News articles
Youth Workshop on Indigenous Laws with the Qwelmínte Secwépemc Knowledge Builders Program
Youth Workshop on Indigenous Laws with the Qwelmínte Secwépemc Knowledge Builders Program From July 28–30, the Indigenous Law Research Unit, University of Victoria team had the privilege of working alongside Qwelminte Secwepemc for a three-day gathering with youth...
χʷɛmaɬkʷu Laws Workshop
χʷɛmaɬkʷu Laws WorkshopFrom July 14-16, our team had the privilege of co-facilitating a two-day in-person workshop with Homalco First Nation. The workshop offered an introduction to ILRU's approaches to engaging with Indigenous laws, using storywork, and hands-on...
Building new pathways for Indigenous Law
Building new pathways for Indigenous LawsUVic News | By: David Murphy The University of Victoria’s Faculty of Law is now home to a new Indigenous Law wing. It supports the growing movement of Indigenous Laws empowering communities to reclaim and exercise authority...
UVic’s Centre for Indigenous Laws opens this September
UVic's Centre for Indigenous Laws opens this September MARTLETT | By: Hailey Chutter A new wing has been created in the Fraser Building to house a Centre for Indigenous Laws (CIL). Starting in September, it will be used as a new space for the University of Victoria...
Reinvigorating St’át’imc Stories
Reinvigorating St'át'imc StoriesWhistler, BC – The St’át’imc Chiefs Council, in partnership with the Indigenous Law Research Unit (ILRU), hosted a two-day workshop, The St’át’imc Law Initiative, from October 22–23, 2024, in Whistler, BC. This event brought together 35...
Secwépemc Laws of K̓wséltkten and Secwépemc-kt Project
Secwépemc Laws of K̓wséltkten and Secwépemc-ktDescription of the Project The Indigenous Law Research Unit has been working in partnership with the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council (SNTC) and the Secwépemc Sna7a Elders Council to explore Secwépemc laws of citizenship,...
Better Recognizing Indigenous Legal Orders
A reflection on our time spent with the Indigenous Law Research Unit A reflection by the Sierra Club BC on the Indigenous Laws Workshop run by ILRU. See the blog post.
$1.2 million grant to Indigenous Law Research Unit for revitalization of laws and legal systems
$1.2 million grant to Indigenous Law Research Unit for revitalization of laws and legal systems The Indigenous Law Research Unit has received a $1.2 million in core, unrestricted grant funding from the Law Foundation of BC to support the revitalization of Indigenous...
Toolkit Centres Salish Laws on Child & Caregiver Nurturance and Safety
Toolkit Centres Salish Laws on Child & Caregiver Nurturance and Safety NIȽ TU,O Child and Family Services, in partnership with the Indigenous Law Research Unit (ILRU), is excited to launch a new toolkit on Child and Caregiver Nurturance and Safety centred on Coast...
Report Examines Anishinaabeg governance and family law
Report Examines Anishinaabeg governance and family law The Niijkiwendidaa Anishnaabekwewag Services Circle is pleased to release a new report that shines light on Anishinaabeg kinship-centred governance and family law. The report aims to help Anishinaabeg and other...
It’s Nothing like Law & Order
Everyday Reconciliation "On this episode of Everyday Reconciliation, host Elin Miller speaks with Val Napoleon, an activist, educator, and the interim Dean of Law at University of Victoria, about Indigenous legal frameworks, and how essential they are to...
A citizen’s guide to reconciliation
Policy Options Politiques Tara Williamson and Robert Houle, discuss the role that individuals play in advancing reconciliation, and what steps settlers can take to push for it in their everyday lives. Listen to podcast
Revitalizing Indigenous systems of law in Canada
On the Coast with Gloria Macarenko "Val Napoleon, a law professor at the University of Victoria and a member of the Saulteau First Nation, discusses how far Canada has gone to answering the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Call to Action 50." Listen to podcast
Val Napoleon, Law & Justice (2021)
Indspire Val Napoleon receives the Indspire Award for Law & Justice 2021. See article
This Land is Their Land
Weapons of Reason - The Conflict Issue "In British Columbia, the First Nations are at war with oil and gas companies intent on exploiting their indigenous lands, and with each other over governance and tensions between a “democratic” present and their ancestral...
Val Napoleon wins 2021 Indspire Award for Law and Justice
UVic News "Val Napoleon is one of Canada’s most influential Indigenous legal scholars. She’s also an artist, disruptor, activist, a Cree woman from the Saulteau First Nation and an adopted member of the Gitanyow (Gitxsan) Nation. Today, Napoleon received the 2021...
Indigenous law being steadily rebuilt in Canada, says UVic prof Val Napoleon
Saanich News Indigenous law is being recognized and rebuilt in Canada. Contributions to this shift come from the work of the Indigenous Law Research Unit and the JD/JID Joint Indigenous and Common Law Degree Program at UVic. See article
Exploring New Vistas and Indigenous Legal Orders: A Conversation with Val Napoleon
Appointed: A Canadian Senator Bringing Margins to the Centre "On this episode of Appointed, Dr. Val Napoleon, Professor and Law Foundation Chair of Indigenous Justice and Governance at the University of Victoria, and Kim discuss the large role that law plays in our...
Indigenous lawyer Val Napoleon gets UNBC honorary degree
Indigenous lawyer Val Napoleon gets UNBC honorary degree ILRU Director, Dr Val Napoleon, is slated to receive an honorary doctor of laws degree from the University of Northern British Columbia in June 2021. See article
The Transitional Space to Learn Indigenous Law
Canadian Bar Association of BC: Bartalk Jessica Asch and Christina Gray discuss "the Transitional Space to Learn Indigenous Law" in this newly published article in the Canadian Bar Association of BC's Bartalk. Read article See Christina Gray website
Conversations on Calls to Action 28 – Going to school
Canadian Bar Association: The Every Lawyer "President Brad Regehr meets with Dr. Val Napoleon and Sigma Daum Shanks to discuss Call to Action 28, which calls on law schools to require students to take a course in Aboriginal people and the law." Listen to podcast
“Full Fledged Tricksters”: Val Napoleon & the Indigenous Law Research Unit
RAVEN Trust "On this episode, we took a walk with the director of the world’s first Joint Degree Program in Indigenous and Common Law, Val Napoleon, and her colleague Rebecca Johnson. Meet Julianna Alexander, a Secwepmec elder and research partner with the Indigenous...
Walking a path of partnership and friendship
UVic Dean's Lecture Series "In June 2015, after seven years of collecting evidence on the history and legacy of Indian residential schools, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) released its 388-page Executive Summary (the "report"). This...
ILRU Researcher
ILRU Researcher We are seeking to hire an ILRU Researcher. This is a full-time, one-year contract position to work alongside the whole ILRU team on different ILRU projects in a collaborative, dynamic environment. Please note that our priority is to hire a person who...
Raven images are the property of the artist Val Napoleon. If you would like to use one of the images, please contact Val Napoleon at Napoleon@UVic.ca or Brooke Edmonds at ILRU@UVic.ca.