Interview with David Stanway Case, May 24, 2023

Interview Summary

David Stanway Case served in India from 1966-1968 as an agricultural extension volunteer. Training in Pennsylvania in the fall could hardly replicate farming in India. So, his group was sent to California, and he was assigned to a village in Gujarat State. Speaking Gujarati, he introduced farmers to hybrid seeds and fertilizer. His cook/housekeeper was like a mother, and he became friends with his next-door neighbors and a village boy. David and that boy are now old men, and along with David’s neighbors, friends for over 50 years. David credits a chance meeting with a farmer as influencing his life and career. After returnig home, being drafted and sent to Vietnam, he finished law school and moved to Alaska. There for 38 years he raised a family and represented Indigenous Peoples, their governments, and corporations throughout the state. Sponsored by two Indigenous mentors, he wrote the First Edition and later co-authored the Second and Third Editions of Alaska Natives and American Laws, a legal treatise describing the application of American law to the Indigenous Peoples in Alaska. Cited by the courts, including the United States Supreme Court, it has been in print for nearly 40 years.

Interview Keyword

Peace Corps (U.S.) India (country of service) 1966-1968 (years of service) Gujarat State (area of service) Agricultural extension (assignment) health (pneumonia) friendships Viet Nam indigenous peoples native law living conditions

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Interview Usage

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