First Native District Attorney Elected in Wisconsin

Lac du Flambeau News

Press Release

Rebecca Maki-Wallander, a member of the Lac du Flambeau Tribe, has made history by being the first known elected Native American District Attorney in Wisconsin!

Born and raised in Lac du Flambeau, Rebecca aspired to pursue big things at a very young age due to the injustices in the community she saw.

“As a young girl, I frequently observed injustice, and as a young woman, I became painfully aware of the abuse plaguing not only our people but others as well,” Rebecca said.

After graduating from Lakeland Union High School, Rebecca double majored at Duke University in Political Science and History. And while at Duke found her interest in law.

“It outraged me how adults and people in solidarity kept silent, it was this and my grandmother that motivated me to work for the best education I could get,” Rebecca said.

After taking some time off after her undergraduate career, she headed to the University of Wisconsin Madison to obtain her law degree.

“Although my path to get here was not the typical path, I am not a typical prosecutor. I take on sensitive crimes that most prosecutors would not, and allows me to give a voice to those who are often overlooked or cast aside,” Rebecca said.

After obtaining her law degree, Rebecca served the Ho-Chunk Nation, where Jo Deen Lowe, the chief judge of the Ho-Chunk Nation trial court was an inspiration to her, as Judge Lowe was the first known Native American appointed DA in Wisconsin.

Starting in 2017, Rebecca worked in Adams County as the Assistant District Attorney and was later appointed to DA in 2022.

On November 5, 2024, Rebecca became the first known Native American DA to be elected into the position.

“As an Anishinaabe Makwa indoodem Ikwe, it is important to me to use my education and my position to give a voice to those whom it has been forced away, it is for them I serve,” Rebecca said.

Throughout her years of dedication to prosecution, she had one person she wanted to thank.

“Despite my motivation and dedication to prosecution, it is the love and support of my husband that helped get me to this point,” Rebecca said.