Sergiy Slipchenko | Contributor
Featured Image: The Centre for Aboriginal Student Services at 246 York Lanes. | Hanad Adan
In the past, the Canadian government has ignored its Indigenous population with little to no repercussions. Only in recent years have Indigenous groups been able to push back and hold their own.
A recent report, entitled “Call to Action,” created by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, has led many law schools across Canada to implement mandatory courses on Indigenous and Aboriginal Law. This is in response to the low number of lawyers and judges specializing in the field.
Professor Karen Drake of Osgoode Hall Law School, who specializes in Aboriginal and Indigenous laws, highlights the important distinction between the terms.
“In the legal context, the term Aboriginal law is used to refer to Canadian law as it affects Indigenous people, whereas Indigenous law is used to refer to Indigenous people’s own laws,” she explains.
When asked if this change is a significant shift for Aboriginal law, Drake says it is certainly a step forward, as very few judges and lawyers have any knowledge of or training in Indigenous law. “The real problem is that Indigenous laws come from the world views of Indigenous persons—if you don’t know their view, you can’t help but bring your own world view,” she explains.
“You end up misunderstanding what Aboriginal laws are, it results in misconceptions and distortions,” Drake continues.
Drake also highlights that lacking knowledge on Aboriginal law can lead to a Pan-Indigenous approach, which is problematic when every group is different in its culture, laws, and language.
She speaks on what the new mandatory courses mean for law students. Students will be required to take a course on Aboriginal law, as well as another on Indigenous law.
Drake explains: “There’s a handful of courses that have been approved. It allows for some flexibility, choice, and autonomy.” She continues: “The key is that all the courses that have been approved must deal with both Aboriginal and Indigenous law.”
For Aboriginal laws, students look at the way Aboriginal rights were implemented under the constitution, and what changes occurred after it.
When asked to give an example of what a course may entail, she used her own to explain what can be expected from a class on Indigenous law: “First, getting at least a minimal grounding that underlies the Indigenous nation whose laws we are looking at.
“From there, I try to give students the tools to work with the Indigenous law as law.
“In order to truly treat the law as law, students need to know how to use it and work with it in order to solve problems,” explains Drake.
