Northern California Indian Development Council
Rain Marshall is the Indigenous Education Advocate at the Northern California Indian Development Council in Eureka, working with local Tribes, public K–12 schools, parent committees and community members to create a climate in the school system that provides educational equity for Indigenous children.
Rain was born in Arcata, where her parents met at Humboldt State as a result of the Indian Relocation Program. Her mom is from Oklahoma, and her dad is from South Dakota. She is a tribal citizen enrolled in the Yankton Sioux Tribe, Ihanktonwan, and participates in tribal cultural activities.
She graduated from Humboldt State University in 2000 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Natural Resources Planning with Native American Perspectives on the Environment and a minor in American Indian Education. She was a member of the Indian Teacher Education and Personnel Program (ITEPP) and the Indian Natural Resources Science and Engineering Program (INRSEP). She received her Juris Doctorate from the University of South Dakota School of Law in 2003, with an emphasis in Federal Indian Law, Natural Resources Law, and Environmental Law.
Rain was selected by the American Civil Liberties Union as an Ira Glasser Racial Justice Fellow in 2004 teaching “Know Your Right’s Workshops” on Indian reservations and urban centers in North and South Dakota. While with the ACLU, Rain assisted with an education discrimination lawsuit for Rosebud Sioux children.
She has taught in various Tribal Universities and Community Colleges since 2004, in Native American studies and Indian Education.