Opening will help justice system reflect Indigenous laws, traditions, values: BC attorney general
The British Columbia government has announced that the University of Victoria Faculty of Law (UVic Law) has opened a 2,440-square-metre Indigenous law wing, backed by almost $46 million in total funding and expanding the Murray and Anne Fraser Building.
“The new Indigenous law wing at UVic is a world-leading example of how education can advance reconciliation,” said Jessie Sunner, BC minister of post-secondary education and future skills, in a news release from the provincial government.
According to BC, the expansion includes indoor and outdoor classrooms, an Elders’ garden, ceremonial gathering and oral storytelling spaces, areas for clinical programs, and research centres, including the Indigenous Law Research Unit, the Access to Justice Centre for Excellence, and the Environmental Law Centre.
“This physical structure is a space where our laws, which enable us to be peoples, may be explored, taught and argued by Indigenous and non-Indigenous learners,” said Val Napoleon, UVic’s law foundation chair of Indigenous justice and governance, in BC’s news release.
The provincial government explained that the new wing seeks to serve as a culturally relevant hub where students can learn about Indigenous laws and legal traditions, discuss Indigenous laws and history with faculty and community members, and prepare to promote a justice system reflecting BC’s diversity and trauma-informed practice.
“The opening of the University of Victoria’s Indigenous law wing is a powerful step toward building a justice system that reflects the laws, traditions and values of Indigenous Peoples,” said Niki Sharma, BC attorney general. “It supports the next generation of legal professionals to work across legal systems with respect, understanding, and a commitment to reconciliation.”
The BC government shared that the project aims to:
- Advance the province’s commitment to promoting Indigenous self-determination
- Align with BC’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act Action Plan, which calls for post-secondary education to respect Indigenous knowledge and traditions
- Respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action 50, which pushes for the establishment of Indigenous law institutes
“With this building, together we advance the priorities set out 10 years ago in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, particularly Call to Action 50: to establish Indigenous law institutes,” said Freya Kodar, UVic law dean.
According to the news release, UVic Law established the first juris doctor and juris Indigenarum doctor (JD/JID) joint-degree program in 2018. The four-year program, which includes classroom and community-based field learning, seeks to prepare students to practise law across Canada’s common law legal system and Indigenous legal traditions.
Design and funding
In its news release, the BC government said the new wing’s design, which incorporated natural materials, sought to reflect UVic Law’s relationships with Indigenous communities, insights from conversations with Elders, Indigenous teachings, and Coast Salish legal traditions
“The new Indigenous law wing reflects the values we hold deeply at UVic,” said Qwul’sih’yah’maht, Robina Thomas, UVic acting president, in BC’s news release. “Its construction was the product of great collaboration between architects, Elders and community.”
“Built in consultation with Songhees, Xwsepsum (Esquimalt), and W̱SÁNEĆ Nations, with support from the federal and provincial governments, this project reflects that Indigenous knowledge and legal systems form a critical part of Canada’s legal and constitutional system,” added Will Greaves, member of Parliament for Victoria.
The provincial government noted that the project’s total funding included over $9 million from the federal government, $18 million from BC, $11 million from the Law Foundation of British Columbia, and almost $8 million from UVic.
“Making investments in facilities like this that support our ongoing journey of reconciliation will help to build togetherness, prosperity and a stronger province for everyone,” said Spencer Chandra Herbert, BC minister of Indigenous relations and reconciliation.
