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List of Indigenous Judges and Judicial Firsts

*Note this list is for Indigenous judges & judicial firsts and there are separate lists for Indigenous lawyer firsts and Indigenous Governor General and Lieutenant Governor appointments

Top Row Lt to Rt: Marion Buller; Gerald Morin; Alfred Skow, Linda Thomas;
Ivan Ladouceur; Murray Sinclair; Danielle Dalton; Suzanne Carriere; Terry Vyse

Second Row Lt to Rt: Jody-Lynn Waddilove; Leonard Marchand, Jr; Eugene Crieghton; Harry LaForme;
Rejean Paul; Michelle O’Bonsawin; Murry Pelletier; Mark Philippe; Rose Boyko

Bottom Row Lt to Rt: Paul Favel; Leonard S. Tony Mandamin; Cheryl Arcand-Kootenay;
Kael McKenzie; Karen Whonnock; Peter Isaacs; Michelle Brass

1940s

  • Oliver Milton Martin (Ontario) – First Indigenous person to be appointed to a judicial office (1944).

    Martin did not obtain a law degree but in 1944 after serving in both WWI and WWII and reaching the rank of Lieutenant he was appointment as a lay Magistrate to the York County Court where he presided until 1957. [Mohawk, member of Six Nations] ALSO see this interview of him in 1954 the “Native Voice”

1970s

  • Alfred Scow (BC) –First Indigenous Person Appointed to the Bench in Canada, Appointed to the BC Provincial Court (1971), also First Indigenous law student to graduate from a BC law school and the First Indigenous lawyer in BC to be called to the Bar [member of Kwicksutaineuk-ah-kwa-mish First Nation]
  • Kenneth Bellerose (Sask) – First Indigenous Person Appointed to the Saskatchewan Provincial Court (1977) [Metis]

1980s

  • James Igloliorte (Newfoundland and Labrador) – First Indigenous Person Appointed to the Bench in Newfoundland Labrador, Provincial Court (1981) [Inuk, member of Nunatsiavut] (*Note Judge Igloliorte was originally appointed as a lay magistrate to the Provincial Court, then attended & graduated law school, returning to the Provincial Court to a promotion to Provincial Court Judge)

  • Réjean Paul (Quebec) First Indigenous Person Appointed to the Bench in Quebec (1983), Quebec Superior Court [membership unknown]
  • Murray Sinclair (Manitoba) – First Indigenous Person Appointed to the Bench Manitoba, Appointed Associate Chief Judge of the Provincial Court (1988); Appointed as Co-Chair of the Manitoba Aboriginal Justice Inquiry (1988); First Indigenous Justice Appointed to the Manitoba Court of Queens Bench (2001), Chair of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission (2009), Appointed to the Senate (2016) [member of Peguis First Nation]

1990s

  • John Joe (BC) -Appointed to BC Provincial Court (1990), Chair of the BC Human Rights Commission (1987) [member of the Penelakut First Nation]
  • Terry Vyse (Ontario) -First Indigenous Woman Appointed to the Bench in Canada, Appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice (Provincial Division) (1991) [Mohawk]
  • Graydon Nicholas (New Brunswick) – First Indigenous Person Appointed to the Bench in New Brunswick (1991), Appointed to the Provincial Court; First Indigenous Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick (2009); and, the First Indigenous person in Atlantic Canada to obtain a Law Degree (1971)[member of Tobique First Nation]
  • Thomas Goodson (Alberta) – First Indigenous Person Appointed to the Bench in Alberta (1991), Alberta Provincial Court [membership unknown]  
  • Marion Buller (Sask, BC) – First Indigenous Women Appointed to the BC Provincial Court (1994) and Chief Commissioner for the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in 2016 [member of Mistawasis First Nation]
  • Harry S. LaForme (Ontario) – Appointed to the Ontario Superior Court (1994); First Indigenous Person Appointed to a Court of Appeal in Canada, Ontario Court of Appeal (2004), [a member of New Credit First Nation]
  • Rose Boyko (BC, Ontario) – First Indigenous Woman appointed as a Superior Court Justice in Canada (1994) [member of Tsek’Ehne First Nation]
  • Richard Fowler (Alberta) – Appointed to the Alberta Provincial Court (1994) [membership unknown]
  • Peter Isaacs (Ontario) – Appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice (1995) [Mohawk]
  • Gethin Edward (Ontario) – Appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice (1995), Created the First Indigenous Persons Court in Brampton Court of Justice (2014) [Mohawk member of Six Nations]
  • Steven Point (BC) – Appointed as BC Provincial Court Judge (1999), First Indigenous Lieutenant Governor in BC (2007), Re-Appointed to the BC Provincial Court in 2014 [Skowkale First Nation]
  • Leonard S. Tony Mandamin (Alberta, Ontario) Appointed to the Alberta Provincial Court (1999); Federal Court Justice Trial Division and ex officio member the Federal Court of Appeal (2007), [member of Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve] 

