It was 1973 and the member of the Pawnee tribe from Pawnee, had just completed the University of New Mexico College of Law.

During the next 36 years, Echo-Hawk would represent Indian tribes and communities across the U.S., Hawaii and Alaska.

He recently returned to his home state with the idea of retiring, but instead became Of Counsel to the Crowe & Dunlevy law firm in Tulsa.

Despite the change, Echo-Hawk’s work was not lost on his colleagues and he was recognized for those efforts with the Sarah T. Hughes Civil Rights Award by the Federal Bar Association. The award is given annually honor a person who has promoted civil and human rights and who exemplifies the spirit and legacy of devoted service and leadership in the cause of equality of civil rights.

‘‘I accepted the award humbly and for all those Indian lawyers who worked with me during those many years,’’ Echo-Hawk said. ‘‘I worked as co-counsel on many projects. I felt that I was just a foot soldier in the legal movement.’’

The Native American Rights Fund or NARF is the equivalent to the NAACP.

Founded in 1970, the Native American Rights Fund is the oldest and largest nonprofit law firm dedicated to asserting and defending the rights of Indian tribes, organizations and individuals nationwide.

NARF’s practice is concentrated in five key areas: The preservation of tribal existence; the protection of tribal natural resources; the promotion of Native American human rights; the accountability of governments to Native Americans; and the development of Indian law and educating the public about Indian rights, laws, and issues.

When Echo-Hawk joined the fledgling organization he became part of a new field of federal Indian law and there were few Indian attorneys on the staff.

Actually, he said, the field of Federal Indian Law is an old one and generally non-Indian attorneys were serving on the Indian Claims Commission.

Commission attorneys generally were filing claims seeking monetary compensation for treaty violations, water rights, and historical wrongs.

But the field was changing. It was in the 1970s at the time of the civil rights that were in full sway. That was when the modern era of Federal Indian Law started evolving.

It was in 1968 and 1969 that Federal Courts were pressured into applying in a modern context the early foundations and principles espoused by Chief Justice John Marshall in the early 1900s, Echo-Hawk said. That was followed early legal victories in the 1970s and early 1980s that established a legal standing and principals for the rise of the modern Indian that is seen today.

The work was carried forward by a generation of very dedicated tribal leaders and attorneys giving rise to the American Indian Sovereignty Movement. Some media commentators compared its significance to when women won the right to vote, the civil rights and environmental movements in American History.

NARF was organized in 1970 by Echo-Hawk’s cousin, John Echo-Hawk who became its executive director. It was an organization that Native Americans could work through and it was the only one of its kind in the country.

‘‘I felt that I could make a difference for Indian tribes when I took that job,’’ Echo-Hawk said.

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