Indigenous Justice - Home on Native Land Series

Home on Native Land - Indigenous Justice

Lunch and Learn Series

While we may all have heard about residential schools, treaties, and reconciliation, how much do any of us know about the Indigenous laws that have been around for far longer than the Canadian Constitution?

Register for the free Home on Native Land 10-part course on Indigenous justice in Canada and discover the myths, absurdities, and possibilities that are baked into the laws of this land. Study and learn at your own pace, then join our discussion group to reflect, share and learn from each other and map out ways we can begin a personal journey of putting reconciliation into action. Don't miss this chance to be part of a transformative experience!

Taking place on select Tuesdays starting March 11th through June 18th, 2024 at 12:00 to 1:00 PM (Edmonton/Mountain Time), these sessions will provide a platform for open discussions, sharing stories, and learning from Indigenous leaders and activists.

* Choose to register for 1, 2, or even all 10 sessions by selecting tickets for the corresponding session(s) you are interested in. IF TICKETS ARE SOLD OUT JOIN THE WAITLIST OR EMAIL shelley.jackson@portagecollege.ca to be put on email list for zoom links.

** There will be a new Zoom link for each session. This link will be sent prior to each session via email.

* ** Certificates of Attendance will be issued for those who attend all 10 sessions

Course Content - What You’ll Learn:

LESSON 1: Whose Land is it, Anyway? (March 12 @ 12:00 – 1:00 PM Mountain/Edmonton time)

Concepts of manifest destiny, doctrine of discovery, terra nullius, and how the Crown came to have dominion over land in Canada.

LESSON 2: Trick or Treaty? (March 26 @ 12:00 – 1:00 PM Mountain/Edmonton time)

Why treaties are still relevant and to discover if they are being upheld today.

Definitions between historic Treaties, numbered Treaties, and modern Treaties.

What ‘unceded lands’ really mean.

LESSON 3: The Indian Act or “Act Indian” (April 9 @ 12:00 – 1:00 PM Mountain/Edmonton time)

Recognize the history and intent of the Indian Act.

Examine changes and additions to the Indian Act made during the late 19th century and early 20th century, and how they influence Indigenous governance and legal traditions.

LESSON 4: Your Indigenous Legal History Sandwich (April 23 @ 12:00 – 1:00 PM Mountain/Edmonton time)

This lesson serves up a stack of legal history moments with a garnish of reconciliation. Save the King and pass the mustard!

Understand the basic history of the Royal Proclamation of 1763.

Learn about what led up to the White Paper, and why it failed.

Get to know about the Duty to Consult and Section 35 of the constitution.

Find out about the UNDRIP Implementation Act.

LESSON 5: The 3 Big “S” Words: Sovereignty, Self-determination, and Self-government (May 7 @ 12:00 – 1:00 PM Mountain/Edmonton time)

The difference between sovereignty, self-government, and self-determination and how those terms are understood in Canada;

What recent legal rulings mean for self-determining Indigenous Peoples and their neighbours.

LESSON 6: Whose Land? Whose Law? (May 21 @ 12:00 – 1:00 PM Mountain/Edmonton time)

Understand Indigenous law as an evolving set of responsibilities and rights;

Look at an example of stewardship in practice;

See the differences between private property, common property, and Indigenous communal land use.

LESSON 7: A Beginner’s Guide to Hunting and Fishing (May 28 @ 12:00 – 1:00 PM Mountain/Edmonton time)

Learn about Indigenous rights prior to the existence of Canada;

Discover how colonial laws impact hunting, fishing, and gathering on traditional lands and waters;

Review legal challenges in which Indigenous Nations proved their prior and existing rights in court: and why that’s important!

LESSON 8 – UNDRIP: A Declaration of Interdependence (June 4 @ 12:00 – 1:00 PM Mountain/Edmonton time)

The basics of UNDRIP;

How to explain B.C.’s DRIPA and a few areas that Kupki7 Judy Wilson gives examples of implementation.

LESSON 9 – Environmental Law: Zero Degrees of Separation (June 11 @ 12:00 – 1:00 PM Mountain/Edmonton time)

How Indigenous Peoples understand stewardship responsibilities and how those shape relationships with the land.

How Indigenous stewardship contrasts with common law and settler institutions like Parks Canada.

How Indigenous Nations are using their legal frameworks to revitalize lands and waters in their territories and to protect land, water, and air systems that sustain life.

LESSON 10 – Braiding Legal Traditions (June 18th @ 12:00 – 1:00 PM Mountain/Edmonton time)

Understand Canadian common law, including the way that European law has been incorporated in Canada.

Recognize the basic principles of Canadian, European, and certain Indigenous law and legal traditions.