2000s

  • Gerald Morin (Sask) – Appointed to the Provincial Court of Saskatchewan on (2001), Created the First Cree-speaking court, First Indigenous person Appointed as Queen’s Counsel in Saskatchewan (1999), [member of Peter Ballantyne First Nation] 
  • Helen Pierce (Ontario) – First Metis person Appointed to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (2001), appointed Regional Senior Judge of the Northwest Region (2009) [Metis]
  • Murray Sinclair (Manitoba) First Indigenous Justice Appointed to the Manitoba Court of Queens Bench (2001), First Indigenous Person Appointed to the Bench Manitoba, Appointed Associate Chief Judge of the Provincial Court (1988), Appointed as the Co-Chair of the Manitoba Aboriginal Justice Inquiry (1988), Appointed as Chair of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission (2009), Appointed to the Senate (2016) [member of Peguis First Nation]
  • Harry S. LaForme (Ontario) – First Indigenous Appellant Judge in Canada (2004), Appointed to the Ontario Superior Court (1994) [a member of New Credit First Nation]
  • Todd Ducharme (Ontario) – First Metis appointed as Deputy Judge of the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories, the Supreme Court of Yukon, and the Nunavut Court of Justice, and appointed as part-time member of the Specific Claims Tribunal (2004), also appointed to the Ontario Supreme Court [Metis]  
  • Danielle Dalton (Alberta) First Indigenous Women Appointed to the Bench in Alberta (2004), Appointed to the Alberta Provincial Court [Metis]
  • Kelly Moar (Manitoba) Appointed to the Manitoba Provincial Court (2005) [Metis]
  • Joyce L. Pelletier – (Ontario) Appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice (2005) [member of Fort William First Nation]
  • Donald Bird (Sask) Appointed to the Saskatchewan Provincial Court (2006) [member of Montreal Lake Cree Nation]
  • Leonard S. Tony Mandamin (Alberta, Ontario) – Federal Court Justice Trial Division and ex officio member the Federal Court of Appeal (2007), Provincial Court Judge (1999) [member of Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve] 
  • Doreen Redhead (Manitoba) – First Indigenous Woman Appointed to the Bench in Manitoba; Appointed to the Provincial Court (2007) [member of Fox Lake Cree Nation]
  • Pierre Leon Muise (Nova Scotia) – First Metis Person Appointed to the Nova Scotia Supreme Court (2009) [Metis]
  • Eugene Creighton (Alberta) – Appointed to the Alberta Provincial Court (2009), and Creator of the First Calgary Indigenous Court (2019) [member of Blood Tribe]

