ST. PAUL - The Minnesota Supreme Court is set to welcome its first American Indian member, who will give the court its second female majority.
Gov. Mark Dayton on Tuesday announced his appointment of Anne K. McKeig, who has been a Hennepin County district court judge as well as presiding family court judge.
A White Earth Nation descendant, McKeig was raised in Federal Dam, a small community southeast of Bemidji. White Earth is in northwestern Minnesota.
She has spent a considerable amount of time dealing with American Indian issues, particularly child welfare.
"I grew up in rural Minnesota in challenging circumstances," McKeig wrote to Dayton before he interviewed her, and two others, for the job.
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"My passion for public services comes from seeing the enormous needs of my community," she added.
In a tear-filled speech after Dayton announced her appointment, the justice-to-be said: "Today is a historic day ... for all native persons."
She described her hometown of Federal Dam as "population 110, two bars, two stop signs, a lot of fishermen."
McKeig said she hopes that people in "the Federal Dams" of Minnesota realize with her appointment "that in Minnesota, the Supreme Court and all courts give access to everyone."
She is the second northern Minnesota native on the court. Chief Justice Lori Gildea came from Plummer, in the northwest.
While diversity is important on the court, Dayton said, "I wanted somebody who would be an outstanding justice."
"It can't help but inform," McKeig said when asked what her background would bring to her high court decisions. "It certainly does influence."
Her mother, who attended the announcement, was a Fulbright scholar raised in Bemidji and her father was "the blue collar, union man." He died of diabetes at age 61.
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McKeig graduated from the College of St. Catherine and received her law degree from Hamline University, both in St. Paul. She was an assistant Hennepin County attorney before then-Gov. Tim Pawlenty named her a judge in 2008.
She will fill an opening left when Justice Christopher Dietzen retired.
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By Don Davis, Forum News Service
