Course Chairs
Leah Sisi-ya-ama George-Wilson — Miller Titerle + Company LLP, Vancouver
Dr. Sarah Morales (Su-taxwiye) — Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Victoria, Victoria
About the Course Chairs
Leah George-Wilson (Sisi-ya-ama) is a member of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation (TWN) in North Vancouver. She was the first woman to hold the office of Elected Chief for the TWN, for three terms. Leah worked for the TWN for 18 years and held various positions for the Nation, the last one being Director of the Treaty, Land and Resources Department.
Leah holds a BA in Anthropology from SFU and an LLB from UBC Faculty of Law. She was called to the BC bar on January 31, 2015, and is currently an associate at Miller Titerle.
Since 2004, Leah has been elected as co-chair of the First Nations Summit. She also sits on the First Nations Lands Advisory Board.
Sarah Morales, JD (UVic), LLM (University of Arizona), PhD (UVic), PostDoc (Illinois) is Coast Salish and a member of Cowichan Tribes. She is an Associate Professor at the University of Victoria, Faculty of Law, where she teaches torts, transsystemic torts, Coast Salish law and languages, legal research and writing and field schools. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Victoria, she taught at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law where she taught Aboriginal law, Indigenous legal traditions, and international human rights with a focus on Indigenous peoples.
Sarah's research centres on Indigenous legal traditions, specifically the traditions of the Coast Salish people, Aboriginal law, and human rights. She has been active with Indigenous nations and NGOs across Canada in nation building, inherent rights recognition, and international human rights law. She teaches Legal Process and Torts in the JD stream, and is responsible for coordinating the special supplement to Legal Process for JD/JID students. She also developed two JID-specific courses for the second year of the program.
Welcome
Elder Carleen Thomas — Tsleil-Waututh Nation, North Vancouver
Tsleil-Waututh Nation elder Carleen Thomas is the first Indigenous person to be named as the next chancellor at Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver. As an educator, former council member, and special projects manager for the TWN Treaty, Lands, and Resources department, Carleen will serve a three-year term at ECUAD as the ceremonial head of the university, and will be sitting as a member of the board of governors and the senate, also acting as an ambassador for the university.
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Val Napoleon — Interim Dean, Professor, Law Foundation Chair of Indigenous Justice and Governance, University of Victoria, Victoria
The title of my research chair is Law Foundation Chair of Indigenous Justice and Governance. I am from northeast BC (Treaty 8) and a member of Saulteau First Nation. I am also an adopted member of the Gitanyow (Gitksan) House of Luuxhon, Ganada (Frog) Clan. Prior to joining the Faculty of Law at UVic in 2012, I was cross-appointed with the faculties of Native Studies and Law at the University of Alberta.
My current research focuses on Indigenous legal traditions (Indigenous legal theories, pedagogies, law and precedent, legal institutions, and legal research methodologies), Indigenous feminism, citizenship, self-determination, and governance. Some of my major initiatives include the JD/JID (joint JD and Indigenous law degree) program, establishing the Indigenous Law Research Unit with a number of research partnerships with Indigenous communities and groups in BC, across Canada, and with international connections. Some of our projects are a two-year Indigenous/non-Indigenous water law research project, gender and Indigenous law, dispute resolution, Indigenous lands and resources, and human rights in Indigenous law. We are currently looking to hire graduate students for our water project.
I have taught and published on Aboriginal legal issues, Indigenous law and legal theories, Indigenous feminisms, governance, critical restorative justice, oral traditions, and Indigenous legal research methodologies. I also teach property law.
Speaker
Robert B. Morales — Chair, First Nations Summit Chief Negotiators Forum; Negotiator/Lawyer, Cowichan Tribes, Duncan
Robert Morales is Coast Salish and a member of Cowichan Tribes. In 1986, he received his Juris Doctor Degree from the University of Victoria and in 1993 completed the Program of Instruction for Lawyers in negotiations under Roger Fisher at Harvard University Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Robert had a sole practitioner law practice from 1987 to 2000 specializing in the areas of litigation of First Nations' rights, criminal law, family law, and child protection. He has appeared in the Trial level, Court of Appeal, Federal Court, and Supreme Court of Canada. He is also the lead person for the Hul'qumi'num Treaty Group petition before the Inter American Commission on Human Rights. He acted as legal counsel for the intervenor HTG in the Roger Williams case before the Supreme Court of Canada.
He has extensive negotiation experience with many First Nations in their dealings with both the Federal and Provincial governments. He joined the Hul'qumi'num Treaty Group as Chief Negotiator in November of 2000.
Robert has been and is now currently the Chair for the First Nations Summit Chief Negotiators Forum which is composed of about 47 negotiating tables. He has been a lead participant in the establishment and served as a spokesperson of the Common Table for the BC Treaty Negotiation Process. He is a lead for the Cowichan Tribes Child and Family Wellness Legislation project. Cowichan Tribes is currently participating in a co-ordination table with Canada and BC regarding Cowichan jurisdiction and service delivery under the Act Respecting First Nations, Inuit and Metis Children, Youth and Families.
Faculty
Wenecwtsin Wayne Christian — Former Kukpi7 of Splatsin and Former Tribal Chief of the Secwepemc Nation, Clchal, Currently Deputy Chair of the First Nations Health Council, Kamloops
Valerie Cross (Chemkwaat), MBA — Executive Councillor/Legislator, Tsawwassen First Nation, Tsawwassen
Celeste A. Haldane, KC — Chief Commissioner, BC Treaty Commissioner, Vancouver
Bonnie Leonard — Legal Advisor, Assembly of First Nations, Kamloops
Robert B. Morales — Chair, First Nations Summit Chief Negotiators Forum; Negotiator/Lawyer, Cowichan Tribes, Duncan
Crystal Reeves — Mandell Pinder LLP, Vancouver
Earl C. Stevenson — In-house Counsel, Peguis Child & Family Services, Peguis First Nation
Patti Wight — Manager, First Nation Support Services BC, First Nation Land Management Resource Center, Prince George
Course Materials Contributor
Merle Lagax'niitsk Alexander, KC — Miller Titerle Law Corporation, Vancouver
Click here for full faculty bios