Arlinda Locklear

North Carolina · born or raised South Carolina · connectedBorn 1951

American lawyer

Born in Fort Bragg
Studied at College of Charleston
Studied at Duke University
Studied at Duke University School of Law

Quotations with a citation

You have a place in this universe when you are Indian – a physical, cultural, genealogical place. It doesn’t matter where you actually are, that’s your place.

At the movies in Lumberton, whites sat downstairs, blacks sat on one side of the balcony and Indians on the other. The Indian-only schools were under-funded. Even at age 12, I recognized that this was not just individual discrimination, it was government-sanctioned discrimination, and was unacceptable. I knew early on that I wanted to become a lawyer and work to change this.

This fight has been going on for 100 years; it may just be my job to bridge it to the next generation

Practicing Indian law really seems to be a long game. I have a lot of the same clients from years ago. For example, I’ve represented my water client for 35 years now because these things take time. Like the Lumbee recognition bill, it’s just a question of sticking to it and trying to get things done.

I think they watched me over the years and said, ‘Oh my goodness, I don’t know why Mom keeps beating her head against some of these stone walls.’ But every now and then there’s a crack.