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OTTAWA, March 4, 2010  —  The Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa will welcome teams from 15 schools from across Canada to Tabaret Hall on March 5, 6 & 7 for the 2010 Kawaskimhon Law Moot, an annual dispute resolution forum where questions regarding aboriginal legal issues are debated and negotiated by Canadian law students.  The moot encourages a consensus decision-making approach to dispute resolution with a reliance on Indigenous legal traditions, laws and customs.

This year’s moot problem is based on a recent Court of Appeal decision from Alberta called Peavine Metis Settlement v. Alberta (Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development) [2009].  This case raises a number of important and relevant issues concerning the significance of Indian Act status, Métis Settlement status, dual status, identity, and citizenship issues.  Moreover, it raises questions about Aboriginal self government in regards to control over membership, identity and citizenship.   

The University of Ottawa will welcome Elders Terry MacKay, Peter Decontie and Maria Campbell to participate in the event, and David Nahwegahbow, I.P.C., the Faculty of Law’s first Aboriginal graduate, will give the keynote speech at lunch on Saturday, March 6, 2010 in Tabaret Hall, room 112.  Currently senior partner of the First Nations law firm Nahwegahbow Corbière, Mr. Nahwegahbow is a founding member and former President of the Indigenous Bar Association (IBA) and a former Co-Chair of the Joint Committee of Chiefs and Experts on the Recognition and Implementation of First Nations Government, Assembly of First Nations.

For more information, including a detailed agenda, please visit the 2010 Kawaskimhon Law Moot website at http://www.commonlaw.uottawa.ca/kawaskimhonmoot.

WHAT: The 2010 Kawaskimhon Law Moot, celebrating Indigenous legal traditions, laws and customs.

WHEN: March 5, 6 & 7, 2010

WHERE: Tabaret Hall, Room 112
               550 Cumberland
               Ottawa, Ontario