The future leaders of Nunavut
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Akitsiraq law grads (left to right) Aaju Peter, Sandra Inutiq,
UVic President David Turpin, Lillian Aglukark and Henry Coman in Iqaluit. |
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The idea for the Akitsiraq law program came from a group of judges, court workers, legal interpreters, Inuit bureaucrats, lawyers and college instructors in the territory. Two of the program organizing committee members were UVic law students who had spent time in Nunavut, one on a co-op work placement with the Nunavut Court of Justice.
In 1999, a proposal by the Akitsiraq Law School Society for an Arctic law school for Inuit students was presented to law schools in Canada. UVic, quick to see the potential of this innovative approach to legal education, agreed to be a partner in the project, along with the law school society and Nunavut Arctic College.
The curriculum included the mandatory first-year law curriculum,
29 units of upper-year course work, integrated co-op style work/training opportunities, and courses in traditional Inuit law, the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement and Inuktitut language training.
The students were taught by Inuit elders and faculty members from UVic's law faculty, as well as professors from five other Canadian law schools in Iqaluit at the Nunatta campus of Nunavut Arctic College.
Prior to being called to the bar, the Akitsitraq graduates are articling with law firms in the North and in Ottawa, the Canadian and Nunavut departments of justice, the Nunavut Court of Justice, the Legal Services Board and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., the private corporation established in 1993 to ensure that promises made in the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement are carried out. One student, Madeleine Redfern, will be clerking in September in the Supreme Court of Canada with Madam Justice Louise Charron.
"These graduates are likely to become the future leaders and builders of Nunavut," says UVic dean of law Andrew Petter. "One of the major challenges facing indigenous students is the great distances they are often required to travel to obtain a university education. Through the Akitsiraq program, these exceptional students were able to earn their degrees while remaining close to their families and culture in the territory that will now benefit from their legal knowledge."
The Akitsiraq law program graduates, dubbed "the Famous Eleven" at their graduation by Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, are: Lillian Aglukark, Madeleine Alexander-Redfern, Siobhan Arnatsiaq-Murphy, Henry Coman, Susan Enuaraq, Sandra Inutiq, Connie Merkosak, Sandra Omik, Aaju Peter, Qajaq Robinsonk and Naomi Wilman. |
