Attorneys

Dr. Joseph K. Austin, Esq.

Managing Attorney & Owner

Joseph K. Austin, Esq.—known in many professional circles as “The Wolf of Indian Country”—is a Navajo attorney, appellate justice, legal scholar, and staunch advocate for tribal sovereignty and economic self-determination. A member of the Navajo Nation from the Chilchinbeto Chapter area, he was born and raised on the Navajo Reservation and has devoted his career to strengthening Native Nations through law, governance, nation building, and economic development.

Dr. Austin is the owner and managing attorney of The Law Office of Joseph Austin, Esq., a 100% Navajo-owned law firm duly registered in the Navajo Nation. Licensed to practice in New Mexico, Tohono O’odham Nation, and the Navajo Nation, he advises tribal governments, businesses, nonprofit organizations, entrepreneurs, and individuals on tribal law, federal Indian law, business and corporate matters, contracts, government procurement, reservation leasing, employment law, probate, and complex jurisdictional issues. His practice is particularly focused on helping clients navigate the overlapping tribal, federal, and state legal systems affecting commerce and governance in Indian Country.

Judicial Service

In addition to his private practice, Dr. Austin serves as Chief Justice for the Court of Appeals of the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe and as an Associate Justice of the FMYN Supreme Court and the SRPMIC Court of Appeals. In these roles, he presides over civil and criminal appeals, special actions, and extraordinary writ proceedings and contributes to the development of tribal jurisprudence and court rules.

Education and Scholarship

Dr. Austin earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management and a Juris Doctor with a Certificate in Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy from the University of Arizona College of Law. He also earned a Master of Laws in International Economic Law and Policy, with an emphasis on international trade, and a Doctor of Juridical Science. His doctoral research and dissertation—titled “The Sinking Flagship: the Rise and Fall of the Navajo Judicial System”—focused on Navajo common law, development of the Navajo court system, and the need to address deep, systematic issues of the Navajo judicial system.

Education Across Indian Country

Dr. Austin is also the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of The ACES School, an Indigenous founded and led 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that educates tribal leaders, professionals, entrepreneurs, and community members on Indian law and policy, governance, entrepreneurship, and economic development. He has been a featured presenter at law schools, bar associations, tribal conferences, and professional forums throughout the United States, speaking on topics such as Navajo common law, tribal courts, federal Indian law, business formation, government procurement, international trade, code reform, and economic development.

Through his legal practice, judicial service, scholarship, and educational work, Dr. Austin brings together cultural knowledge, courtroom experience, legal theory, and business training. His professional mission is to advance tribal sovereignty, strengthen Indigenous legal institutions, and create economic opportunities for Native Nations and their citizens.

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