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Tribal Court Appellate, Chief, & Associate Judges

Purpose of the Tribal Court

The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians Tribal Court serves as a court of general jurisdiction, handling a wide range of cases at the trial level.

These include civil, criminal, juvenile, traffic, Indian Child Welfare (ICW), minor trust and all other cases.

As a pivotal institution and separate branch of government for the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, the Tribal Court plays a vital role in delivering justice through the legal system for the Grand Traverse Band and its' community.

Tribal Court Appellate Judges

The Tribal Appellate Court hears appeals from decisions of the Tribal Court, and also makes policy decisions concerning the adoption of court rules, court policies, etc. The Tribal Appellate Court meets on a quarterly and as needed basis.

Chief Appellate Judge: Hon. Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Matthew L.M. Fletcher, ’97, is the Harry Burns Hutchins Collegiate Professor of Law and Professor of American Culture at the University of Michigan. He teaches and writes in the areas of federal Indian law, American Indian tribal law, Anishinaabe legal and political philosophy, constitutional law, federal courts, and legal ethics. He sits as the chief justice of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. He also sits as an appellate judge for the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, the Colorado River Indian Tribes, the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians, the Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians, and the Tulalip Tribes. 

Judge Fletcher previously taught at the Michigan State University College of Law (2006 to 2022) and the University of North Dakota School of Law (2004 to 2006). He has been a visiting professor at Arizona, Harvard, Michigan, Montana, UC Law San Francisco, and Stanford law schools. He is a frequent instructor at the Pre-Law Summer Institute for American Indian students. He is a member of the Grand Traverse Band.

He was lead reporter for the American Law Institute’s Restatement of the Law of American Indians, completed in 2022. He has published articles in the California Law Review, Michigan Law Review, Northwestern University Law Review, Yale Law Journal, and many others. He also authored a hornbook, Federal Indian Law (West Academic Publishing, 2016), and a concise hornbook, Principles of Federal Indian Law (West Academic Publishing, 2017). Judge Fletcher co-authored the sixth, seventh, and eighth editions of Cases and Materials on Federal Indian Law (West Publishing 2011, 2017, and forthcoming 2025) and three editions of American Indian Tribal Law (Aspen 2011, 2020, and 2024), the only casebook for law students on tribal law. He also authored Stick Houses: Stories (Michigan State University Press, 2025), Ghost Road: Anishinaabe Responses to Indian-Hating (Fulcrum Publishing, 2020), The Return of the Eagle: The Legal History of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians (Michigan State University Press, 2012), and American Indian Education: Counternarratives in Racism, Struggle, and the Law (Routledge 2008). He co-edited The Indian Civil Rights Act at Forty with Kristen A. Carpenter and Angela R. Riley (UCLA American Indian Studies Press, 2012) and Facing the Future: The Indian Child Welfare Act at 30 with Wenona T. Singel and Kathryn E. Fort (Michigan State University Press, 2009).  

Judge Fletcher’s scholarship and advocacy has been cited by several times by the United States Supreme Court. Finally, he is the primary editor and author of the leading law blog on American Indian law and policy, Turtle Talk.

He worked as a staff attorney for four Indian Tribes—the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, the Hoopa Valley Tribe, the Suquamish Tribe, and the Grand Traverse Band. He has sat on the judiciaries of the Hoopa Valley Tribe, the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Indians, the Santee Sioux Tribe of Nebraska, the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, and the Shoshone & Arapaho Courts of the Wind River Indian Reservation, and he served as a consultant to the Seneca Nation of Indians Court of Appeals.

Appellate Judge: Hon. JoAnne Cook

JoAnne Cook, is a member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. She graduated from Ferris State University with a Business Administration degree. She also graduated with a Juris Doctorate from University of Wisconsin School of Law. She previously taught Business Law for Northwestern Michigan College (NMC) and a course at NMC Extended Education course called History of the Anishinaabek.

