For Immediate Release:
July 18, 2024
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Alexandra Nagy, alexandra@sunstonestrategies.org
Leela Yadav, leela@sunstonestrategies.org
The Environmental Justice Law and Advocacy Clinic at Yale Law School brings national attention to Delta Tribal Environmental Coalition’s fight to ensure the health of their communities and the sustainability of the Bay-Delta ecosystem
Stockton, Calif. – The newly formed Environmental Justice Law and Advocacy Clinic at Yale Law School is partnering with the Delta Tribal Environmental Coalition (DTEC) to restore and protect the Delta – a resource that is intrinsically connected to the livelihood and traditions of their communities. The coalition consists of the Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians, Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, Winnemem Wintu Tribe, Little Manila Rising and Restore the Delta.
The Yale Clinic represents community-based organizations, Tribal Nations, and non-profit coalitions, providing high quality legal services for issues at the intersection of environmental, social, and Indigenous justice concerns. The Clinic aims to tackle issues such as inequitable distribution of environmental benefits and burdens, exclusion of impacted communities from environmental decision-making processes and repair for communities that have been alienated from environmental resources and governance.
As one of the inaugural clients for the Clinic, DTEC will continue their work advocating for science-based standards that will restore and sustain Delta waterways along with Attorney Stephanie Safdi who will be joining the Yale Clinic this fall.
This new bi-coastal partnership with the Clinic and DTEC marks an important step in elevating the coalition’s advocacy for just water rights and representative water management decisions to the national stage.
Statement from Vice Chair Malissa Tayaba, Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians: “We look forward to this next chapter of the critical water equity work we have undertaken that began with Stanford Law Environmental Clinic and now will continue with the Environmental Justice Law and Advocacy Clinic at Yale Law School. We are grateful for Stephanie Safdi’s guidance and unyielding support on tribal water and water equity issues overall. We move forward confidently knowing the Tribe, and the Delta Tribal Environmental Coalition are in the best of hands.”
Statement from Gary Mulcahy, Government Liaison, Winnemem Wintu Tribe: “We want to congratulate Stephanie Safdi on her new endeavor and opportunity. We look forward to working with the new Yale Environmental Justice Law and Advocacy Clinic.”
Statement from Gloria E. Alonso Cruz, Environmental Justice Advocacy Coordinator, Little Manila Rising: “We feel enthused and humbled to be represented by the Yale Environmental Justice Law and Advocacy Clinic (EJLA Clinic). We’re immensely grateful for Stephanie Safdi and her unwavering commitment to support the efforts of our coalition to uplift Tribal and Environmental Justice voices in the public discourse regarding water management decisions in California’s Bay-Delta Watershed.”
Statement from Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Executive Director, Restore the Delta: “We are honored to collaborate with the Environmental Justice Law and Advocacy Clinic at Yale Law School in our shared commitment to protect the Delta ecosystem. This partnership underscores the significant role of legal advocacy in addressing the environmental justice challenges that our communities face. Stephanie Safdi has been crucial to ensuring our coalition’s voice is heard and that voice will be further amplified with this new partnership.”
Statement from Stephanie Safdi, Visiting Clinical Associate Professor of Law, Environmental Justice Law and Advocacy Clinic at Yale Law School: “We are thrilled to partner with the Delta Tribal Environmental Coalition at this significant juncture for clinical advocacy at Yale Law School. The Yale Environmental Justice Law and Advocacy Clinic, launching this fall, will be a unique clinical program dedicated to providing direct representation in close collaboration with community partners to advance underrepresented environmental justice concerns.
DTEC carries into our work together a transformative vision of just and inclusive water management in California centered on the interests of Tribes and disadvantaged communities. This partnership will help to define environmental justice clinical advocacy at the law school. And it is an honor for our program and clinical students to learn from our teachers at DTEC and contribute to advancing the Coalition’s goals. We can’t wait to see what we’re able to do together.”