Paul Spruhan was born in Chicago, Illinois and has lived in the Southwest since 1997. He received his A.B., and A.M. from the University of Chicago (1995, 1996); and his J.D., from the University of New Mexico (2000). He is Assistant Attorney General for the Litigation Unit of the Navajo Department of Justice. He has been a licensed attorney for close to 20 years. He has worked for DOJ for 14 years, and was the law clerk of the Navajo Supreme Court for 5 years. Before that, he was a staff attorney for New Mexico Legal Aid for a year and half, and started his legal career as an associate at the Santa Fe office Rothstein, Donatelli, Hughes, and Schoenberg. He has licensed in the courts of New Mexico, Navajo Nation, the Federal District Courts of Arizona, Colorado, District of Columbia, New Mexico, the Fifth, Ninth, and Tenth Circuit Courts of Appeal, United States, and the U.S. Supreme Court. He lives with his wife and two children in Fort Defiance on the Navajo Nation.

Sage Metoxen is a Principal Attorney for the Litigation Unit of the Navajo Nation Department of Justice. A member of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes of Oklahoma, Sage was born and raised in Oklahoma. She graduated from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 2013 with a certificate in American Indian Law from the Center for the Study of American Indian Law and Policy. After graduating law school, she moved to the Navajo Nation to work as a staff attorney for DNA People’s Legal Services, Inc. She was then a natural resources attorney for the Navajo Nation Department of Justice and has most recently served as Senior Assistant General Counsel for the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation. She is admitted to practice law in the state of Arizona and the Navajo Nation.

Tamara Hilmi Sakijha is a Palestinian lawyer in the Litigation Unit for the Navajo Nation Department of Justice. Prior to joining our team, she worked as a litigator in New York at DLA Piper where she handled complex government investigations, related civil and criminal litigation, and international arbitrations and investigations. Ms. Sakijha has represented sovereign states, individuals and multinational companies in arbitrations under leading institutional and ad hoc rules, including the International Centre for Settlement and Investment Disputes (ICSID) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

Ms. Sakijha successfully resolved high-risk regulatory and criminal inquiries brought by federal and state authorities, both in early negotiations and at trial. Ms. Sakijha is a principled pro bono advocate and has handled criminal appeals in New York state courts, name change applications, voting rights challenges, and asylum petitions. Prior to joining DOJ, Ms. Sakijha successfully represented a Garifuna family in their asylum petition in front of immigration court.

Dana Martin is Kinyaa’áanii (Towering House), born for Táchii’nii (Red Running into the Water), and his maternal grandfather is Tábąąhí (Water’s Edge), and his paternal grandfather is Tó Dích’íi’nii (Bitter Water). Dana is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation where he grew up in Sheep Springs, New Mexico. He is a graduate of Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute and earned his liberal arts degree in 2010. He currently works as Senior Legal Secretary under the Litigation Unit for the past 7 years assisting attorneys and tribal court advocates with litigation matters for tribal, state, and federal courts. He has been working in the legal field since 2010, first starting out as an Office Assistant in a foreclosure law firm in where he was promoted to a file clerk, then to a legal secretary position. After moving back to Navajo Nation he was first employed with the Navajo Nation Department of Justice as a legal secretary under the Human Services & Government unit before transferring to the Litigation Unit.

Shara Peterson is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation. She grew up in China Springs New Mexico.
Education: She is a graduate of Navajo Technical University and earned her Legal Assistant Certificate in 2019.
Job: She currently works as a Legal Secretary for the Navajo Nation Department of Justice-Litigation Unit.
Experience, if any: She has practiced civil law for 3 years, she has previously worked as a Customer Service Representative and Legal Assistant