Judge Korey Wahwassuck

Judge Korey Wahwassuck served as a tribal court judge for the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Tribal Court from 2006 until 2013 when she was appointed by Governor Mark Dayton to serve as a Minnesota District Court Judge for the Ninth Judicial District. Previously, Judge Wahwassuck served as a Kansas Supreme Court Certified Mediator, and practiced law for 15 years, specializing in Indian law, child welfare, and juvenile delinquency.

Judge Wahwassuck was a founding member of the first Joint Tribal-State Jurisdiction Wellness Courts in the nation, and authored “The New Face of Justice: Joint Tribal-State Jurisdiction” for the Washburn Law Journal and “Building a Legacy of Hope: Perspectives on Joint Tribal-State Jurisdiction” for the William Mitchell Law Review. Judge Wahwassuck is also a member of Project T.E.A.M. (“Together Everyone Achieves More,”) helping other jurisdictions create tribal-state collaborative courts of their own.

Judge Wahwassuck served as a member of the Minnesota Supreme Court's Drug Court Initiative Advisory Committee and Minnesota Supreme Court’s Racial Fairness Committee, and the Safe Harbor Statewide Model Protocol Judges Work Group, and currently serves on the Committee for Equality and Justice, Chairs the Ninth District Equal Justice Committee, and serves on the Children’s Justice Initiative Lead Judges Workgroup and as a member of the Minnesota Tribal Court/State Court Forum. Judge Wahwassuck also served as a member of the Board of Directors for the National Association of Drug Court Professionals, and was a member of Tribal Advisory Committee to the Indian Law and Order Commission. Judge Wahwassuck serves on the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges’ Tribal Leadership Forum, and previously served on the NCJFCJ’s Tribal Court Committee and as an Advisory Member of NCJFCJ Diversity Committee.

Judge Wahwassuck earned her bachelor's degree and JD from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She has taught courses on Native American Spirituality and Sovereignty, Treaty Rights and Tribal Sovereignty, Tribal Court-State Issues, and Juvenile Delinquency Guidelines at Penn Valley Community College in Kansas City, Missouri, Leech Lake Tribal College, the National Judicial College, and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. Judge Wahwassuck also serves as a trainer for the state of Minnesota on subjects ranging from the Indian Child Welfare Act to creating trauma-responsive justice systems.