2010s

  • D. Timothy Gabriel (Newfoundland & Nova Scotia) First Mi’kmaq person appointed to the bench (2010) – Nova Scotia Provincial and Family Court, Appointed to the Nova Scotia Supreme Court (2016) [member of St. George’s Indian Band]
  • Jennifer Power (BC) – First Metis Person Appointed to the British Columbia Supreme Court (2010) [Metis]
  • Sharon Smallwood (NWT, Yukon, Nunavut) First Dene person appointed to the NWT Supreme Court, First Indigenous person appointed to the Bench in NWT, or Yukon, or Nanavut (2012) [member of Charter Community of K’asho Got’ine]
  • Jonathon George (Ontario) Appointed to the Ontario Court (2012), then appointed to the Ontario Superior Court  (2016), and appointed to the Ontario Court of Appeal (2022) [Ojibway of Pottawatomi descent]
  • D. Troy Sweet (New Brunswick) Appointed to the New Brunswick Provincial Court [membership unknown]
  • Leonard Marchand, Jr. (BC) Appointed to the BC Provincial Court (2013), Appointed to the BC Supreme Court (2017), and First Indigenous person Appointed to the BC Court of Appeal (2021) [member of Okanagan Indian Band]
  • Alexander Wolf (BC) Appointed to the BC Provincial Court (2015) [member of Ḵwiḵwa̱sut’inux̱w Ha̱xwa’mis First Nation]
  • Kael McKenzie (Manitoba) First Transgender person Appointed to the Bench (2015) Manitoba Provincial Court [Metis]
  • Karen Whonnock (BC) Appointed to the BC Provincial Court (2016) [member of Wet’suwet’en First Nation] 
  • Eugene Jamieson (BC) Appointed to the BC Provincial Court (2016) [Boothroyd Band – Nlaka’pamux]
  • Ivan Ladouceur (Alberta) Appointed to the Alberta Provincial Court (2016) [Metis]
  • Paul Favel (Sask) Appointed to the the Federal Court (2017) [member of Poundmaker Cree Nation]
  • R. Kenneth Champagne (Manitoba) Appointed to the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench (2017), appointed as Chief Judge of the Manitoba Provincial Court (2009), appointed to the Manitoba Provincial Court (2005) [Metis]
  • Catherine Benton (Nova Scotia) First Mi’kmaq Woman Appointed to the Bench (2017) – Nova Scotia Provincial and Family Court [mother was a member of Lennox Island First Nation]
  • Mark Philippe (Quebec) Appointed to the Quebec Superior Court (2017) [member of the Innu community of Mastheuiatsh]
  • Kari Ann Pike (Newfoundland) – Appointed to the Newfoundland Provincial Court (2017) [Mi’kmaq First Nations heritage]
  • Michelle O’Bonsawin (Ontario) – Appointed to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (2017) [member of Odanak First Nation], Appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada (2022) as the FIRST Indigenous person ever to the Supreme Court of Canada.
  • Karen Crowshoe (Alberta) First First Nations Woman appointed to the bench in Alberta (2018) Alberta Provincial Court, First Blackfoot woman to be called to the bar (1994) [member of Piikani First Nation]
  • Michelle Brass (Sask) Appointed to the Saskatchewan Provincial Court (2018) [member of Peepeekisis First Nation]
  • Suzanne Carrière (Manitoba) – First Metis person appoint as Citizenship Judge (2018) [Metis]
  • Cheryl Arcand-Kootenay (Alberta) Appointed to St. Paul Provincial Court of Alberta (2018), Appointed to Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench (2021) [member of Alexander First Nation]
  • Mary McAuley (Sask) Appointed to the Saskatchewan Provincial Court (2018) [Metis]
  • Linda Thomas (BC & Sask) Appointed to the BC Provincial Court (2018), Created Kamloops’ First Indigenous Court [member of Kamloops Indian Band]
  • Jodie-Lynn Waddilove (Ontario) Appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice (2018) [Anishinaabe (Ojibway) and Lenape (Delaware), Munsee-Delaware Nation]
  • Tina Dion (Alberta & BC) Appointed to the BC Provincial Court (2019) [member of Kehewin Cree Nation]
  • Natasha Crooks (Saskatchewan) Appointed to the Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench (2019); Appointed to the Saskatchewan Provincial Court (2018) [Metis]

  • Evelyn Baxter (Ontario) Appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice (2019) [member of Marten Falls First Nation]
  • André Chamberlain (Ontario & Quebec) Appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice (2019) [member of the Innu community of Mastheuiatsh in Quebec]
  • Murray Pelletier – (Sask) Appointed to the Saskatchewan Provincial Court (2019) [member of Cowessess First Nation]
  • Johanna Price (Alberta) Appointed to the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta and Judge ex officio of the Court of Appeal of Alberta (2019)[Chinese, Algonquin and European dissent, member of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation]
  • Raymond Phillips – (B.C.) Appointed to the B.C. Provincial Court (2019) [Lytton First Nation – Nlaka’pamux]

2020s

  • Diana Rowe (Nova Scotia) – First Indigenous Two-Spirit person Appointed to the Nova Scotia Superior Court Justice (2020) [Anishinaabe member of Micmacs of Gesgapegiag Band by marriage]
  • Jessica Wolfe (Ontario) – Appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice (2020) [member from Brunswick House First Nation].

  • Julie Philippe (Quebec) – First Indigenous Woman Appointed to the Bench in Quebec (2020), Quebec Superior Court [member of the Innu community of Mashteuiash]
  • Lua Gibb (Sask) Appointed to the Saskatchewan Provincial Court (2021) [member of Onion Lake Cree Nation]
  • Stacy Ryan (Newfoundland & Labrador) First Inuk Woman Appointed to the Bench in Newfoundland & Labrador (2021)
  • Leonard Marchand, Jr. (BC) – First Indigenous person Appointed to the BC Court of Appeal (2021), previously Appointed to the BC Supreme Court (2017) and BC Provincial Court (2013) [member of Okanagan Indian Band]
  • Grace Auger – (Alberta) Appointed to the Alberta Provincial Court (2021) [member of the Bigstone Cree Nation in Treaty 8 Territory].
  • Cheryl Arcand-Kootenayv (Alberta) Appointed to Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench (2021); Appointed to St. Paul Provincial Court of Alberta (2018) [member of Alexander First Nation].
  • Jenny Restoule-Mallozzi (Ontario) – Appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice (2021) [Anishinabek citizen of Dokis First Nation]  
  • Vincent Sinclair (Manitoba) – Appointed to the Manitoba Provincial Court (2022) [member of Opaskwayak Cree Nation]
  • Jonathon George (Ontario) Appointed to the Ontario Court of Appeal (2022), previously appointed to the Ontario Superior Court  (2016), and appointed to the Ontario Court (2012) [Ojibway of Pottawatomi descent]
  • Aleta Cromwell (Nova Scotia) Appointed to the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia (2022), Appointed to the Nova Scotia Provincial Court (2020) [Mi’kmaw from Membertou]
  • Michelle O’Bonsawin (Ontario) – FIRST Indigenous person appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada (2022), previously appointed to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (2017) [member of Odanak First Nation]
  • Jordan J. Stuffco (Alberta) – Appointed to the Alberta Provincial Court (2023) [Metis]

