This generous donation will also be matched by $88,000 from Indspire, an Indigenous organization, enabling us to support 18 Certificate in Indigenous Law students with $10,000 bursaries over the next three years.
Marie-Eve Sylvestre, who is dean of the Civil Law Section, warmly thanked Claude E. Jodoin and the Honourable Karen Kear for their vision and invaluable support: “What a difference this donation will make in the lives of Indigenous students, and for our faculty and society as a whole!”
The launch of the Certificate in Indigenous Law program in 2022-2023 was a success in every respect and set the Civil Law Section apart on the national stage. The program—the only one of its kind in French in Canada— was designed exclusively for Indigenous students. It aims to introduce them to the law through their legal orders and to equip them to reclaim their law, culture and language before moving on to discuss aspects of State law.
The innovative curriculum embraces an experiential, holistic teaching method that combines interdisciplinarity and action-based learning to introduce Indigenous students to the study of law. For example, since Indigenous legal orders are transmitted orally, they are taught through storytelling in sharing and talking circles. This pedagogical approach includes learning through action, observation and oral tradition, on the land, and through textual analysis. Students are also supported throughout their studies by Elders, including Gilbert Whiteduck, who is Elder-in-Residence at the Civil Law Section.
In so doing, we seek to value the ancestral knowledge of First Peoples by placing it on an equal footing with Western knowledge of civil law and common law traditions, and we promote access to education, the legal professions and justice for Indigenous peoples. By creating gateways to earning LLL and J.D. degrees, the Faculty of Law is directly contributing to training future generations of Indigenous lawyers, while promoting exchanges between peoples.
This partnership between the Claude E. Jodoin and Karen Kear Family Foundation and the Civil Law Section of the University of Ottawa will make a significant difference in the lives of students, while reinforcing the commitment to legal learning and excellence. It is with gratitude and enthusiasm that the Civil Law Section embarks on this collaboration, firmly convinced that it will leave a lasting impression on future generations.