White Earth Nation Descendant Appointed to Minnesota Supreme Court

Today, Governor Mark Dayton announced his appointment of the Honorable Anne K. McKeig who is a descendant of White Earth Nation as Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. Judge McKeig will replace Associate Justice Christopher J. Dietzen, who will be retiring at the end of August.

Governor Dayton says that Judge Anne McKeig has served the people of Minnesota admirably throughout her distinguished career, including as Presiding Judge of the Family Court in Minnesota’s Fourth Judicial District. Governor Dayton went on to say that Judge McKeig has worked honorably to ensure justice for some of Minnesota’s most vulnerable people, with her strong dedication to Indian Child Welfare and her work leading the Fourth District Family Court.

Governor Dayton thanked Justice Dietzen for his dedicated service to the State of Minnesota, especially for his service on the Supreme Court, where he has served as Associate Justice since 2008.

Judge McKeig has served as a District Court Judge in the Fourth Judicial District since her appointment in 2008 by Governor Pawlenty, and is the current Presiding Judge in Family Court. Previously, she worked as an Assistant Hennepin County Attorney in the Child Protection Division for over 16 years, where she specialized in Indian Child Welfare cases.

Judge McKeig is currently an adjunct professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, a trainer for the Minnesota Department of Human Services, past chair and current board member of the Board of the Division of Indian Work, and a member of the Speakers Bureau for the National Child Protection Training Center. She is also a frequent speaker at many local and national conferences on the issue of Indian Child Welfare.

Judge McKeig earned her B.S. from the College of St. Catherine and her J.D. from Hamline University School of Law.