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to his band's leadership. "I remember distinctly going into council and asking them to have some of their entities or departments co-operate, work with us, and try and set up this fine alternative program," he says. "That worked pretty good and I had full support from the tribe and the agencies." It was during his time as a probation officer that Creighton started seriously considering a legal career. He had met sev- eral judges, lawyers, and prosecutors who gave him career advice. So at 32, Creighton set a goal for himself, which to some would seem as lofty as the Rocky Mountains. He fin- ished his undergraduate degree taking some of his courses at the University of Lethbridge, a school that overlooks the Oldman River and the Kainai First Nation not far from the correctional facility where he worked as a guard. He applied to and was accepted at five western-Canadian law schools, choosing the University of Alberta in Edmonton. He articled in Hobbema and Wetaskiwin in central Alberta. Then he was called home to the windswept grasslands in the south. The Kainai nation is the largest in terms of land mass in Canada. More than twice the size of Calgary or Toronto, it touches Big Sky Country to the south, the Oldman River to the east, and the Rocky Mountains to the west. At the time, the nation was greatly subject to non-aboriginal institutions. Creighton spent eight years as in-house counsel to the Blood Tribe. He focused on creating systems in which the people of the nation provide services to each other and run successful businesses. Creighton embraced "the whole idea that First Nations in Canada be allowed to take over their educational programs." He created societies, arm's-length entities, and corporations controlled by boards, allowing the First Nations' council to deal with the important issues of treaty negotiations. "I designed the Blood Tribe education system," he says. "I created a legal entity, created a school board, and applied to the minister to transfer jurisdiction to the school board." The education system took shape and today the nation of more than 10,000 has a high school, a middle school, and two elementary schools. This has allowed for members of the tribe to take over the running of the school; two of the superintendents have been members of the Blood Tribe. "There's 110 teachers and probably 60 per cent are native. Of those 60 per cent, 70 or 80 per cent are Blood members," says Creighton. Health care and other business entities followed with Creighton taking roles in advising how to set up boards to be self-governing and avoid the chance or perception of influence from council. In 1989, Creighton returned to his criminal justice roots helping to set up a correctional facility on the reserve to deal with non-violent offences, including impaired driving and shoplifting. In 1994, Creighton decided he was going to hit the dusty trail and put out his shingle. It was then the Calgary law firm Walsh Wilkins LLP came calling. While not the largest firm in the city, Walsh Wilkins had experience working with First Nations and asked Creighton to join its newly formed aborig- inal law group. The office had three native lawyers along with other staff and it grew from there. Creighton's work focused on governance, corporate-commercial law, oil and gas, and First Nations taxation. In 1999, he became a partner and a couple years later, Walsh Wilkins added Creighton's name to its marquee. He left the firm in April after being named the third aboriginal judge in the history of the Alberta court. He is the only judge to hail from the Kainai Nation. Creighton will sit in the Calgary region including circuit courts in the Siksika Nation, T'suu Tina Nation, and Cochrane and Canmore bor- dering the Stoney Nakoda First Nation. From his perch as a provincial court judge he'll be able to witness the inequity in the number of aboriginal defendants appearing before him. According to a recent Correctional Service of Canada report, aboriginal inmates make up for more than 60 per cent of federal prisoners in the prairie provinces. The report also says the percentage for provincial inmates is even more skewed. Successive reports have called for alternatives to the tradi- tional fine and incarceration model of justice for aboriginal offenders; culturally based form of rehabilitation and peace- making. The reforms have been slow to come. That may be why Creighton embraces the challenges of presiding on the bench, hoping to make the law and justice, "more effective and make more sense." Cox's Criminal Evidence Handbook, 2009-2010 Harold J. Cox, Gregory Lafontaine and Vincenzo Rondinelli Quick access to the rules of evidence you need, the second you need them Inside you'll find all of the cases that have shaped the law of evidence. Each point of law is summarized as a precept, followed by a list of relevant case law so you can review an entire topic in a matter of seconds. New precepts include topics such as: • Criminal Profiling and Crime Scene Analysis • Negative Impact on the Justice System • In Court Behaviour and Appearances • Requirement of Contemporaneity • Weighing Inculpatory versus Exculpatory Admissions • Material Gathered during Other Investigations Published every other year, subscribers to the 2009- 2010 edition will receive a free supplement in 2010. Order your copy today! Hardbound • 724 pp. • May 2009 • Standing order $105 P/C 0265140999 • Current edition only $115 P/C 0265010002 • ISSN 1201-253X canadalawbook.ca MERGING TRADITION WITH TECHNOLOGY For a 30-day, no-risk evaluation call: 1.800.263.2037 Canada Law Book is a Division of The Cartwright Group Ltd Prices subject to change without notice, to applicable taxes and shipping & handling. CL0809 www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com A UGUST 2009 13 Cox_Criminal Evidence 2010 (CL 1-4sq).indd 1 7/8/09 3:09:37 PM