草莓污视频导航

Oct. 26, 2021

New course helps future lawyers embrace true meaning of reconciliation

Reconciliation and Lawyers course highlights importance of understanding past to make changes in the way we practise law
Students and staff sit in a circle around the 草莓污视频导航 tipi at the Indigenous Orientation for law students
Chris Wedman

Many believe that to be able to successfully practise law, to be able to be a true advocate for clients, lawyers need to have a strong understanding of the history that shaped聽our legal system. For lawyers working with Indigenous clients and communities, understanding聽exactly what happened in Canada鈥檚 past, and how it impacted Indigenous Peoples is key to moving forward on the path to reconciliation.聽聽

鈥淚t聽is time for Indigenous laws to be understood and implemented in聽the聽conventional legal system to better serve Indigenous Peoples as well as fulfill the Truth and Reconciliation Commission鈥檚 Calls to Action, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and the聽Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit People (MMIWG2S)聽Calls for Justice,鈥 says Andrea Menard, who teaches the new Reconciliation and Lawyers course in the Faculty of Law.聽

Andrea Menard

Andrea Menard in teaching the new course, Reconciliation & Lawyers, at the law school.

Courtesy Andrea Menard

Understanding past is key to improving profession聽

Menard, who is the Indigenous Initiatives Liaison at the Law Society of Alberta, understands the importance of training future and current lawyers聽on聽how to represent clients appropriately and properly in the courts of law.聽She is M茅tis from the abolished Red River Settlement,聽is a M茅tis Nation of Alberta聽citizen, and knows the value of聽being able to teach students exactly what happened in Canada from an Indigenous 鈥 and personal 鈥 perspective.聽

鈥淚鈥檝e dedicated my life to helping out Indigenous Peoples. I saw what happened to my family and I wanted to figure out why there was such a divergence from the white or Western side of my family to the聽M茅tis聽side... they were completely two different worlds,鈥 explains Menard.聽

Not only does the course tackle the past illegal and genocidal practices Indigenous Peoples were forced to endure and how this created severe distrust in the Western legal system,聽but students also聽examine current legal practices, laws,聽and policies and their discriminatory impacts on Indigenous Peoples,聽and how to reverse assumptions and embedded biases to become an ally and advocate for all clients, especially Indigenous clients.聽聽

Preparing lawyers to interact with clients in聽culturally appropriate聽ways聽

鈥淢y legal education is a huge privilege, but it has also felt pretty uncomfortable and alienating at times,鈥 says third-year student Erin Ramsperger, who is a member of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte of the Haudenosaunee Six Nations Confederacy.聽

鈥淚 enrolled in the Reconciliation and Lawyers course with the hope of finding a decolonial learning opportunity that would challenge some of the oppressive practices and biases inherent in a colonial legal system. Lawyers need to be prepared to interact with First Nations, Inuit, and M茅tis clients in a culturally appropriate and trauma-informed manner, and this course will help to meet that need.聽

This course challenges the status quo, helps to illuminate personal biases, and encourages everyone to look inward to learn to do better.聽

Teaching methods aimed聽to break聽down barriers聽

The format of the course differs from traditional law classes,聽including a regular sharing circle which helps break down barriers to learning and understanding. Technology is also limited in the course聽to encourage students to learn how to become active聽listeners, and聽become accustomed to the slower pace of life common in Indigenous communities.聽

鈥淟aptops create barriers,鈥 explains Menard. 鈥淲hen working with Indigenous clients and communities, you鈥檙e often not going to have a laptop in front of you, so being able to listen and contemplate what you鈥檙e hearing, to make a connection heart to heart, allows for deeper understanding and connection.鈥澛

For third-year student Gurjot Sekhon, having space for self-reflection is key.聽聽聽

鈥淚 wanted to take Reconciliation and Lawyers to get a better understanding of Indigenous law and the Indigenous perspective of common law. The self-reflection nature of this course helps people understand the impact of colonization and how they can be a part of the reconciliation process.聽

I think this course is very important for law students to take in reducing biases and stigma and becoming a well-informed lawyer that can adequately represent Indigenous people.聽聽