Frank Bibeau Profile Photo

Tribal Lawyer

A self-described free-range tribal attorney, Frank Bibeau is a member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, is enrolled at the White Earth Chippewa Reservation, and lives on the Leech Lake Chippewa Reservation. After earning his law degree, Frank worked extensively with Chippewa treaty rights, civil rights, and sovereignty law on and off the reservation. More recently, Frank has worked closely with the Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights to develop the "Rights of Manoomin," a Rights of Nature-based law for the White Earth Reservation to protect a native species of wild rice that holds special cultural and environmental significance to the Chippewa.

60
Dec. 23, 2025

Sticky Lawyers Looks Back: The Crusaders

What drives a lawyer to fight legal battles that others won't, to challenge an unacceptable status quo, or course-correct alarming trends? They may not be lucrative or glamorous causes. So why do it? Because it's the right thing to do. This special compilation episode celebrates the crusaders—Sticky Lawyers who aren't practicing law for a paycheck. A greater mission drives them. These are lawyers who looked at injustices and troubling circumstances around them and said, "This is wrong, and I'm going to try and fix it." Listen in to hear from eleven crusaders fighting for civil rights, environmental protection, the rights of sexual assault survivors, election integrity, animal rights, indigenous sovereignty, rural access to justice, and more. Their individual efforts create transformation on a much larger scale. The work may never be done, and the rewards are a series of small wins on the way to lasting change.
32
Oct. 12, 2023

A Tribal Lawyer Who Champions the Rights of Nature

Frank Bibeau’s life as a member of the Anishinaabe or Ojibwe people in northern Minnesota has largely been governed by his reservation’s tribal laws and customs. And manoomin—or wild rice—plays a central role in his culture as a primary food that requires protection. But what happens when the tribe’s right to manoomin is threatened by state and federal laws or industry? Another sticky lawyer is born. After years as a state employee and journalist, Frank earned a law degree to find novel ways to help indigenous people maintain their rights. Thinking outside the box, he focused on creating written tribal codes and rights of nature that could be examined in U.S. courts and influence how environmental practices are managed. Listen as he tells his fascinating tale of taking on big government and corporations.
Guest: Frank Bibeau