Indigenous Legal Orders Conference 2021

Course Chairs
Chief Leah Sisi-ya-ama George-Wilson — Miller Titerle + Co., Vancouver
Dr. Sarah Morales — Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Victoria, Victoria

About the Course Chairs
Leah Sisi-ya-ama George-Wilson 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 Simon Fraser University 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. Currently, Leah is once again serving as Chief of the TWN.

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.

Speaker and Witnesses
Speaker George Harris — Stz'uminus First Nation
Halie Kwanxwa'loga Bruce — Cedar and Sage Law Corporation, Cultus Lake
Robert B. Morales — Negotiator/Lawyer, Cowichan Tribes, Duncan
Dr. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond/Akikwe — Senior Associate Counsel, Woodward & Company Lawyers LLP, Victoria
Douglas S. White, QC Kwulasultun — Chair, BC First Nations Justice Council, Nanaimo

Keynote Speaker
Dr. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond/Akikwe — Senior Associate Counsel, Woodward & Company Lawyers LLP, Victoria

Indigenous Laws Methods and Practice Workshop on Day Two
Dr. Hadley Friedland's research focuses on Indigenous laws, Aboriginal law, criminal justice, family and child welfare law, and therapeutic jurisprudence.

Hadley holds a Child and Youth Care diploma (with distinction) from MacEwan University, an LLB from the University of Victoria, and an LLM and PhD from the University of Alberta. She was the first Research Director of the Indigenous Law Research Unit (ILRU) at the University of Victoria Faculty of Law. She has worked extensively with Indigenous communities across Canada to identify and articulate their own laws. She has also published numerous articles and collaborated to produce accessible Indigenous legal resources for Indigenous communities, legal professionals and the general public, and is author of the book, The Wetiko (Windigo) Legal Principles: Cree and Anishinabek Responses to Violence and Victimization, University of Toronto Press.

Hadley is co-lead, with Dr. Shalene Jobin (Faculty of Native Studies) of the Wahkohtowin Indigenous Law and Governance Lodge, an interdisciplinary initiative developed to support community-led research of Indigenous laws and governance principles.

Dr. Val Napoleon, I am Cree from Saulteau First Nation and an adopted member of the Gitanyow (Gitksan) nation. I established the Indigenous Law Research Unit (ILRU), a dedicated academic research centre housed in the Faculty of Law at the University of Victoria. With the ILRU, we partner with Indigenous communities across Canada to substantively articulate and rebuild Indigenous law (e.g., harms and injuries, dispute management, lands and resources, water, and marine management, gender, and justice). My doctoral research focused on a substantive articulation of Gitksan law and the development of a Gitksan legal theory. I was awarded the University of Victoria's Governor General's Gold Medal for my dissertation entitled Ayook: Gitksan Law, Legal Order, and Legal Theory. I publish and teach in areas of Aboriginal legal issues, Indigenous legal traditions and methodologies, Indigenous legal theories, Indigenous feminisms, oral histories, restorative justice, citizenship, and governance. I also teach property law.

Faculty
Caleb Z. Behn — Director, Rights and Legal Systems, Justice and Rights Sector, Assembly of First Nations, Ottawa
Frank Brown — Indigenous Leadership Initiative, Ottawa
Halie Kwanxwa'loga Bruce — Cedar and Sage Law Corporation, Cultus Lake
Dr. Hadley Friedland — Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Alberta, Edmonton
Dawn Johnson — Children and Families Senior Policy Analyst, First Nations Leadership Council, Union of BC Indian Chiefs, Vancouver
Dr. Fred Metallic — Director of Natural Resources and Lead Fisheries Negotiator, Listuguj Mi'gmaq First Nation, Listuguj, Quebec
Robert B. Morales — Negotiator/Lawyer, Cowichan Tribes, Duncan
Chief Na'Moks (John Ridsdale) — Office of the Wet'suwet'en, Smithers
Dr. Val Napoleon — Director, JD/JID Program, Associate Professor, Law Foundation Chair of Indigenous Justice and Governance, Director, Indigenous Law Research Unit, University of Victoria, Victoria
Dr. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond/Akikwe — Senior Associate Counsel, Woodward & Company Lawyers LLP, Victoria
Douglas S. White, QC Kwulasultun — Chair, BC First Nations Justice Council, Nanaimo
Gretchen Woodman, BA, BSE, MA — Senior Advisor: Wellness Jurisdiction, Office of the  Wet'suwet'en, Smithers 
Rosalie C.N. Yazzie — BC First Nations Justice Council, Nesika Law Corporation, Westbank

Click here for full faculty bios

Day One: Indigenous Legal Orders in Action

Welcome and Land Acknowledgement (9:00 – 9:10)

Chief Leah Sisi-ya-ama George-Wilson — Miller Titerle + Co., Vancouver
Dr. Sarah Morales — Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Victoria, Victoria

Coast Salish Legal Protocol: Witnessing Ceremony (9:10 – 9:25)

Speaker George Harris — Stz'uminus First Nation

Witnesses:
Halie Kwanxwa'loga Bruce — Cedar and Sage Law Corporation, Cultus Lake
Robert B. Morales — Negotiator/Lawyer, Cowichan Tribes, Duncan
Dr. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond/Akikwe — Senior Associate Counsel, Woodward & Company Lawyers LLP, Victoria
Douglas S. White, QC Kwulasultun — Chair, BC First Nations Justice Council, Nanaimo