*Also note: This list is based on my personal research, and reliance on electronically available sources, if anything on this list is incorrect or missing please email me: cjcooklawyer@gmail.com*

**ALSO NOTE: This list is separated by decade, so some judges are listed twice on the list; they are listed in decade of their first appointment and the decade of their elevation.

**ALSO NOTE: That the links that we have provided for each judge is the best link available which the judge is identified as Indigenous, in some links like the one for retired Justice Rejean Paul the only available reference found to identify him as Indigenous was a 2021 news article about the appointment of Justice Phillipe which referred to Justice Paul as the first. Or for example for Judge Ken Bellerose, we found reference to him being Indigenous in one line of a report from the Saskatchewan Court, so we included that link.**

**NOTE: As of 2022 there are 1183 federally appointed judges in Canada (i.e. Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, etc).

In addition, there are over 1000 provincially appointed judges across Canada (i.e. Provincial Court).

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List of Indigenous Lawyer Firsts

*Note this list is for Indigenous lawyer firsts and there is are separate lists for Indigenous judicial firsts and Indigenous Governor General and Lieutenant Governor appointments

Lt to Rt, Clockwise: Norman Lickers (’38), Delia Opekokew (’77), William Wuttunee (’54), Peter Isaacs (’66), Marion Ironquill Meadmore (’78), Alfred Scow (’66), Harold Staats (’64), Ovide Mecredi (’77) , Solomon White (1865), and Roberta Jamieson (’76)
  •  William John Simcoe Kerr, First Indigenous Person called to the bar in Canada (1862), also hereditary chief of the Mohawk – Tekarihoga [Mohawk]
  • Solomon White, K.C., Called to the bar in (1865), First Indigenous Person to be awarded King’s Counsel (1908), First Indigenous legislator in Canada (1878) [Wyandot – enfranchised in 1877]

  • Norman Saylor, Q.C., First Iroquois person to be Called to the Bar (1933), Called in Quebec, Graduated University of Montreal Law School (1932), First Iroquois person to be appointed King’s Counsel (1947), note he passed away in 1960 as a Q.C.
  • Norman Lickers, First Status Indian to be Called to the Bar (1938), only Indigenous person to be Called to the Ontario Bar between 1865 and 1938 [Mohawk] Also see HERE and HERE
  • William “Bill” Wuttunee, First Indigenous person called to the Bar in Western Canada (1954), co-founded the National Indian Council, which was one of the predecessor organizations of the National Indian Brotherhood and is now known as the Assembly of First Nations. [Red Pheasant First Nation] Also see HERE and HERE
  • Alfred Scow, First Indigenous person in BC to Obtain a Law Degree (1961) and First Indigenous lawyer in BC, First Indigenous person Appointed to the Bench in BC [Kwicksutaineuk-ah-kwa-mish First Nation]
  • Howard E Staats, Q.C., Graduated Law School 1964 (Ontario), called to the Ontario Bar in 1966, appointed QC in 1979 [Mohawk]
  • Peter Isaacs, Graduated Law School 1966 (Ontario), Appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice (1995) [Mohawk]

  • Ovide Mercredi, Founder and President of the First University Indigenous Students Association formed in Canada (1970) called the “Indian Metis Eskimo Student Association” ; Graduated Law School in 1977 from the University of Manitoba [member of Misipawistik Cree Nation]
  • Graydon Nicholas,  First Indigenous person in Atlantic Canada to obtain a law degree (1971); First Indigenous Provincial Court Judge New Brunswick (1991); First Indigenous Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick (2007) [member of Tobique First Nation – Maliseet]
  • James [Sákéj] Youngblood Henderson,  First Indigenous Person to Obtain a Law Degree from Harvard Law School (1974), Came to Canada in 1978 [Chickasaw Nation and Cheyenne Tribe in Oklahoma]

  • Bill Wilson, Second Indigenous Person to Obtain a Law Degree in British Columbia (1973) [member of We Wai Kai Nation]