Her professional experience with tribal courts began in 1993 during the organization and development of the Peacemaking Court and Healing to Wellness Court. Both courts utilize culture and tradition to restore balance and promote healing. Judge Cook served as the Associate Judge and Chief Judge for the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians for 9 years. She then worked for Michigan Indian Legal Services (MILS) as a staff attorney before serving as Chief Judge for the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians. In 2012, Judge Cook was elected and served one term on Tribal Council for the Grand Traverse Band of  Ottawa and Chippewa Indians.

Judge Cook also worked in the legal department for a tribe before returning to Tribal Court as an Appellate Court Judge for the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. She currently serves as Chief Judge for the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians and continues to support Tribal Courts and communities that are developing Peacemaking Courts. Judge Cook believes tradition and culture is vital to the Aniishinaabe way of life and has continued to grow and learn about the Three Fires people.

Appellate Judge: Hon. Matthew Massey

 

Tribal Court Chief Judge and Associate Judges

Chief Judge: Marc Roy

Chief Judge Marc Roy is a licensed attorney of more than 30 years’ experience and is a member of the Arizona State Bar Association, additional state and tribal bars, numerous federal courts including the United States Supreme Court where he was awarded a Fellowship by the National Association of Attorneys General earlier in his career.  He began his judicial experience as a local criminal court judge in Mississippi the first year out of law school and has augmented that experience with government service which has included supervising tribal relations, security, legal and infra-structure professionals for the US Department of Homeland Security in several capacities following Hurricane Katrina, work as Regional Director in the Office of the President of the United States in Gulf Coast Recovery, serving as Chief Judge of the Ute Tribe, setting up a newly authorized office as a tribal attorney general in South Dakota and appointments as a senior assistant attorney general and as a key member of the Governor’s staff in the US Territory of American Samoa.  His service there included an appointment as General Counsel and CEO (Acting) for the American Samoa Power Authority, the major construction, electric, water and environmental entity for the Territory.  His educational credentials include a BA in anthropology with an emphasis on Southwest archaeology from Texas Tech University, a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Mississippi College and a Master of Laws degree from the University of Nottingham in England.

Judge Roy has developed and taught leadership programs, criminal law courses and economic recovery seminars as a professor and faculty member at Tulane University and other universities.  He has served as a consultant or representative to other governments including Haiti, China and the independent state of Samoa. He has published articles on constitutional law and was recognized for his legal and management contributions in behalf of the public by a Proclamation from the City Council of New Orleans and in the Congressional Record and has received commendations from FEMA, DHS, the Governor of Mississippi and others for his work in behalf of criminal justice, infrastructure improvements and assistance to those in need.  He has served as a speaker and commentator on governmental policy, jail standards, law enforcement, disaster management and justice matters in interviews, presentations and televised appearances, such as C-Span, in this country and others.  He currently serves on the Finance Committee for the American Judges Association and as member at large on the Executive Committee for the Senior Division of the Arizona State Bar.

Judge Roy and his wife, Diane, who is also an attorney, very much enjoy hiking and restoring historically recognized properties.   

Associate Judge: Matthew Lesky

Associate Judge Matthew Lesky has been practicing the field of indigenous law from the beginning of his legal career. He was one of the first two individuals to graduate from the ILPC certificate program at Michigan State College of Law in 2005. Judge Lesky began his legal career in the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians (“LTBB”) Legal Department as in-house counsel. Following his time as in-house counsel, he served two terms as the Tribal Prosecutor for LTBB. After serving as Tribal Prosecutor, he went into private practice focusing on family law, criminal defense, child abuse and neglect, and juvenile delinquency. His work as a prosecutor and as a private attorney has given him a broad base of experience and perspectives that he brings to the bench. Judge Lesky is grateful for the opportunity to serve the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians (GTB) and is hopeful that his experience benefits the GTB community.

 

Resources

https://michigan.law.umich.edu/faculty-and-scholarship/our-faculty/matthew-lm-fletcher Copied with permission 12/8/2025

https://www.interlochen.org/news/local-indigenous-leader-joanne-cook-to-share-anishinaabe-art-and-culture-arts-academy-theatre