Introduction: Human Rights and Institutional Reform (9:25 – 9:45)

• creating space for Indigenous legal orders and processes
• examples of work being done to create this space in health, child welfare, criminal justice, and land and water resources
• practical tools and strategies for facilitating change

Chief Leah Sisi-ya-ama George-Wilson — Miller Titerle + Co., Vancouver
Dr. Sarah Morales — Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Victoria, Victoria

Keynote: Sprucing Up the Law and Cleaning Out the Underbrush (9:45 – 10:30)

Dr. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond/Akikwe — Senior Associate Counsel, Woodward & Company Lawyers LLP, Victoria

BREAK (10:30 – 10:45)

Child and Family Wellness (10:45 – 11:45)

On Jan 1, 2020, An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families came into force and effect with two main purposes:

1. 1. setting national minimum standards in relation to Indigenous Child and Family Services
   2. recognition of inherent rights of Indigenous Peoples to be self-determining over children and families

• How this act changes the legal landscape with regard to children and families

Dawn Johnson — Children and Families Senior Policy Analyst, First Nations Leadership Council, Union of BC Indian Chiefs, Vancouver

• Wet'suwet'en case study: Wet’suwet’en jurisdiction regarding child and family wellness

Chief Na'Moks (John Ridsdale) — Office of the Wet'suwet'en, Smithers
Gretchen Woodman, BA, BSE, MA — Senior Advisor: Wellness Jurisdiction, Office of the  Wet'suwet'en, Smithers

• Cowichan Tribes case study

Robert B. Morales — Negotiator/Lawyer, Cowichan Tribes, Duncan

Questions and Discussion (11:45 – 12:00)

LUNCH (12:00 – 12:45)

Criminal Justice (12:45 – 1:45)

• Human Rights and the criminal justice system
• First Nations Justice Council
• Indigenous Justice Centers and how they will help remedy systemic racism in BC

Douglas S. White, QC Kwulasultun — Chair, BC First Nations Justice Council, Nanaimo
Rosalie C.N. Yazzie — BC First Nations Justice Council, Nesika Law Corporation, Westbank

BREAK (1:45 – 2:00)

Land and Water: Natual Resources and the Environment (2:00 – 2:45)

• Indigenous Leadership Initiative: the national program and the incorporation of Indigenous legal traditions

Frank Brown — Indigenous Leadership Initiative, Ottawa

• Ge'mawiagnutmatinej Jagejewei: advancing Mi'gmaq law into 'commercial fisheries'
  • background of 'Ge'mawiagnutmatinej Jagejewe' project
  • lobster law-making process
  • key aspects of the Listuguj Mi'gmaq First Nation Law on the lobster fishery and lobster fishing
  • lobster law: challenges and concerns

Dr. Fred Metallic — Director of Natural Resources and Lead Fisheries Negotiator, Listuguj Mi'gmaq First Nation, Listuguj, Quebec

BREAK (2:45 – 3:00)

Land and Water: Natural Resources and the Environment, continued (3:00 – 3:45)

• Indigenous assessment processes: Tsleil-Waututh Nation case study

Chief Leah Sisi-ya-ama George-Wilson — Miller Titerle + Co., Vancouver

• Site C: extractive industry implications for Indigenous laws

Caleb Z. Behn — Director, Rights and Legal Systems, Justice and Rights Sector, Assembly of First Nations, Ottawa

The Way Forward: Reflections by Witnesses (3:45 – 4:45)

Speaker George Harris — Stz'uminus First Nation

Witnesses:
Halie Kwanxwa'loga Bruce — Cedar and Sage Law Corporation, Cultus Lake
Robert B. Morales — Negotiator/Lawyer, Cowichan Tribes, Duncan
Dr. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond/Akikwe — Senior Associate Counsel, Woodward & Company Lawyers LLP, Victoria
Douglas S. White, QC Kwulasultun — Chair, BC First Nations Justice Council, Nanaimo

Closing Comments

Chief Leah Sisi-ya-ama George-Wilson — Miller Titerle + Co., Vancouver
Dr. Sarah Morales — Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Victoria, Victoria

Day Two: Indigenous Laws Methods and Practice Workshop (NO rebroadcast available)

Welcome and Land Acknowledgement (9:00 – 9:15)

Chief Leah Sisi-ya-ama George-Wilson — Miller Titerle + Co., Vancouver
Dr. Sarah Morales — Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Victoria, Victoria

Dr. Hadley Friedland — Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Alberta, Edmonton
Dr. Val Napoleon — Director, JD/JID Program, Associate Professor, Law Foundation Chair of Indigenous Justice and Governance, Director, Indigenous Law Research Unit, University of Victoria, Victoria

Indigenous Laws Methods and Practice Workshop: Introductory Ideas (9:15 – 10:15)

• what are Indigenous Laws? 
• Roots to Renaissance—Four Eras of Indigenous Laws
• the TRC Calls to Action and Canada's Principles
• sources of law in Canada

BREAK (10:15 – 10:45)

Accessing and Understanding Indigenous Laws (10:45 – 11:45)

• resources
• methods

LUNCH (11:45 – 12:45)

Narrative Analysis Method (12:45 – 1:45)

• Introduction to Narrative Analysis (ILRU) Method(s)
• case briefing exercise

BREAK (1:45 –2:15)

Engaging with Substantive Indigenous Laws (2:15– 3:15)

• case examples
• application exercise

Closing: Touchstones and Q&A (3:15 – 3:45)