James (Sakej) Youngblood Henderson (born December 20, 1944)[1] is an American human rights lawyer, advocate, and educator.

[2] In his first year out of Harvard Law School, Henderson completed his first major case, in which he reestablished for his father's clan several legal rights.

[4] Henderson was brought to Canada in 1978 when his wife, Marie Battiste, was asked by the Grand Captain of the Mi'kmaq people to set up a bilingual education program in Nova Scotia.

[4] He then began working with the Mi'kmaw Nation on drafting their land titles and representing them in their legal proceedings.

[2][6][4] His expertise in Indigenous legal issues lead Henderson to serve on the advisory board of the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, as a member of the Sectoral Commission on Culture, Communication, and Information of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO between 2000 and 2010, and as a member of the Experts Advisory Group on International Cultural Diversity.