A DECADE OF ADVOCAcY: Daher retires after 10 years in the Office of the Solicitor General
After ten years of service to the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe in the Office of the Solitor General as senior deputy, Angel Daher is retiring. She leaves behind a legacy defined by intellegence, compassion, and firece advocacy. Photo by Vivian LaMoore.
By Vivian LaMoore, Inaajimowin Editor
Peeking out from behind mountains of paperwork and case files accumulated over a decade of service, Angel Daher reflects on her time with the Mille Lacs Band Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) with humility, gratitude, and a deep sense of purpose. Though small in stature, Angel has been a mighty and fierce advocate — steadfast in protecting the rights of the Band and unwavering in her commitment to Native children and families.
Angel never imagined that her career path would lead her to tribal government. Sometimes you don't choose your career path — rather, it chooses you.
When she was in college, Indian law was not something Angel had planned to pursue. With 11 years of experience as a paralegal before attending law school, her focus was on corporate and commercial real estate.
That direction shifted after she entered Hamline University School of Law, when someone asked a simple question — whether she had Indian ancestry. That question led her to join the Native American Law Society as a student. Her involvement opened doors to the Minnesota Native American Bar Association and, eventually, to hands-on work in Indian child welfare.
Angel began her legal career with a general practice out of her home while also working part time at the Indian Child Welfare Law Center in Minneapolis in 2004. She eventually served there full time for nearly ten years. Along the way, she practiced immigration law while continuing her general practice, always guided by a strong desire to protect women, children, and families.
"I always knew I needed to do something that protected children," Angel said. That calling made her transition into the Office of the Solicitor General a natural fit in November 2015. She started as a senior deputy, handling a heavy caseload of child protection matters while also working on real estate issues, contracts, and matters involving the Department of Natural Resources. It was her first experience in government law, but one she embraced fully. She was promoted to Managing Attorney in 2018.
The Office of the Solicitor General serves as the equivalent of a county attorney's office in state court, with the primary responsibility of upholding the laws of the Mille Lacs Band. For Angel, child protection cases always came first. "My policy has always been child protection cases," she explained. "We don't do contracts or other matters if we have a child protection case that needs immediate action or attention. Those take priority."
Her experience working on both the defense and prosecution sides of the law gave her a unique and valuable perspective. Child protection work, she noted, involves far more variables than business law and requires balancing legal standards with compassion, cultural understanding, and the best interests of children and families, while also protecting Band law.
Angel's impact extended well beyond the courtroom. She and the OSG team were fully engaged in the state tribal work group who were instrumental in the passage of revisions to the Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act (MIFPA) in March 2023. The landmark legislation strengthens and codifies the revision of the federal Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) into state law, reinforcing protections that keep Native children connected to their families, cultures, and tribes. MIFPA enhances state child welfare practices by requiring early tribal notification, ensuring meaningful tribal involvement, prioritizing cultural continuity in placements, and mandating "active efforts" to keep families together — affirming tribal sovereignty in child custody matters.
In addition to her work with the Band, Angel serves as vice chair of the Board of Directors for [Anishinabe] Legal Services and expects to continue serving on the board as long as she maintains her law license, even as she steps away from full-time legal work.
As Angel enters retirement, her focus turns to family - particularly caring for her 89-year-old mother, who is living with Alzheimer's disease. While she says she does not plan to continue working, she smiles and adds, "You never know."
After ten years of service, Angel Daher leaves behind a legacy defined by intelligence, compassion, and fierce advocacy. Her work has strengthened protections for Native children, upheld the sovereignty of the Mille Lacs Band, and made a lasting difference in countless lives. She will be deeply missed, but her impact will be felt for generations to come.