Aboriginal Law and Indigenous Laws

The Indigenous Law Centre (formerly the Native Law Centre) was founded in 1975 to examine the ways in which the legal system could accommodate Indigenous aspirations and to make the law more accessible to Indigenous people. In meeting these objectives, the Centre carries out a number of publishing and legal curriculum activities and serves as a centre of excellence on Aboriginal and Indigenous laws. While the University of Saskatchewan provides core funding for the centre, the Centre also receives on-going support for its activities from the Law Foundations of British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario.

We partner with Indigenous communities seeking to re-articulate their laws to address the challenges they face today. We collaborate with communities on research projects by invitation, and we work with communities on their own terms. We also strive to deepen engagement with Indigenous laws. We develop public educational resources to teach about Indigenous law, and we design academic curricula. We provide workshops, courses, and presentations that discuss Indigenous legal methodologies and critical issues that are inclusive of Indigenous feminisms. We train students, the upcoming generation of legal professionals, through research placements in our unit.

The Mi’kmaq-Wolastoqey Centre (MWC), formerly Mi'kmaq-Maliseet Institute (MMI), is a centre for Indigenous education studies in the Atlantic region. The centre administers programs for Indigenous students at the University of New Brunswick and helps them enter the undergraduate faculty of their choice.

As the vibrant heartbeat of Indigenous education at CBU for more than 40 years, Unama’ki College offers an environment that embraces the knowledge, wisdom and traditions of the Mi’kmaq. From faculty and staff that speak Mi’kmaw to academic courses delivered in Mi’kmaw communities, Unama’ki College has many offerings for Indigenous learners. Currently, CBU is the home away from home for more than 300 Indigenous students, as well as the alma mater of close to 1,000 Indigenous graduates. With research opportunities, engaging programs, and a strong community, Indigenous students come to CBU to build rewarding futures and careers paths.

The Wahkohtowin Law and Governance Lodge is a dedicated research unit based out of the University of Alberta. The Wahkohtowin Lodge’s objectives are to uphold Indigenous laws and governance by: Supporting Indigenous communities’ goals to identify, articulate, and implement their own laws; Developing, gathering, amplifying, and transferring wise practices, promising methods and research tools; and Producing useful and accessible public legal education resources. The Wahkohtowin Lodge responds to the expressed needs of Indigenous communities and organizations and specifically answers the TRC Call to Action #50, which calls for the creation of Indigenous Law Institutes for the “development, use and understanding of Indigenous laws.”

The main purpose of Elders-in-Residence and Indigenous Knowledge Keepers Program is to provide support and counsel to Indigenous students attending Dalhousie University. The program mandate is to focus on the needs of Indigenous Students throughout the year.

The Dalhousie Indigenous Law Students' Association is dedicated to promoting and supporting Indigenous students in their pursuit of a legal education. It aims to be a source of support for members and Indigenous students at large, and endeavours to raise awareness through education, information sharing, and providing an Indigenous perspective It is dedicated to bridging the gap between the legal community, Indigenous communities, and specifically Mi'kmaq communities.

The Indigenous Student Centre (ISC) helps create a sense of belonging to support your success while at Dalhousie. Our Indigenous Student Advisor provides support and advocacy for all of Dalhousie’s Indigenous students. We welcome you to make use of our personal, educational, and career resources to enhance your university experience.

The Indigenous Blacks & Mi'kmaq (IB&M) Initiative at the Schulich School of Law was established in 1989 to increase representation of Indigenous Blacks and Mi'kmaq in the legal profession in order to reduce discrimination. The IB&M Initiative works to ensure that Mi'kmaw and African Nova Scotian students, and other Aboriginal and Black students, are represented at the Schulich School of Law. The Initiative involves community outreach and recruiting, providing financial and other support to students, developing scholarships in the areas of Aboriginal law and African Canadian legal perspectives, and promoting the hiring and retention of graduates.

The Ko’jua Okuom, located in the Downie Wenjack Legacy Space on the first floor of the Killam Library, was developed to be a welcoming gathering place for Indigenous students, staff, and faculty to host and attend Indigenous ceremonies and events.

The Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre if one of 199 Friendship Centres across the land known as Canada. The Centre aims to improve the lives of Aboriginal peoples living in an urban environment through social and cultural programing. The Society strives to provide all services and programs in a context that acknowledges the rich artistic and spiritual traditions of the Mi'kmaq people, so as to facilitate cultural knowledge transfer in an urban aboriginal environment. The Society has an open door policy with all of their programs making their services available to all people.

Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) works collaboratively with partners to improve access to high quality services for First Nations, Inuit and Métis. Their vision is to support and empower Indigenous peoples to independently deliver services and address the socio-economic conditions in their communities.

Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) continues to renew the nation-to-nation, Inuit-Crown, government-to-government relationship between Canada and First Nations, Inuit and Métis; modernize Government of Canada structures to enable Indigenous peoples to build capacity and support their vision of self-determination and lead the Government of Canada's work in the North.

The Office of L’nu Affairs leads negotiations on Aboriginal and treaty rights with the Mi’kmaq of Nova Scotia and the federal government. It coordinates consultation between the Government of Nova Scotia and the Mi’kmaq of Nova Scotia, represents provincial interests in Aboriginal matters and provides policy advice on how to support the social and economic wellbeing of Aboriginal communities.