SECOND ANNUAL ABORIGINAL MOOT HELD AT THE LAKESHORE CAMPUS
May 16, 2019
On April 12, 2019, Paralegal Degree students held the Second Annual Aboriginal Moot at the Lakeshore Campus. The Aboriginal Moot was the capstone assignment for students in the Indigenous Legal Perspectives course. To open the Second Annual Aboriginal Moot, students toured the Indigenous Cultural Markers recently installed at the Lakeshore campus.
The Faculty of Business is meeting Humber’s aspirations pursuant to the Indigenous Education Protocol, and has responded to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, by modifying the Paralegal Degree Program curriculum. The new course compares Aboriginal Law with Indigenous Legal Traditions. Professor Shirley Wales, a lawyer and former Adjudicator for the survivors of the Indian Residential Schools, designed and taught the new course. She incorporated research from her PhD studies, including the Indigenous Legal Traditions course taught by an Elder.
The Aboriginal Moot follows the format of the Kawaskimhon National Aboriginal Moot. Most Canadian Law Schools participate in the Kawaskimhon National Aboriginal Moot. The Moot is also known as “The Talking Circle”. Students engage in roundtable negotiations with the aim of reaching a consensus-based settlement. They rely on Indigenous Legal Traditions, as well as provincial, federal, and international law. The students were honoured to be joined at the Second Annual Aboriginal Moot by Associate Dean James Cullin, and by Paralegal Degree faculty members Dr. Karen Schucher and Dr. John Allen.
