Nicole Friederichs

Biography

Nicole Friederichs directs the Human Rights and Indigenous Peoples Clinic and teaches Federal Indian Law. The Clinic serves the native nation building needs of Tribal Nations, working with government leaders, attorneys, elders and tribal court judges to strengthen government structures and tribal laws. Additionally, the Clinic works with Indigenous communities and organizations to develop and implement international human rights advocacy strategies to address ongoing human rights violations.

Under Nicole’s leadership, the Clinic and partner organizations won a major case before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in 2021 on behalf of indigenous communities in Guatemala seeking to operate community radio stations. The case addresses the freedom of expression, cultural and media rights of Indigenous Peoples, and in its judgment, the Court ordered the State of Guatemala to reform its laws to ensure that Indigenous communities have access to radio frequencies to operate their own community radio stations. Today, the Clinic, along with its partners in Guatemala, are working to implement the Court’s judgment.

Prior to joining Suffolk, Nicole practiced federal Indian law and international human rights law working on a range of cases, including jurisdictional cases between Native American tribes and New England states, and Indigenous Peoples’ property rights cases before international and regional human rights bodies.

Education

• BA, Mount Holyoke College
• Dipl., London School of Economics
• JD, Suffolk University
• LLM, University of Arizona

Publications

Articles

• The Growing List of Reasons to Amend the Maine-Indian Jurisdictional Arrangement, 75 MAINE L. REV. 331 (2023)
• A Reason to Revisit Maine's Indian Claims Settlement Acts: The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, 35 AM. INDIAN L. REV. 497 (2011) 

Books

• Elgar Concise Encyclopedia of Law and Indigenous Rights (forthcoming in 2027)

Other Publications

• Op. Ed.: Congress Should Fix Law Harming Tribes in Maine, Bangor Daily News, Dec. 1, 2022
• Contributor, Written Submissions, Case of the Maya Kaqchikel Indigenous Peoples of Sumpango et al. v. Guatemala, Inter-American Court of Human Rights (2020)

Media

• Congress should fix law harming tribes in Maine, Bangor Daily News, Dec. 1, 2022.

Awards & Honors

• Columbia University, Columbia Global Freedom of Expression Prize, Excellence in Legal Services, 2024
• Social Change Award presented by the Suffolk Law School Student Bar Association in 2022