Mercedes Garcia

Mercedes Garcia is a citizen of the Pascua Yaqui tribe and grew up in Continental, Arizona. She was raised by community and grassroots organizing, which continue to ground and drive her work and advocacy efforts today. She earned her Juris Doctorate (J.D.) and Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Indigenous Peoples Law & Policy from the James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona in 2011 and 2012, respectively.

She is a recent entrepreneur, formulating her own company to uplift and empower Native peoples, communities, and organizations. With these communities, she continues to lead out the call for action to law & policymakers that she formulated during her work with the BIA to change laws & policies that continue to leave Native peoples behind across every well-being aspect from physical, social, and emotional well-being to economic mobility.

Mercedes was raised by a single mother in a multi-generational household to whom she credits her own tenacity, humor, grit, and unfettering belief that we can do anything to which we set our minds.