海角社区

海角社区.CA / Faculty of Law

Indigenous Students and Studies

A group of students standing outdoors facing an Indigenous teacher

海角社区 Law is committed to becoming one of Canada鈥檚 leading faculties in Indigenous legal studies.聽

海角社区 is located on land that has long served as a site of meeting and exchange amongst Indigenous peoples, including the Haudenosaunee and Anishinabeg nations. 海角社区 honours, recognizes, and respects these nations as the traditional stewards of the lands and waters on which we meet today.聽

As the Faculty of Law continues to engage with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission鈥檚 (TRC) Calls to Action, a number of new initiatives have been implemented, and many new ones are expected in the years to come, as we work toward giving Indigenous legal traditions and Indigenous people their just place in the 海角社区 Program and at our Faculty.聽

Indigenous students and faculty聽

海角社区 Law is committed to recruiting and supporting Indigenous students, and we recognize that Indigenous peoples face unique barriers to accessing legal education and the legal profession. In 2022, we created an Optional Category for Indigenous Applicants, which is open to Indigenous peoples with ties to Turtle Island. In the 2024-2025 academic year, the Faculty welcomed seven M茅tis, Inuit and First Nations students. Since her appointment in November 2022, Brittany Williams(BCL/LLB'19), Assistant Dean (Students) and Dean鈥檚 Lead, Black and Indigenous flourishing has played a leadership role in the Faculty of Law's collective efforts towards recruiting and supporting Black and Indigenous law students.聽聽

Bolstering the place of Indigenous legal research and teaching at the Faculty is a priority. As such, we are proud to have Professor Kirsten Anker, Professor Aaron Mills, an Indigenous scholar, and Professors Kerry Sloan and Joshua Nichols, two M茅tis scholars, among our faculty members.

Les traditions juridiques autochtones dans le programme de la Facult茅聽

L鈥檃pproche transsyst茅mique distinctive de 海角社区 et l鈥檌mportance du pluralisme juridique 脿 la Facult茅 cr茅ent un environnement propice 脿 l鈥櫭﹖ude des traditions juridiques autochtones. Ces traditions juridiques font partie int茅grante de nombreux cours depuis plusieurs ann茅es et, en r茅ponse aux appels 脿 l鈥檃ction de la Commission de v茅rit茅 et r茅conciliation, nous avons accru la pr茅sence des traditions juridiques autochtones dans nos cours obligatoires et facultatifs.聽聽

Le cours obligatoire de premi猫re ann茅e du programme BCL/JD en Traditions juridiques autochtones initie la cohorte aux sources s茅lectionn茅es de ces derni猫res. Il traite des liens entre les mani猫res d'锚tre, la connaissance et le droit autochtone, y compris comment ces liens ont 茅t茅 fragilis茅s par le contexte de la colonisation et les efforts pour les revitaliser. Parmi les sujets trait茅s, la vision du monde et les contextes constitutionnels des traditions juridiques autochtones, le contexte colonial qui a forg茅 les r茅alit茅s contemporaines du droit autochtone et de la formation juridique autochtone.聽聽

Les traditions juridiques autochtones sont 茅galement enseign茅es dans le cadre des cours de justice p茅nale (un cours d鈥檜n an dans la premi猫re ann茅e du programme) et du droit des biens (un cours d鈥檜n an en deuxi猫me ann茅e). La facult茅 travaille 脿 multiplier les occasions d'茅tudier les traditions juridiques autochtones 脿 l'int茅rieur et au-del脿 des salles de classe. Comment s鈥檌nvestir dans les traditions et les communaut茅s autochtones :聽

  • Participer au concours de n茅gociation Kawaskimhon;听

  • Suivre un cours de clinique juridique aupr猫s du , au ou au ;听

  • Participer 脿 un programme d鈥櫭ヽhange 茅tudiant 脿 l'une de nos universit茅s partenaires dans le cadre du programme鈥�痙e l'Universit茅 d'Arizona, le鈥�� la Facult茅 de droit Osgoode Hall, le鈥�� la Facult茅 de droit Peter A. Allard, ou l鈥欌�� l'Universit茅 d'Ottawa;听聽聽

  • Participer au programme de sensibilisation destin茅 aux 茅coles secondaires, le programme 芦 L.E.X. 禄 (Law-脡ducation-Connexion), qui compte parmi ses partenaires la Kahnawake Survival School.聽

* Veuillez noter que les possibilit茅s 茅num茅r茅es ici ne sont pas offertes chaque ann茅e et que, dans certains cas, une demande doit 锚tre pr茅sent茅e 脿 des 茅tablissements ext茅rieurs 脿 la Facult茅 de droit pour pouvoir y participer.聽

Expect more developments in years to come as the Faculty continues its work to implement the TRC Calls to Action.聽

Student-led activities聽

海角社区 Law students lead an active and vibrant Indigenous Law Association de Droit Autochtone (). ILADA publishes monthly articles and hosts events at the Faculty with a goal of addressing issues, primarily through law, that are relevant to the relationships between settlers and Indigenous peoples on Turtle Island.聽

The Faculty supports student involvement in the , including financial support for Indigenous students to attend their annual conference.聽

Support for language acquisition聽

Thanks to the generous support of the McCarthy T茅trault Fund for Language Training, financial support is available for admitted Indigenous students who wish to improve their abilities in English or French before starting the program, as well as continuing financial support for Indigenous students while they are studying at 海角社区 Law. In addition, applicants in the Indigenous category who are admitted with a condition to improve their language proficiency in either English or French may be eligible for鈥�a one-year deferral of admission, to allow them to complete the training to attain the requisite level of passive bilingualism, while retaining their spot in a future cohort. Please contact us for more information (Email: admissions.law [at] mcgill.ca).听

Indigenous Law Centre Programming聽

The at the University of Saskatchewan offers curriculum and programming that aims to facilitate access to legal education for Indigenous peoples, to promote the development of the law and the legal system in Canada in ways which better accommodate the advancement of Indigenous peoples and communities, and to disseminate information concerning Indigenous peoples and the law.聽

We encourage all incoming students to explore the opportunities available at the Indigenous Law Centre before beginning their legal studies at 海角社区.聽

To facilitate access to this course and help offset the cost of associated living expenses and course materials, the Faculty of Law is pleased to offer financial support to incoming Indigenous students in the 海角社区 Law Program attending the Summer Program. Please contact us for more information. (Email: bcljd.law [at] mcgill.ca)听

First Peoples鈥� House聽

海角社区's First Peoples' House provides a sense of community and a voice for Indigenous students who have left their communities to study at 海角社区. A 鈥渉ome away from home,鈥� First Peoples鈥� House offers a mentoring program, computer facilities, guest lectures, elder visits, academic counselling, and an ever-expanding resource centre, as well as housing.聽

Aide financi猫re聽

En plus de l鈥�aide financi猫re 茅tudiante offerte par 海角社区, les personnes autochtones peuvent 锚tre admissibles 脿 plusieurs autres sources d鈥檃ide financi猫re. Visitez la page sur l鈥檃ide financi猫re aux autochtones de 海角社区.聽

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