With two full years of law school ahead of her yet, Marilyn Allen isn’t entirely sure which direction she wants to take with her studies or her career. She’s quickly learning that there are incredible opportunities out there for her, or anyone, when it comes to the legal profession, something she only recently decided to pursue. Tribal Law and policy making, perhaps even lobbying, are among the options the young Flandreau area woman and Flandreau Santee Sioux tribal member is considering.
Regardless of the unknowns, one thing is clear to Allen. Whatever direction her career might take her, she wants to do all she can in any role, to empower and serve others — especially in underrepresented communities. And an 8-week “externship” this summer with the Honorable Karen Schreier, another Flandreau alum, and her chambers at the United States District Court of South Dakota, should be an incredible step toward realizing any of her goals.
Allen recently learned that she had been selected for the role after being nominated by the Dean of the Law School at the University of South Dakota, where she attends Law School.
“A few of the things I will be doing follows researching, writing, observing and sitting in on court hearings. I will be learning from her and her clerks and absorbing as much as I can to best prepare myself for the next two years in school and in my career. It will be a tremendous blessing to be able to learn from her,” said Allen.

Schreier, a former private practice attorney and a 1974 graduate of Flandreau High School, is the first woman to serve as U.S. Attorney in South Dakota. She served in that capacity before her appointment to the federal bench in 1999.
Allen, for now, is working diligently as a full-time student on her Indian Law certificate. Her classes are focused on public interest, federal agencies, environmental law, and tax law. If all goes according to plan, she should graduate in May 2025.
Her ultimate goal — do what she can to make life better for others. She’s already had incredible teachers along the way.
“Within the tribe, when I was growing up, it was people taking care of each other and different events…my mom Amanda helped start a lot of events in the tribe (and) my Aunt Cindy (Allen Weddell), too. My dad (Bruce) had a lot of influence in that too; he’s done a lot of different things. Being involved and growing up in those events, then going off to college (Mankato) and not being a part of those things, then seeing Dusty (Beaulieu) starting a lot of things like the After School program, all of that kept that drive going with me. People ask, ‘what are you good at?’”
“I think I’m good at being passionate about other people and seeing them succeed,” she said.
Her first year back in school, she was selected by the school to be a member of the Women in Philanthropy group, now coined the Marjorie Breeden Society on behalf of the first woman to graduate from USD Knudson School of Law. The Marjorie Breeden Society was created to connect alumni and current women law students to create a community of women that are passionate about creating better lives for people through the law and doing their small part in the world to make it better.