  • Kenneth B. Young, First Indigenous Person to Obtain a Law Degree in Manitoba; First Indigenous Person Called to the Bar in Manitoba (1974); First student from a First Nations community to graduate from the Faculty of Law at the University of Manitoba (1973) [member of Opaskwayak Cree Nation]

  • George Asp, Attended the First Session of the University of Saskatchewan’s Summer Program of Legal Studies for Native People (1973), First Talhtan Person to Obtain a Law Degree (1976) and First Talhtan Person be Called to the Bar (1977) [Talhtan First Nation]

  • Dr. Wilton Littlechild Q.C., First Indigenous person to Obtain a Law Degree in Alberta (1975) [member of Ermineskin reserve, Maskwacîs (formerly known as Hobbema]
  • Roberta Jamieson, O.C., First Indigenous Woman in Canada to Obtain a Law Degree (1976), Co-Founded the Native Indian Law Students’ Association with Ron Shackleton while in law school [Mohawk]

  • Marion Ironquill Meadmore, First Indigenous Woman Called to the Bar in Canada (1978), First Indigenous Woman to Obtain a Law Degree in Manitoba (1977), Founding member of the Indigenous Bar Association [Member of Peepeekisis First Nation Reserve, Saskatchewan]
  • Delia Opekokew, Graduated Law School in 1977, First Indigenous Woman to be Called to the Bar in Ontario (1979) and Saskatchewan (1983) [Cree] see HERE

  • Dave Joe, First Indigenous Lawyer Called to the Bar in the Yukon (1977), Appointed to the Order of Canada (2008)

  • Debra Mearns, First Indigenous Woman to Graduate Law in B.C. (1980), Called to the Bar in 1981 but jurisdiction unknown (note the LSBC slides in the link provided refer to her as attending University of Victoria, however this interview from 1979 refers to her attending UBC)

  • Judith Sayers, Graduated Law School at the University of Victoria (1981), Called to the Bar in Alberta (1983), Awarded the Order of Canada (2019)

  • Kiviaq,  First Inuk Lawyer in Canada (1983) (Non-Inuk name: David Ward)

  • Karen Shirley, Graduated Law School at UBC (1985), First Indigenous Woman Called to the Bar in BC (1986) (Metis) , Set up Legal Partnership with Steven Point (Steven Point – later become a BC Provincial Court Judge and First Indigenous Lieutenant Governor of BC)

  • Vina Starr, Graduated Law School at UBC (1984), First First Nations Woman Called to the Bar in BC (1987), Chair of the National CBA Aboriginal Law Section (1994), Appointed as Commissioner for the Federal Inquiry on the APEC Affair (1997)

  • Darlene Johnson – First Indigenous Women to Attend University of Toronto Law School (Graduated in 1986) [member Chippewa Nawash First Nation in Ontario]

  • Patricia Monture-Angus, First Indigenous Person to Graduate from Law School and sue the Law Society of Ontario objecting to the Call to the Bar Swearing the Oath to the Queen (1988), After filing the law suit, the Law Society of Ontario agreed to change the Oath, Patricia was Called to the Bar in 1994 [Mohawk]

  • Violet Ford, First Inuk Women lawyer in Canada (1991) First Indigenous women to become a lawyer in Newfound & Labrador (1991)

  • Carole T Corcoran, First Indigenous Lawyer appointed to the B.C. Treaty Commission and an inaugual Treaty Commissioner (1993 – 1995), Graduated UBC Law (1990), Appointed to the Royal Commission on Canada’s Future (1990-91), Appointed to the Indian Claims Commission (1992) [Dene, member of Fort Nelson First Nation]
  • John Borrows, OC – First UBC Law First Nations Legal Studies Director (1992), co-created the First joint common law and Indigenous law degree (JD/JID) program at the University of Victoria Faculty of Law, the first program in a Canadian law school to allow an integrated study of the Canadian common law and indigenous legal traditions (2018) [member of the Chippewas of the Nawash First Nation]

  • James A Michael, First Mi’kmaq Person Called to the Bar in Nova Scotia (1993) [member of Sipekne’katik Nation]

  • Cynthia Callison, First Talhtan Woman to Obtain a Law Degree (1995) and First Talhtan Woman and second Taltan Person to be called to the Bar (1996)

  • Paul Okalik, First Inuk person called to the Bar in NWT & Nunavut (1999)

  • Todd Ducharme – First Indigenous person Elected as Bencher for the Law Society of Ontario (1999), Second Metis person Appointed to the Superior Court of Justice in Ontario (2004); further appointed as Deputy Judge of the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories, the Supreme Court of Yukon, and the Nunavut Court of Justice, and appointed as part-time member of the Specific Claims Tribunal [Metis]

