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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 S. Roy is a licensed attorney whose experience now approaches 40 years in various capacities.  He is a member of the Arizona State Bar, additional state and tribal bar associations and numerous federal courts including the United States Supreme Court.  Earlier in his career, he was awarded a competitive fellowship by the Natl. Association of Attorneys General to the United States Supreme Court.

He began his judicial experience as a local criminal court judge in Mississippi the first year following his graduation from law school.  He has augmented that experience with further government service which has included executive roles supervising legal and infrastructure professionals, tribal relations negotiations, security of federal facilities including Michaud/NASA, and environmental protection following hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Chief Judge Roy also served in the Office of the President of the United States and US Department of Homeland Security as Regional Director for Gulf Coast Recovery.

Prior to coming to the Grand Traverse Band Tribal Court, he served in the role of Chief Judge of the Hopi Tribe in Arizona from 2021 through 2025 and in a similar position at the Ute Tribe.  He has led department change and reorganization as a tribal attorney and Attorney General for a branch of the Sioux in South Dakota and has previously advised other tribal entities about methods to improve federal relations.

In 2002-2005, Chief Judge Roy held successive appointments with the government of the Territory of the American Samoa as a senior Assistant Attorney General and as interim CEO/General Counsel of territorial utility authority. As Assistant Attorney General, he represented the territory in Washington, DC in meetings concerning criminal jurisdiction with then Secretary of Interior/Gale Norton and with then FBI Director / Robert Mueller.   While with the utility, he supervised major construction projects, procurement appeals, environmental regulatory actions, as well as electric and water services.  As part of his public service to the Territory, he obtained funding to support the preservation of native Samoan artifacts and archaeological data.

Chief Judge Roy has served as a consultant and 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 issued by the City Council of New Orleans.  He was recognized in the Congressional Record for service to the New Orleans Sheriff’s Department and served on a criminal justice advisory committee to the Louisiana Supreme Court.  It has been his privilege to receive commendations during the course of his career from diverse sources including FEMA, the US Dept. of Homeland Security, the Governor of Mississippi and others for his work in the areas of criminal justice, infrastructure improvements and the provision of assistance to those in need.

Chief Judge Roy’s academic credentials include a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) from Texas Tech University with an emphasis on archaeology, a Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.) from Mississippi College School of Law and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Intl. Commercial Law from the University of Nottingham in England. He has developed and taught leadership programs, criminal law courses and economic recovery seminars as a professor (full / part-time / adjunct) faculty member at institutions including Tulane University’s School of Law, Payson Center for International Development, School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine; Mississippi College School of Law and the University of Nottingham School of Law (Tutor in Criminal Law).

As a speaker and commentator on governmental policy, jail standards, law enforcement, disaster management and justice matters, Chief Judge Roy has given interviews, presentations and televised appearances in various venues, such as C-Span, in this country and others. He has been appointed previously to committees for the American Judges Association and the Arizona State Bar.

Chief Judge Roy and his wife, 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