Conference Focused On Indigenous Issues
Hundreds attended the opening of the 2018 World Indigenous Law Conference at the St. Clair College Centre for the Arts Sunday afternoon.
For four days, the biennial conference will bring together international lawyers, judges, community leaders and more to discuss the implementation of Indigenous law into contemporary western legal systems.
“The intent is to highlight that we’ve always had laws, and that they are still in existence and to recognize the Indigenous nations across the world,” said Dr. Beverly Jacobs, assistance professor at the University of Windsor’s faculty of law, and co-chair of the Indigenous law conference.
“I hope it makes a difference,” said Jacobs, who was glad to bring the conference to Windsor. “Part of the struggle is that, historically, the way law has been taught is through colonial law. Now we have the opportunities of recognizing Indigenous law as just as respected as colonial law.”
Colonial law has been used as a tool to erase Indigenous law, she added, but she viewed the conference as a tool to uplift it. In addition to the 320 people registered to attend the conference, all 160 local first-year law students joined, both as volunteers and as audience members at the various available lectures. “I definitely think this conference has tremendous value,” said Samuel Abbot, 26, a first-year law student at the University of Windsor. “It’s about bringing together communities from all over the world, and seeing the legal traditions, as well as the cultural perspectives.”
Abbot and all other law students currently in their first year are the first to have the “Indigenous Legal Traditions” course a mandatory component of their law degree. This year, the curriculum changed to include Indigenous law in accordance with a recommendation put forth by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2015. Call to action 28 asks that Canadian law schools to require all law students to take a course in Aboriginal people and the law, including skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and antiracism.
“It’s a valuable experience for us going forward,” Abbot said about the Indigenous law course he’s studying. “It’s issues that have been neglected in the past, and are definitely coming to light more, and need to be dealt with. They can’t be swept under the rug.” “I think having this good base in moving forward provides us with the a little bit more knowledge to help these people.
The event began in New Zealand in 2012, followed by Australia in 2014, then California in 2016. The 2018 World Indigenous Law Conference runs through Wednesday.