Kristen A. Carpenter

Kristen A. Carpenter serves as Council Tree Professor of Law and Director of the American Indian Law Program at the University of Colorado Law School. She is a leading scholar in American Indian Law, Indigenous rights, cultural property, and human rights with extensive international engagement.

Professor Carpenter's research focuses on Indigenous peoples' rights in domestic and international contexts, with particular expertise in cultural property, religious freedom, language rights, and tribal sovereignty. Her work bridges legal theory with practical applications for Indigenous communities, examining how legal frameworks can better serve Indigenous self-determination and cultural preservation.

Her scholarship reveals a consistent trajectory toward strengthening Indigenous rights through multiple legal frameworks. Early work established foundational concepts in cultural property and religious freedom, while more recent publications address emerging challenges in language preservation, international diplomacy, and migration. A significant portion of her research examines the practical implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

• North American member of the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP), appointed in 2017
• Justice of the Shawnee Tribe's inaugural Supreme Court
• Regular speaker at UN forums including the International Year of Indigenous Languages kickoff
• Author of influential casebook Case and Materials on Federal Indian Law

Professor Carpenter actively engages with Indigenous communities through teaching, scholarship, and service. She directs the American Indian Law Program at Colorado Law, teaches courses in American Indian Law, Cultural Property Law, and Indigenous Peoples in International Law, and mentors students through the Native American Law Students Association. Her scholarship informs both academic discourse and practical legal strategies for Indigenous rights advocacy worldwide.