Judge Megan Treuer, the daughter of a citizen of the White Earth Nation 
and an Austrian Jew and holocaust survivor, has spent the majority of her life living in the Leech Lake community in Northern Minnesota. Judge Treuer has devoted her legal career to fighting for the rights and well-being of Native Americans, first as an attorney representing indigent tribal members in civil and criminal cases and now as the Chief Judge for the Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe. Judge Treuer also serves as a Deputy Judge for the Leech Lake Tribal Court; Appellate Justice for Fond du Lac Band of Ojibwe; and Pro Tempore Judge for Lac Courte Orellies Band of Ojibwa.
Judge Treuer earned her B.A. in History from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2001. Judge Treuer completed her first year of law school at the University of California, Hastings College of Law. She then went on to complete her J.D. at Hamline University School of Law in 2005. After graduating from law school, Judge Treuer immediately returned home to Leech Lake and began working at Anishinabe Legal Services (“ALS”) where she represented indigent Native Americans from the Leech Lake and Red Lake Reservations. In 2007, the Regional Native Public Defense Corporation (RNPDC) was established as a 501(C)(3) non-profit organization, and Judge Treuer left ALS to work as a Staff Attorney at RNPDC. RNPDC’s mission is to seek justice and fair treatment for White Earth and Leech Lake members facing criminal charges in and around the White Earth and Leech Lake reservations and to respond to historical mistreatment and racial disparities prevalent for Native people in the Minnesota criminal justice system. It began with about 100 clients and now represents over 1500 Leech Lake and White Earth members per year in a wide variety of cases including everything from serious felonies to juvenile delinquencies to criminal cases involving important issues of Indian law. Judge Treuer became the Executive Director of RNPDC in 2009.
In 2013, former Leech Lake Associate Judge Korey Wahwassuck was appointed to the bench of the Itasca County District Court, and Judge Treuer was appointed to fill her vacancy at the Leech Lake Tribal Court. She then went on to serve as Chief Judge for the Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe; Deputy Judge for the Leech Lake Tribal Court; Appellate Justice for Fond du Lac Band of Ojibwe; and Pro Tempore Judge for Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Ojibwa. Judge Treuer is admitted to the Minnesota Bar and is a career-long member of the Minnesota American Indian Bar Association. When not on duty, Judge Treuer enjoys spending time with her children (Matilda and Xavier).