  • Gerald Morin, Q.C.– First Indigenous person Appointed as Queen’s Counsel in Saskatchewan (1999), Appointed to the Provincial Court of Saskatchewan on (2001), Created the First Cree-speaking court [member of Peter Ballantyne First Nation] 

  • T.E. (Terry) La Liberté (BC) First Indigenous Bencher elected to the Law Society of British Columbia (2000), First CBABC Indigenous President (1990) [Metis]

  • Hugh Braker, Q.C. – First Indigenous Person Appointed as Queen’s Counsel in B.C. (2000) [member of Tseshaht First Nation, Nuu-Chah-Nulth Tribal Council]

  • Julie Philippe – First Indigenous Women Called to the Bar in Quebec (2004); First Indigenous Women Appointed to the Quebec Superior Court (2020) [member of the Innu community of Mastheuiatsh]

  • Sandra Inutiq (Nunavut) – First Inuk woman in Nunavut to be Called to the Bar (2006) [Inuk]

  • Linda Locke, Q.C. – First First Nations Women Appointed as Queen’s Counsel in B.C. (2006) [member of Sto:lo First Nation]

  • Jennifer Power, Q.C. – First Metis Woman Appointed as Queen’s Counsel in B.C. (2006); First Metis Person Appointed to the British Columbia Supreme Court (2010) [Metis]

  • Susan Hare – First Indigenous Women Elected as Bencher for the Law Society of Ontario (2007) [member of M’Chigeeng Nation on Manitoulin Island]

  • Heather Raven, Q.C. First Indigenous person to become a senior administrator in a Canadian common law faculty when she was appointed associate dean of the University of Victoria Faculty of Law (2009) [member of Brokenhead Ojibway Nation]
  • Christina J. Cook, Founding member and Inaugural Chair of the Canadian Bar Association BC Branch Aboriginal Lawyers Forum first forum of its kind at the Canadian Bar Association (2010) [member of Brokenhead Ojibway Nation]
  • Jody Wilson-Raybould, First Indigenous Federal Justice Minister and Attorney General (2015) [member of We Wai Kai Nation]  
  • Shannon Cumming, First Indigenous President of the NWT Law Society (2015) [Metis]

  • Corrie Flett, Q.C. – Elected as Bencher for the Law Society of Alberta (2017), Possibly the First Indigenous person elected to as Bencher for the LSA [member of Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation]

  • Karen Snowshoe – First First Nations Person Elected as Bencher Law Society of B.C.; First Indigenous Women Elected as Bencher for the Law Society of B.C. (2018) [member of Tetlit-Gwich’in Nation in Fort McPherson]

  • Val Napoleon – Co-created the First joint common law and Indigenous law degree (JD/JID) program at the University of Victoria Faculty of Law, the first program in a Canadian law school to allow an integrated study of the Canadian common law and indigenous legal traditions (2018) [member of Saulteau First Nation]
  • Brad Regehr, First Indigenous CBA President (2020) [Cree]
  • Tuma Youngc, Q.C. – First Indigenous President of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society (2021) First First Nations President of a Law Society; First Mi’kmaq speaking lawyer in Nova Scotia [member of Eskasoni and Malagawatch First Nation]

  • Michael Sima First Indigenous Person Called to the Bar in P.E.I. (2021) [Mi’kmaq]

  • Lindsay LeBlanc – First Metis Woman elected as Bencher of Law Society of British Columbia (2021)

  • Sacha Paul – First Indigenous President of the Law Society of Manitoba (2022), previously Elected as Bencher in 2016 [Dene]

  • David Nahwegahbow, I.P.C. – Appointed to the Independent Advisory Board to Select the 2022 Supreme Court of Canada Justice (2022), for the first time in Canadian History the Indigenous Bar Association was invited by Canada to appoint a board member to this board and the IBA appointed David Nahwegahbow, I.P.C.; Founding member of the Indigenous Bar Association (1988)

  • Aly Bear – First Member of Whitecap Dakota First Nation to become a Lawyer (2022), Note – Aly Bear is also the Chief of Whitecap Dakota First Nation and third Vice Chief of the Federation of Indigenous Sovereign Nations’ in Saskatchewan, Graduated Law School (2020), Called to the Bar in Saskatchewan (2022)

*Also note: This list is based on my personal research, and reliance on electronically available sources, if anything on this list is incorrect or missing please email me: cjcooklawyer@gmail.com*

Indigenous Governor General and Lieutenant Governor Appointments

Middle: Mary Simon
Counter-clockwise, starting from top left: Judy Gingell, W Yvon Demont, Eva Aariak, Russ Mirasty, Glenna F. Hanson, Helen Maksagak, Ralph Steinhaur, Graydon Nicholas, Nellie Taptaqut Kusugak, Steven Point)

Governor General of Canada

Mary Simon – First Indigenous Governor General (2021) [Inuk]

