Course Chairs
Halie Kwanxwa'loga Bruce — Cedar and Sage Law Corporation, Chilliwack
Rosalie C.N. Yazzie — Nesika Law Corporation, Vice-Chair BC First Nations Justice Council, Westbank
About the Course Chairs
Halie (Kwanxwa’logwa) Bruce is a member of the Namgis/Kwa’kwa’kawakw Nation. Halie has over 30 years of experience working with Indigenous communities. Before receiving her Juris Doctorate from UBC, Halie was the Administrator and Policy Coordinator for the Union of BC Indian Chiefs where she worked with Indigenous communities and governments from across BC, Canada and internationally, with respect to Aboriginal Title & Rights, self-determination, land, resource, and social policy. She is a past member of the BC First Nations Justice Council and is a current Board member of the Sixties Scoop Healing Foundation.
Halie's legal practice has included Indigenous family law, Indigenous laws and governance, fisheries, Aboriginal business and Indigenous dispute resolution, laws and peacemaking protocols. Halie has acted as counsel for parents and grandparents in child protection matters and assisted with research and editing of both editions of the "Wrapping Our Ways Around Them: Aboriginal Communities and the CFCSA Guidebook"(2015 & 2021). She has devoted part of her practice to Indigenous restorative justice initiatives, including writing Gladue Reports for bail, sentencing, and appeal courts in BC.
Halie has participated as a speaker, panelist and presenter at various CLEBC conferences, and co-chaired CLEBC sessions focusing on Access to Justice for Children, Gladue Submissions, and Indigenous Laws. She has presented at a number of gatherings on Indigenous topics as diverse as Aboriginal Title & Rights, Indigenous child welfare, housing, matrimonial property, poverty, cultural competency, trauma-informed decision making, and Indigenous conflict resolution.
Rosalie Yazzie is Syilx from the Okanagan Indian Band with ancestral ties to the Secwepemc Nation. She is the vice-chair of the BC First Nations Justice Council and a 12-year member of the Bar Association. Rosalie holds an MBA from Simon Fraser University.
Ms. Yazzie owns and operates Nesika Law Corporation which specializes in Aboriginal law, title and rights, and Nation rebuilding. She is a passionate champion for Nation building approaches based in traditional governance values, customs, and First Nations legal traditions. Her firm supports First Nations clients to achieve their governance and institutional development goals through sound policy, strategic engagement, and communication.
Ms. Yazzie applies a unique lens to her practice, earned through decades of professional experience in First Nations political advocacy, human rights, and social development issues including: child welfare, health, and education.
Ms. Yazzie currently serves general counsel to the Chiefs Executive Council of the Syilx Okanagan Nation and is a member of the Law Society of BC's Truth and Reconciliation Advisory Committee.
Keynote Speaker
The Honourable Marion R. Buller — Former Chief Commissioner, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Inquiry, Anmore
Marion Buller is a member of the Mistawasis Nehiyawak, a Cree First Nation in Saskatchewan. She started her legal career as a lawyer, practicing in criminal, administrative, and human rights law. She was the Commission Counsel for the Cariboo-Chilcotin Justice Inquiry. She was Director and President of the Indigenous Bar Association and other organizations.
Ms. Buller was the first Indigenous woman appointed as a Provincial Court Judge in BC. She presided in courts in many locations across BC, including the northern circuit court. She founded the First Nations Court and provided the foundation for the Indigenous Family Court. These are courts that consider the special circumstances of Indigenous people. Ms. Buller has also written extensively about Indigenous and Human rights.
After 22 years as a judge, Ms. Buller was appointed as the Chief Commissioner for the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. This was a precedent-setting and truly national inquiry. The National Inquiry's strongly-worded Final Report and Calls for Justice have attracted both national and international attention. Ms. Buller has received numerous awards in recognition of her contribution to the advancement of Indigenous and Human Rights.
Opening and Closing Prayer
Elder Maria Reed – Waabigekek Ikwe
Faculty
Patricia M. Barkaskas — Associate Professor of Teaching; Academic Director, Indigenous Legal Studies, Peter A. Allard School of Law, UBC, Vancouver
Amanda Carling — Senior Policy Lawyer, Law Society of Ontario; BC First Nations Justice Council, Westbank
Michelle Casavant — Crown Counsel, Department of Justice Canada, Vancouver (Planning Committee)
Lorna M. Fadden, PhD — Fadden Law, BC First Nations Justice Council, Penticton
Celeste A. Haldane, KC — Chief Commissioner, BC Treaty Commission, Vancouver
Andrea Hilland, KC — Policy Counsel, Law Society of BC, Vancouver
Dawn Johnson — First Nations Women's Justice Strategy, BC First Nations Justice Council, Westbank
Laura A. Matthews — Matthews Mediation, Mission
Annita McPhee, BSW, LLB — Director for the BC First Nations Justice Council, BCFNJC Lead on Child and Family Justice, and Health and Justice, Westbank
Debbie Scarborough — Provincial Manager, Women & Child Protection, BC First Nations Justice Council, Westbank
Karley Scott — Parole Board of Canada; Indigenous Women's Justice Plan, BC First Nations Justice Council; Governance Consultant, West Kelowna
Cheyenne Stonechild — Indigenous Youth Advocate, Burnaby
Jean Teillet — Pape Salter Teillet LLP, Vancouver
Anisa Jennifer White, BCom, LLB, LLM Candidate — Gladue Report Writer and Lake Babine Nation Technical Justice Lead, Nitotemak Justice Advisory, Nanaimo
Bernie Williams (Gul-Giit-Jaad) — National Family and Survivors Circle; Advocate for MMIWG2S, Vancouver
Jessica D. Wood Si Sityaawks — Associate Deputy Minister, Declaration Act Secretariat, Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, Province of BC, Victoria
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