of Justice Potter Stewart. President Ronald Reagan appointed her to the Supreme Court despite opposition within the White House staff.
During her 24 years on the bench, she ruled on numerous Indian law cases. These ranged from taxation to treaty rights to religious freedom.
As a young woman, Justice O’Connor was elected to the Arizona Senate. She became the Senate majority leader, and then was appointed a state trial judge and a state appellate court judge.
In 2006, the Arizona State University law school was renamed to the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. Many of our Navajo legal professionals and law students earn their law degree there, including Navajo Nation First Lady Jasmine Blackwater-Nygren.
In 2009, Justice O’Connor was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for paving the way for other women to join the Supreme Court like Justices Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.
Justice O’Connor’s long legacy includes the distinction that when she was confirmed on the high court, states across the country began placing more women on their own supreme courts.
Her presence made a difference that will continue. We honor the memory of the late U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.
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