Joseph Heath

Joe has been practicing law for just over 50 years and on his 3rd day of law school, in Buffalo, in September of 1971, the Attica Prison rebelled. This began his career in civil and human rights. He was one of four lawyers who represented the class action on behalf of the Attica Brothers, which resulted in NY paying the class $12 million in 2000. Joe also practiced criminal law for three decades, including a half dozen homicide trials. He also practiced as a "Law Guardian," in Family Court for two decades and received two awards for this work. For over 40 years, Joe has served as General Counsel for the Onondaga Nation, the Central Fire of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. His work for the Nation and the Confederacy has focused on preservation of sovereignty; rematriation of stolen homelands, ancestors’ remains and items of cultural patrimony; and environmental protection and preservation.

He is currently an Adjunct Professor at Cornell Law School, where he assists Prof. Michael Sliger in the Federal Indian Law Practicum. He is also a decades-long member of Veterans for Peace.