MEET RORY

 
 
 

RORY WHEELER

Seneca Nation/Mandan, Hidatsa & Arikara Nation

MICHIGAN STATE university College of Law

Class of 2025

Rory Wheeler is a citizen of the Seneca Nation, Turtle Clan, and a descendant of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. He is a JD Candidate at Michigan State University College of Law, where he is a Dean’s Leadership Fellow and President of the Native American Law Students Association.

In addition to National NALSA, Rory serves as a Board Member for the Association on American Indian Affairs, the Community Advisory Board Member for the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Department of Indigenous Cancer Health, a law student advisor to the State Bar of Michigan American Indian Law Section, and a Karen Hastie Williams Leadership Fellow with the District of Columbia Bar. Previously, he served as the Vice President of United National Indian Tribal Youth (UNITY), Youth Commission Co-President with the National Congress of American Indians, Health Policy Fellow with the National Indian Health Board, Vice Chairman for the Center for Native American Youth Advisory Board, and worked in government/legislative affairs, public safety, natural resources, and gaming for the Seneca Nation. During law school, Rory was a policy/legal fellow to United States Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and a law clerk in the Executive Office of Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan.

 Rory graduated from Niagara University with a BA in Political Science Before law school, Rory attended the Pre-Law Summer Institute hosted by the American Indian Law Center, Inc. at the University of New Mexico School of Law. In addition, he served his community as a volunteer firefighter, emergency medical technician, and an elected law enforcement officer.