Indigenous Bar Association Supplement to the Guide for Lawyers Working with Indigenous Peoples

The Advocates’ Society, the Indigenous Bar Association and the Law Society of Ontario have published a First Supplement to the Guide for Lawyers Working with Indigenous Peoples. 

The document is intended to help the legal profession understand issues in Canada’s justice sector, including trauma-informed lawyering, land  acknowledgements, and the impact of new domestic and international legal developments.

The original Guide for Lawyers Working with Indigenous Peoples was published in 2018.

Its purpose was to help lawyers and others in the justice system learn about Indigenous cultures, understand the interplay between Indigenous legal orders and the Canadian legal system, and develop practical skills to effectively represent Indigenous clients. 

The Supplement includes chapters on the following topics:

• land acknowledgments
• developing a trauma-informed approach to legal practice
• the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
• Canada's passage of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act and Indigenous child welfare legislation
• recent developments in treaty litigation and interpretation
• evolving duties to consult and accommodate Indigenous peoples
• the ongoing development of Gladue principles and their application in novel legal contexts