Lieutenant Governors

Alberta

  • Ralph Steinhaur – First Indigenous Lieutenant Governor in Alberta (1974) [Cree]

British Columba

  • Steven Point – First Indigenous Lieutenant Governor in BC (2007), Previously Appointed as BC Provincial Court Judge (1999), [Skowkale First Nation]

Manitoba

  • W. Yvon Dumont – First Indigenous Lieutenant Governor Manitoba (1993) [Metis]

New Brunswick

  • Graydon Nicholas,  First Indigenous Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick (2007), Also First Indigenous person in Atlantic Canada to obtain a law degree (1971); First Indigenous Provincial Court Judge New Brunswick (1991); [member of Tobique First Nation – Maliseet]

Ontario

  • James K. Bartleman – First Indigenous person to become Lieutenant Governor of Ontario (2002) [Mnjikaning First Nation]

Saskatchewan

  • Russ Mirasty – First Indigenous Lieutenant Governor Saskatchewan (2019) [Cree, Lac La Ronge Indian Band]

Northwest Territories

  • Daniel L Norris – First Indigenous Commissioner of NWT (1989) [Born near Inuvik in the Mackenzie Delta]

  • Helen Maksagak – First Inuk Commissioner of NWT (1995), First Inuk Commissioner Nunavut (2000) [Copper Inuk]
  • Glenna F. Hansen – First Inuvialuit Commissioner of the NWT (2000) [Inuvialuit – Western Inuit]
  • George Tuccaro – Indigenous Commissioner of the NWT (2010)  [Mikisew Cree First Nation]
  • Margaret Thom – Indigenous Commissioner of the NWT (2017) [Dene]

Nunavut

  • Helen Maksagak –First Inuk Commissioner Nunavut (1999) [Copper Inuk]
  • Piita Irnig  – Appointed Commissioner of Nunavut (2000) [Inuk]
  • Edna Elias – Appointed Commissioner of Nunavut (2012) [Inuk]
  • Eva Aariak Appointed Commissioner of Nunavut (2021) [Inuk]

Yukon

  • Judy Gingell – First Indigenous Commissioner of the Yukon (1995) [Kwanlin Dun First Nation]

  • Adeline Kh’ayàdê Webber – Indigenous Administer of the Yukon (Yukon’s Governor in Council Position who acts in the place of the Commissioner if the Commissioner is unavailable) (2018) [Teslin Tlingit First Nation]

*Also note: This list is based on my personal research, and reliance on electronically available sources, if anything on this list is incorrect or missing please email me: cjcooklawyer@gmail.com*

Indigenous LGBTQ2S+ Legal Heroes & Allies

Watch a mini-documentary on the Klippert Case HERE

The Klippert case has also been made into a play – Legislating Love: The George Klippert Story by Natalie Meisner

In 2019 The Calgary Chinook Fund presented their Hero Award to William Wuttunee, posthumously, for his work on the Klippert Case. Read what they said about William HERE

For more information read HERE

Nova Scotia Barristers' Society appoints first Indigenous president | CBC News

FEATURING: Tuma Young, Q.C. – Two-Spirited Lawyer, Activist, President of the Nova Scotia Barrister’s Society, and Recipient of the 2021 Life Time Achievement Award from the Nova Scotia Rainbow Action Project

In 2021 Tuma Young Q.C. was elected as the President of the Nova Scotia’s Barrister’s Society, being the Society’s first Indigenous President. President Young  is a member of the Eskasoni First Nation and was the first Mi’kmaq speaking lawyer in Nova Scotia.

Also in 2021 Tuma Young, Q.C. was awarded a lifetime achievement award from the Nova Scotia Rainbow Action Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to justice, equity and human rights for LGBTQ people in Nova Scotia.

President Young is one of the co-founders of the Wabanaki Two Spirit Alliance in 2011 alongside John Sylliboy. The mission of the Wabanaki Two Spirit Alliance is to represent the emotional, spiritual, mental and physical well-being and interests of Two Spirits and Indigenous LGBTQ+ individuals and groups in Wabanaki Territory (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland/Labrador, Gaspé region of Quebec, and Maine (northern areas in Passamaquoddy and Penobscot Tribal territories) based on their beliefs and values in the framework within the Peace and Friendship Treaty.

The vision of the Wabanaki Two Spirit Alliance is to strive to provide equitable and safe environments for Two Spirits and Indigenous LGBTQ+ to live and thrive spiritually, mentally, physically and emotionally within our Wabanaki territory.

