Reconciliation: Wahkohtowin (2017)

September 21 – 23, 2017

Co-hosted by the University of Alberta’s Centre for Constitutional Studies, Faculty of Law, and Faculty of Native Studies, the Reconciliation: Wahkohtowin Conference sought to re-imagine constitutional relationships within Canada, particularly in relation to Indigenous laws. This Conference explored whether constitutional reconciliation is the appropriate concept to pursue and, if so, how it might be accomplished. Inspired by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, UNDRIP and the treaty relationships that constitute Canada’s first constitutional law, this Conference focused on how to translate the spirit of reconciliation into constitutional text, practice, culture, and law. The Conference included panels, keynote presentations, and Wahkohtowin Learning and Practice sessions.

You can access the conference program here.

Conference Video Recordings: 

Opening Ceremony, Introduction, and Welcome Remarks

• Elder Irene Morin
• Dean Paul Paton (Faculty of Law, University of Alberta)

Opening Keynote: Kwayeskastasowin (Setting Things Right)

• Lorena Fontaine (University of Winnipeg)

Panel: Indigenous Legal Traditions and Wahkohtowin

• Chair: Hadley Friedland (Faculty of Law, University of Alberta)
• Shalene Jobin (University of Alberta)
• Matthew Wildcat (University of Alberta)
• Michael Coyle (University of Western Ontario)
• Jula Hughes (University of New Brunswick)

Wahkohtowin Learning & Practice: Wetaskiwin

• Darcy Lindberg

Panel: Territory and Jurisdiction

• Chair: Catherine Bell (Faculty of Law, University of Alberta)
• Kent McNeil (Osgoode Hall, York University)
• Mary Liston (University of British Columbia)
• Colleen Sheppard (McGill University)

Keynote Address: Judicial Recognition of the “Laws of the Aborigines” in 1867

• Mark Walters (McGill University)

Panel: Treaties and Relations

• Chair: Adam Gaudry (Faculty of Native Studies, University of Alberta)
• Karen Drake (Osgoode Hall, York University)
• Jason Madden (Pape Salter Teillet LLP)
• Ghislain Otis (University of Ottawa)
• Alan Hanna (University of Victoria) & Frank Tough (University of Alberta)

Panel: Unsettling Reconciliation

• Chair: Sean Robertson (Faculty of Native Studies, University of Alberta)
• Emily Snyder (University of Saskatchewan)
• Judy Half (University of Calgary)
• Hannah Wyile (University of Ottawa)

Wahkohtowin Learning & Practice: Beading

• Tara Kappo

Keynote Address: The Story of Constitutions, Constitutionalism and Reconciliation: A Work of Prose and/or Poetry?

• Jean Leclair (Université de Montréal)

Panel: Departures and Arrivals

• Chair: Patricia Paradis (Centre for Constitutional Studies, University of Alberta)
• Maxime St-Hilaire (Univesité de Sherbrooke)
• Chasidy Alexis (University of Basque Country)
• Darcy Lindberg (University of Victoria)

Wahkohtowin Learning and Practice – Photo Collaboration

• Renée Beausoleil

Rethinking the Constitution

• Chair: Eric Adams (Faculty of Law, University of Alberta)
• Ryan Beaton (University of Victoria)
• Ron Stevenson (Department of Justice)
• Naiomi Metallic (Dalhousie University)