Friday, May 23

4:30pm | Registration Opens

6:30pm | Welcome Reception

Saturday, May 24

8:00am | Breakfast

8:50am | Opening Remarks

9:00am | Connection through Culture

With an emphasis on connection and relationship-building, our retreat begins by learning about each other during a facilitated session.

Facilitators
Martin Bühler, Buhler Law
Christina J. Cook, BC First Nations Justice Council

10:00am | Health Break

10:15am | Pathways into Politics

Considering a career in politics? Learn about being an Indigenous lawyer-turned-politician.

Speakers
Debra Febril, Nisga’a Lisims Government
Debra Hanuse, First Nations Summit
Douglas White III, KC, Special Council to the Premier on Indigenous Reconciliation

11:15am | Managing a Law Firm

Discover what it’s like to be part of your firm’s leadership team or even the boss of your own firm from Indigenous lawyers who have taken the leap.

Speakers
Cynthia Callison, Callison & Hanna
Leah Mack, Mack Law Corp
Tamara Napoleon, Miller Titerle + Company

12:15pm | Lunch

1:15pm | Medicine Making & Cultural Creative Practices

Salve Making
Study plant teachings from harvesting, infusing oil with medicines, processing plants and how to make salves.

Medicine Bag Building
Discover the medicinal and healing qualities of plants. Assemble a medicine bag and learn simple beading techniques.

Cedar Weaving
Learn how to weave either a cedar headband or bracelet and leave with your creation.

Facilitators
Aunty Collective: Indigenous Creative Practice Hub

3:00pm | Free Time

6:00pm | Dinner

Keynote: Hugh Braker, KC, Political Executive, First Nations Summit

Reflections from a distinguished legal elder.

Sunday, May 25

9:00am | Upholding Indigenous Legal Orders: What every Indigenous lawyer needs to know

Learn from the leaders in this area about Indigenous legal orders and the emerging area of legal drafting of Indigenous legal orders.

Speakers
Melanie Mortensen, BC Public Service
Val Napoleon, University of Victoria

10:00am | Brunch

10:30am | 100 Questions for 100 Lawyers

Participants are invited to submit questions throughout the weekend. Questions can be about practice advice, ethical issues or substantive law. On Sunday morning, we host an open discussion about these questions. What better way to discuss a topic than by tapping into the brain trust of 100 Indigenous lawyers!

Facilitators
Christina J. Cook, BC First Nations Justice Council
Andrea Glen, BC Ministry of Attorney General
Breanne Martin, Woodward & Company

12:00pm | Closing Remarks

Speakers   Register

We thank the Aboriginal Lawyers Forum Executive for their help with planning the retreat.

Christina J. Cook, Chair 

Martin Bühler, Vice-Chair 

Adam Munnings, , Past Chair & Representative to CBABC Board of Directors 

Isabel F. Jackson, Past Chair & Member-at-Large 

Randy W. Robinson, Past Chair 

Breanne Martin, Law & Policy Liaison 

Andrea Glen, Member-at-Large 

Jesse Young, Member-at-Large 

Charlotte Rose, Member-at-Large 

Shawnee Monchalin, Member-at-Large 

Trevor Tailfeathers, Student Liaison, Thompson Rivers University, Faculty of Law 

Katarina Sawchuk, Student Liaison, University of Victoria, Faculty of Law 

Kristofer Charlebois, Student Liaison, University of British Columbia, Peter A. Allard School of Law