For more information about Tuma Young, Q.C. LBGTQ2+ Activism click HERE

FEATURING: The Honourable Diane Rowe – Anishinaabe two-spirit Superior Court Justice

In June 2020, the Nova Scotia Supreme Court sworn in Justice Diane Rowe.  Justice Rowe is Anishinaabe two-spirit, and is a 60’s Scoop survivor.  Justice Rowe has been formally welcomed as a member of the Micmacs of Gesgapegiag Band, in Gespe’ge’wagi, the seventh district of Mi’kma’ki by marriage. 

Justice Rowe graduated from the University of New Brunswick law school in 1997 and was admitted to the Nova Scotia bar in 1998 and the Newfoundland and Labrador bar in 2001.

Justice Rowe worked with the provincial Justice Department from 2002 until the time of her appointment, advising the Office of Aboriginal Affairs, the Made-in-Nova Scotia Process, several other government departments and Crown corporations. Her practice areas included Aboriginal, administrative, corporate commercial, natural resources, bankruptcy and insolvency, and construction law. Prior to Justice Rowe’s appointment, she also engaged in volunteer advocacy work on behalf of Indigenous Peoples, equality rights, refugee claimants, and the LGBTQ2 community.

For more information on Justice Rowe click HERE

FEATURING: The Honourable Kael McKenzie – the First Transgender Judge Appointed in Canada

Judge McKenzie is a member of the Manitoba Metis Nation and on December 17 2015 he was appointed to the Provincial Court of Manitoba. Judge McKenzie is the first transgender person appointed to the bench in Canada. Judge McKenize graduated law school in 2006, and worked first worked in private practice, then became a Crown prosecutor in the areas of family and civil.  He co-chaired the Canadian Bar Association’s Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Conference from 2012 to 2014, and has served as vice president of the Manitoba Bar Association, as Manitoba chair of the Canadian Bar Association, and president of the provincial Rainbow Resource Centre for Manitoba’s LGBT and two-spirit communities.  Prior to law school, Judge McKenzie served for years in the Canadian Forces.

For more information on Judge McKenzie click HERE

FEATURING: The Honourable Harry LaForme LBGTQ+ Ally, Recipient of the 2019 CBA SOGIC Ally Award

Justice LaForme was a Justice of the Division Court in the groundbreaking 2002 marriage equality case of Halpern v. Canada. Wherein the the court unanimously held that the common law definition of marriage as the “lawful and voluntary union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others” infringed the Couples’ equality rights under s. 15(1) of the Charter in a manner that was not justified under s. 1 of the Charter.

The court’s ruling on remedy was not unanimous. Smith A.C.J.S.C. was of the view that Parliament should legislate the appropriate remedy and that it should be given two years to do so, failing which the parties could return to the court to seek an appropriate remedy. 

However Justice LaForme favoured immediate amendment, by the court, of the common law definition of marriage by substituting the words “two persons” for “one man and one woman”.

Justice LaForme articulated the historical disadvantages and oppression suffered by Canada’s LGBTQ+ communities with sensitivity and compassion. He specifically citing the historical treatment of Indigenous peoples in Canada through the Indian Act as analogous to the discrimination of LGBTQ+ people and held that the there was no legal justification for the common law’s discriminatory distinction between same- and opposite-sex couple with respect to marriage.”

In Halpern, Justice LaForme did not accept that a legislative response to the issue was appropriate, he specifically held:

[306]   First, I do not accept that some form of legislative response to this issue that goes about implementing the denied rights of the Applicants in some piecemeal form is appropriate.  Such an approach is improper given the nature of the rights denied, and I would agree with the comments of Iacobucci J. when he considered a not dissimilar issue in Vriend.  After concluding that “governmental incrementalism” was not a suitable approach for Charter violations, he added:

In my opinion, groups that have historically been the target of discrimination cannot be expected to wait patiently for the protection of their human dignity and equal rights while governments move toward reform one step at a time.  If the infringement of the rights and freedoms of these groups is permitted to persist while governments fail to pursue equality diligently, then the guarantees of the Charter will be reduced to little more than empty words.

[307]   Second, it is my firm opinion that there is absolutely no reason why the rights infringements that are in issue – and that have historically persisted for gays and lesbians – should continue any longer.  On this point I can say it no better than by echoing and adopting the profound and famous words of Martin Luther King Jr., who in 1963 wrote from the jail cell he then occupied:

We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right. … Now is the time to lift our national policy from the quicksand of injustice to the solid rock of human dignity.

[308]   In the end I find that “right” is achieved by the decision that – the common law rule that defines marriage as being, “the lawful union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others” is unconstitutional and must be reformulated.  I further find that it is “right” that this common law definition should be reformulated to state that marriage is “the lawful union of two persons to the exclusion of all others”.

For more information about Harry LaForme click HERE

*Also note: This list is based on my personal research, and reliance on electronically available sources, if anything on this list is incorrect or missing please email me: cjcooklawyer@gmail.com*