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Dayton Appoints 1st American Indian To Sit On MN Supreme Court

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) – Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton appointed Anne McKeig to the Minnesota Supreme Court Tuesday.

She is the first Native American in Minnesota appointed to the high court, and her appointment gives the court a female majority.

"Today's an historic day, not only for myself, and for my family, but for all native people," McKeig said at her appointment ceremony in the Governor's office.

McKeig's remarkable story began in tiny Federal Dam, Minnesota, which has a population of population 110 on Leech Lake.

She got her law degree at Hamline University, and tearfully recalled watching the state's first Native American sworn in as a Hennepin County judge in 1992.

"And I, a proud descendant of the White Earth Nation, knew that if he could do it, that maybe I could," she said.

McKeig's appointment brings the number of women on the Minnesota Supreme Court to four, the first female court majority in the state since 1991.

Dayton called McKeig the best qualified candidates for the job, as well as a tribute to the education system.

"I hope she serves as an example to young people all over the state for what you can accomplish," he said.

McKeig is replacing Justice Christopher Deitzen who is retiring from the Court.

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