Canadian Lawyer

www.canadianlawyermag.com 39 what kind of lawyers are going to go out into the world? Why shouldn't Indigenous law be mandatory?" All lawyers should be competent in basic issues when it comes to Indigenous people "because when you're working in law, you're going to work with them eventually in this country," says Bear. It can be frustrating for Indigenous cli- ents when they hire a lawyer and it's obvious there is no background knowledge and no appreciation of where the client is coming from. General knowledge is a good start, but practical knowledge of Indigenous people or people who've experienced trauma, for exam- ple, those are the kinds of skills law students should be working on, says Wente. Though some professors push back on the idea that law, you need to explain these are historical, contemporary, personal issues — and if you don't appreciate that you won't be able to pro- vide the best service for your clients." Irrespective of reconciliation, the reality is that Indigenous law has boomed in Canada. As it stands, there is almost no area of law that doesn't overlap with Indigenous law in some way. Setting aside moral obligations to know and understand the true history of the country, a legal education that did not include Indigenous law in its curriculum is arguably incomplete. "Mandatory means significant, important and core — and that's proper respect for this area of law," says EagleWoman. "If you say contract law or property law isn't mandatory, law schools are professional training pro- grams, she argues that — along with articling and time as a junior lawyer — that's exactly what legal education is. "In terms of training lawyers generally about Indigenous issues, there's not many subject matters where there's no Aboriginal component to be learned or understood from that," she notes. Wente adds that, when it comes to potential hires at her firm, which works with Indigenous communities, she's not going to put anybody who doesn't know about the history and the current situation, who doesn't have the abili- ty to speak with people who have experienced trauma, in front of an Indigenous client. The key to reconciliation at all levels of the legal community is honest engagement with the issues, an open dialogue among all par- ties and — most crucial of all — creating and maintaining the space for Indigenous people to voice their opinions and solutions. "Respect, anti-racism and appreciation of other cultures as values — that has to guide these efforts if there's going to be meaning- ful change," EagleWoman says. She recom- mends The Guide for Lawyers Working with Indigenous Peoples — a joint project of the Advocates' Society, the Indigenous Bar Asso- ciation and the Law Society of Ontario — to all practitioners as a solid starting point to increasing their understanding, noting that there's always room to become more cultur- ally competent. Whatever comes of the TRC Calls to Action, however they're implemented and however reconciliation is ultimately reached, the hope is that in the end there is real change made in the minds of the lawyers who will make up the future legal sphere. "I had a client tell me once, if reconciliation makes you feel good it's probably not work- ing," McIvor says. "It's got to make you feel un- comfortable as a non-Indigenous person. So, engaging on these issues may be difficult, but I think lawyers have an important role to play in that conversation." "The arrogance of thinking that you can answer the question without knowing anything about the problem is the problem — and it's always been the problem." Maggie Wente, Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP

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