Truth & Reconciliation
A call to action
In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) released their historic聽Calls to Action. TRC Call to Action #28 is of particular relevance to law schools:
"We call upon law schools in Canada to require all law students to take a course in Aboriginal Peoples and the law, which includes the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal-Crown relations. This will require skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights and antiracism."
The recent report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) also included Calls to Justice requiring mandatory competency training for members of the legal profession in Indigenous culture and histories.
Our response
Highlights of our TRC response
Schulich Law has made a serious commitment to implementing the TRC鈥檚 Calls to Action and the MMIWG鈥檚 Calls to Justice.聽We've made great progress in recent years, due in large part to our long-standing Indigenous Blacks & Mi'kmaq Initiative, support from leaders at the law school and 黄色直播, a dedicated Chancellor's Chair in Aboriginal Law and Policy, and our connections to the local Indigenous community.
We look forward to building on these accomplishments in the coming years, and will continue to make the study of Aboriginal and Indigenous law an integral part of the curriculum.聽
Actions taken
- April 2016: Formation of the Schulich School of Law's TRC Implementation Committee
- July 2016: Appointment of Mi鈥檏maw legal scholar Naiomi Metallic, KC, as Chancellor鈥檚 Chair in Aboriginal Law and Policy
- September 2016: Amending all 1L courses and many upper-year courses to include聽Aboriginal and Indigenous law content through a dedicated Research Assistant to include Aboriginal and Indigenous law content in all 1L courses and many of the upper year courses.
- September 2016: adopted a group blanket exercise (an interactive activity teaching about the history and current impacts of colonialism on Indigenous Peoples) as part of orientation programming for incoming first-year law students
- September 2017: launched Aboriginal and Indigenous Law in Context (AILC), a mandatory course for all first-year students:
- Part 1 (Fall): Learning objectives include understanding that Indigenous peoples are living and thriving in complex communities, with many aspirations for the future, while also dealing with the legacy of colonization and assimilation policies.
- Part 2 (Winter): Learning objectives include introducing foundational legal issues relating to Indigenous peoples, including Aboriginal and treaty rights, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Indigenous legal systems, and to help students understand how current Canadian laws intersect with Indigenous issues in a variety of different ways.
- 2017-2020: added four new Aboriginal and Indigenous law courses in the upper year curriculum:聽
- 聽to enhance the Indigenous cultural presence in the law school.
- March 2019: hosted the Kawaskimhon Aboriginal Rights Moot for the first time
- September 2020: launched Certificate in Aboriginal and Indigenous Law for JD students
- July 2020:聽Professor Sherry Pictou, a Mi鈥檏maw woman from L鈥檚扫tkuk (also known as Bear River First Nation) and a former chief for her community, joined the law school and 黄色直播's School of Public Administration in the Faculty of Management