Course Instructor
Halie Kwanxwa'logwa Bruce — Barrister & Solicitor, Mediator, Cedar & Sage Law, Chilliwack
About the Course Instructor
Halie (Kwanxwa'logwa) Bruce is a Kwakwaka'wakw, Tlingit, and Scottish/Canadian mother, wife, lawyer, mediator, sometimes soccer coach, and Sixties Scoop Survivor. She was called to the BC bar in 2008. Her practice areas include Aboriginal law, family law, child welfare, and Indigenous laws and governance. Halie also devoted part of her practice to Indigenous restorative justice initiatives, including writing s. 718.2(e) Reports for Indigenous people at bail, sentencing, and appeal courts in BC.
Before entering the legal profession, Halie served as the Executive Director of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs. As the Joint Policy Council Coordinator, she advocated for Aboriginal Title and Rights and Treaty Rights, including the Rights of Indigenous peoples generally and Indigenous children specifically. She has extensive experience in administration, management, staff, and employment issues, and has worked with Indigenous communities from across BC, Canada and internationally, to explore traditional mechanisms for resolving various land, resource, social policy, and internal community disputes.
In 2014, Halie co-founded the law firm Cedar & Sage Law, with a focus on Indigenous laws, Alternative and Traditional Indigenous Dispute Resolution mechanisms, and peacemaking protocols. She has extensive training in mediation and alternative dispute resolution through CLEBC, Justice Institute of BC, and the Social Justice Mediation Institute.
She has taught, coached, and facilitated courses on Gladue Principles and Reports, Indigenous Child Welfare, and Indigenous and Trauma-Informed practices. She has been a frequent speaker, panelist, and co-chair on various Indigenous issues at CLEBC, including on s. 718.2(e) reports, Access to Justice for Children, Indigenous Child Welfare, and Anti-racism and Diversity issues in the legal profession.
She is a former Board member of the Sixties Scoop Healing Foundation, and the BC First Nations Justice Council, and served two terms as a part-time member of the Parole Board of Canada.
Halie currently devotes part of her practice to facilitating workshops on Intercultural competency, Safety and Indigenous-Informed interviewing, processes, and best practices for Administrative Tribunals in Canada.
Elders
Elder Xelemilh Doris Paul — Squamish Nation, North Vancouver
Doris – Xelemilh is a member of the Squamish Nation located on the North Shore. Her mom is/was Squamish Nation and her late father is/was Sechelt Nation; she honours both nations and calls both home.
Doris is a Residential School Survivor and is also the product of residential school. She attended the Sechelt Indian Residential School from 1962-73, and both parents attended Sechelt Residential School as well.
Through the horrendous life experiences of being raised in residential school, she has managed to utilize her experience as a learning tool to help service providers understand the suffering and pain of the First Nations people. Service providers recognize her as the Cultural Navigator and seek her advice when working with First Nations on their client caseloads.
Awards of recognition for community work and cultural navigations are:
King Charles III Coronation Award 2024
BC Reconciliation Award 2022
BC Lions, Be More Than Bystander Award 2018
BC Community Achievement Award 2007
North Vancouver City – Heart of the Community Award 2007
MADD Mothers Canada – Community Safety Award
Elder Waabigekek Ikwe Maria Reed — Abbotsford
When Maria Reed was a child she had a recurring dream that she was being chased on horseback by "wild Indians." Back then, she didn't know she was Indigenous, but now that she knows, the dream makes sense symbolically.
Like so many Indigenous people, her parents and grandparents were robbed of their heritage in residential schools and were fearful of discrimination, so they didn't practice their culture.
Like the dream she had as a child, however, Maria's Indigenous background would eventually catch up to her in her teens when one of her aunts discovered the family's Indigenous roots.
Maria hasn't looked back since, immersing herself in the culture. Her great grandmother was from the Batchewana First Nation in Ontario, and her great grandfather was French and Métis.
Maria is French, Cree and Ojibway on her father's side and Swedish Sami on her mother's side. The Sami are Sweden's Indigenous people and known as Reindeer Herders.
Since finding out about her Indigenous roots in her teens, Maria has immersed herself in learning about her culture. "When I found out it was one of those aha moments," says Maria. Her Indigenous name, Waabigekek Ikwe, means White Hawk Woman.
Maria loves being an Elder and feels that everything she has done in the fields of wellness—body, mind and spirit—has come together to prepare her to be an Elder.
Early on Maria took a course on Indigenous culture that exposed her to sweats, smudging, circles and healing practices. Maria has worked as a Life Skills Coach and a Human Relations Counsellor and spent years working with Fraser Valley Aboriginal Health Council on health and wellness initiatives and as an Elder with Circle 5. "I learned a lot about human nature and a lot about myself," says Maria.
She credits her greatest learnings to fellow Elders. "You learn about all the different cultural practices. The more teachings you learn, the more you find out about human nature," says Maria. "In our business we work with people and the more you can understand where they come from, the better you can work with them."
Maria says she is not much of a person for hobbies. "I love what I do," says Maria, who prefers to be working or spending time with her two daughters and grandchildren. She says she loves challenges, creating well working systems and helping people. She is a problem-solver by nature. She is also a life-long learner and is currently taking a course on death and grieving.
Maria believes Elders set the tone and bring culture and wisdom. She says it took time at Circle 5 to build that culture so that it became a natural way to do things. She urges staff to reach out to the Elders, to build relationships.
She believes the Indigenous world view of everything being connected is essential to the work of the Agency. "No one is better than anyone or anything else," says Maria.