# Romero Institute The Romero Institute is a nonprofit public-interest law and policy center in Santa Cruz, California, established in 1992 as the direct successor to the bankrupted [[Christic Institute]]. Led by [[Danny Sheehan]] and Sara Nelson, it is named for [[Óscar Romero]], the Salvadoran archbishop assassinated by a right-wing death squad in 1980. In [[The Octopus]] frame it represents the Jesuit-backed, left-leaning Catholic strand. ## Work The Institute's best-known project, the Lakota People's Law Project (founded 2004), focused on Indian Child Welfare Act enforcement and later expanded into water and pipeline issues; it defended activist Chase Iron Eyes after his 2017 arrest at [[Standing Rock]]. (The Lakota project separated from Romero at the start of 2024.) The Institute's current work centers on climate advocacy and, more controversially, a Sheehan-led push for UAP "disclosure." ## Epistemic status The Institute's lineage from [[Christic Institute]], its naming for [[Óscar Romero]], and its Standing Rock work are documented. Its founder's recent UAP-disclosure claims should be attributed to him and the Institute rather than asserted as established fact -- an extension of the same "concealed power" posture that defines the wider frame. ## See also - [[The Octopus]] - [[Christic Institute]] - [[Danny Sheehan]] - [[Óscar Romero]] - [[Standing Rock]]