JoAnn Kintz is the Deputy Director of the Office of Tribal Justice (OTJ) at the U.S. Department of Justice. OTJ is the primary point of contact for the Department of Justice’s government to government relationship with Indian tribes. OTJ also serves as a source of Indian law expertise for the Department. Prior to her current position, Ms. Kintz served as Senior Counsel at Democracy Forward, where she represented entities, including non-profit organizations, labor unions, and Indian tribes, in legal and policy matters aimed at protecting and advancing democracy and combating unlawful government actions that seek to undermine it. She began her career as a Trial Attorney with the Environment & Natural Resources Division/Indian Resources Section of the Department of Justice, where she represented the United States in a variety of civil matters pertaining Indian tribes and tribal interests.
Ms. Kintz is a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. She graduated from Columbia Law School, where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and served as a Managing Director for the Human Rights Law Review. During law school, Ms. Kintz had the opportunity to intern at the Indian Law Resource Center as well as participate in pro bono projects at the Navajo Nation Department of Justice and the Pine Ridge Office of Dakota Plains Legal Services. She received her B.A. from Columbia College.