Marie Louise Bottineau Baldwin

Marie Louise Bottineau Baldwin (1863-1952), was a Métis Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians attorney and Native American rights activist. In 1914 Baldwin was the first Native American student to graduate from the Washington College of Law. She worked in the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs,[1] and was an officer in the Society of American Indians.[2] "Her appointment [to the Bureau] ... was approved by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1904. She was an accountant in the Education Division of the Bureau."[3]

Marie Louise Bottineau Baldwin
Marie L. Baldwin
Born	1863
Died	1952
Nationality	American
Occupation	Attorney, accountant, linguist
Employer	United States Bureau of Indian Affairs, Education Division
Known for	First Native American student and first Native descent woman to graduate from the Washington College of Law
Parent(s)	John (Jean Baptiste) Bottineau, Marguerite Renville (b. Jan. 13, 1842 at Pembina)
Relatives	Grandparents, Pierre Bottineau and Genevieve "Jennie" LaRence, b. 1818, François Renville and Marguerite Dumas Belgarde; sisters, Lillian, b. 1867 and Alvina Clement, b. 1868

Her grandparents were Pierre Bottineau and Genevieve "Jennie" LaRence, born in 1818. Her father was John Bottineau, a lawyer who worked as an advocate for the Chippewa/Ojibway Nation in Minnesota and North Dakota.[4][5]

Marie Louise was admitted to the bar in 1914, having completed the three years of courses during two years of attending evening classes. She also graduated with highest distinction. The Quarterly Journal of American Indians noted that "Mrs. Baldwin, who is Treasurer of the Society of American Indians, has offered herself to the War Department for services overseas. She speaks French as fluently as English, and her skill as an accountant will make her valuable to the accounting staff.[3]