THUNDER BAY — The new name of an institute at the Bora Laskin Faculty of Law that seeks to further the development, understanding, and use of Indigenous law also speaks to how the law should be viewed.
On Thursday, the Indigenous Law and Justice Institute’s new name and logo were unveiled during a ceremony at the Bora Laskin Faculty of Law.
The name, Mino-Waabandan Inaakonigewiana, means ‘seeing the law in a good way’ and was bestowed by Elder Ron Linklater during a summer land-based learning camp in August 2022.
“I think from an Anishinaabe perspective it is important to do everything in a good way and I think especially when we are in a western institution, it is a reminder for all of us to conduct our work from Anishinaabe perspective as much as we can and bring that teaching into everything the institute does,” said Larissa Speak, co-director of the institute and assistant professor in Bora Laskin Faculty of Law.
The Indigenous Law and Justice Institute was launched in April 2021 at the Bora Laskin Faculty of Law with the goal of building and sustaining relationships with Indigenous communities and working toward the revitalization of Indigenous and Métis law.
Speak said the institute is committed to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action and strives to teach and Indigenous law and attract Indigenous students to the field.
“I think it’s an important piece of attracting Indigenous students to the law school and helping communities to revitalize their own laws,” she said.
Along with the name, a new logo created by local tattoo artist, Ryan Pooman, was also unveiled during the ceremony.
The logo, a Thunderbird, represents what the Indigenous Law and Justice Institute stands for, according to Pooman.
“It can represent power, strength, and protection, which is great for what they are doing. It represents is very well,” he said. “Especially for them going the route of standing up for Indigenous people, it’s like they are serving as protection and strength for people who can’t stand up for themselves.”
Pooman added that it has been a surreal experiencing working with the institute on the logo design.
“I am super excited to be sharing my talents with them,” he said. “I really like what they are doing and I’m glad to be a part of it.”
Robin Sutherland, co-director of the Indigenous Law and Justice Institute and director of Indigenous relations with the faculty of law, said both the new name and logo acknowledge the institutions accomplishments so far.
“We have been doing a lot of work since April 2021,” he said. “It has been a rocky start, we have gone through some personnel changes, so to really solidify our identify and mission and vision and having a name and logo really solidifies our brand.”
