Charles Dolson: Improving Indian Country From the Top Down
Charles Dolson '14
Charles Dolson ’14 became a lawyer because he wanted a larger voice, one that would be heard on the issues that impact the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians. As the band’s executive administrator, the highest ranking nonelected tribal position, he has found that voice and is making a difference in the lives of tribal members.
Dolson’s job is to look at public policy questions and help tribal council members understand them and the options available to address them. It also involves issues that are less abstract and more concrete, such as violence and teen suicide. Since Dolson started his position last summer, a relative of a tribal council member was murdered, and a middle-school-aged boy committed suicide. For Dolson, it’s been a baptism by fire.
The council wanted to take a heavy-handed approach to the violence.
Through many conversations, Dolson explained that national research demonstrated that mandatory minimum sentences are not effective in deterring violence. “It was hard to say those things facing a crime victim’s family member,” Dolson said. “But I believed it was best for our community and for that family.”
After the student’s suicide, serious discussions broke out on these difficult topics. Dolson organized community meetings to discuss both suicide and violence. “When community members started meeting spontaneously, I knew we needed to act and act now,” Dolson said. “It was important to follow through when the community was engaged. Who knows if we’ll have this opportunity again?”
Dolson always has worked against violence. He joined the Marines after high school, serving in the presidential helicopter squadron under President Bill Clinton. Then he attended the police academy and served on the Paul Bunyan Drug Task Force. Eventually he left to go to college and, ultimately, law school.
He chose the UST School of Law because his first interactions with the community made a big impression on him. He said that the admissions staff was friendly and helpful, and while he was touring the building, former Assistant Dean Dave Bateson introduced himself and encouraged Dolson to call him anytime. “It just felt like, ‘This is where you belong,’” Dolson said. “It turned out to be the right decision.”
For Dolson, Slattery, Ellis, Ratnayake and a myriad of other UST School of Law alumni, seeing the impact of their work on the people it benefits makes their efforts worthwhile. As Slattery expressed, “At the end of my life, I want to know I have used the opportunities I was given – including a UST education laced with conversations about values – to make the world a little better.”
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