MacArthur 'genius' award sends law professor into the spotlight

Seven years ago, while she was being treated for breast cancer, Sarah Deer was invited to speak in Washington, D.C., by Amnesty International.

Her oncologist in Minnesota told her not to go. But Deer had just co-authored an Amnesty International report on sexual violence against American Indian women and didn't want to miss its debut.

"So I spoke at the press conference with my scarf over my bald head," she said. "When you're in the midst of a battle with cancer, there's no guarantee that you'll have another opportunity like that."

On Wednesday, though, she was back in the national spotlight — as one of 21 new recipients of a prestigious MacArthur Foundation Fellowship (or "Genius Grant").

Deer, 41, a professor at William Mitchell College of Law, was tapped for the MacArthur Fellowship — which comes with a $625,000 prize — for her work on behalf of victims of sexual violence on Indian reservations.

"Overwhelmed" is how she described herself Wednesday morning, just hours after the news broke.

As for how she'll spend the money, she said, "I'm still in the brainstorming phase."

The cash, which comes with no strings attached, will arrive in quarterly installments over the next five years.

But the national attention arrived instantaneously. "My Facebook page is blowing up," she said.

Deer, a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, has spent much of her career exploring the high rates of sexual violence against Indian women, and how the legal system has failed to protect them.

Historically, she says, federal law prohibited tribal courts from prosecuting non-Indians for crimes committed on reservations, and imposed so many other restrictions that many victims never sought help.

"I made a decision to go to law school to try to be part of a solution to what I saw as a human rights crisis," she said.

In the process, she also became a victims' advocate and activist.

"That's what I have so admired about Sarah," said Bonnie Clairmont, a longtime friend who worked with Deer at the Tribal Law and Policy Institute in St. Paul. "Her sense of compassion. [She] has been able to bring that perspective, bring that heart and soul into the work."

Deer was raised in Wichita, Kan., in a family with a tradition of breaking barriers.

Her grandfather, she says, was the first American Indian to serve in the Kansas Legislature; her father, now retired, was one of the first Indian state judges in Kansas.

"My grandfather was probably my biggest inspiration in my life," she said. He encouraged her work to help Indian women. And his favorite piece of advice, she said, was: "Roll with the punches."

Shortly after she moved to Minnesota, at age 33, she learned she had breast cancer. At the time, she was working on the Amnesty International report called "Maze of Injustice," about sexual violence and the tribal justice system.

"I remember many times her being really, really sick," said Clairmont, who worked with her on the report. But Deer kept insisting, "We have to do this, we can't stop."

Deer remembers doing much of the writing while bedridden.

She makes no apology for ignoring her doctor's warning about attending the Amnesty International conference. "My oncologist forgave me," she said with a laugh.

Now, seven years later, there's no evidence of the disease, she said.

Today, she chairs a federal advisory committee on sexual violence.

Her tireless advocacy has paid off. Twice, in 2010 and 2013, she stood beside President Obama as he signed new laws increasing the powers of tribal courts.

"The laws themselves I hope are making change," she said, "but we have attention now at the national level, which is priceless."

Deer said she learned two weeks ago that she'd won the MacArthur Fellowship, but was sworn to secrecy until Wednesday's announcement. (She says she told only her husband, Neal Axton, a fellow lawyer who is the research librarian at William Mitchell.)

So when MacArthur wanted to send a film crew into her classroom two weeks ago for a short video about her, she admits she bent the truth with her class.

"I told them a little white lie." She said that the crew was shooting a documentary about law professors.

She's hoping her students forgive her.

The MacArthur Fellowships, which started in 1981, are awarded every fall to a select group of "highly motivated, self-directed and talented people," such as artists, scientists and social activists, according to the MacArthur Foundation.

Maura Lerner • 612-673-7384