Instructor(s): John Borrows

Schedule: September 12 - September 15, 2024

Note:  This course does not meet the graduation requirement for students to complete an intensive course. 

In 2016, U of T Law introduced the Indigenous Law in Context program, a three-day intensive taught on the Chippewa of the Nawash reserve. The program introduced participants to Indigenous law from a land-based perspective, and they receive teachings from elders and other members of the community on Anishinaabe law and legal traditions. This year the program is taking place on the Chippewas of Rama Mnjikaning First Nation, on Lake Couchiching, outside of Orillia Ontario. Professor John Borrows (Loveland Chair in Indigenous Law) will lead the course, and there will be joint activities with Osgoode Hall Law School students. The class requires a willingness to learn in an immersive setting, where weather is variable and accommodations are appropriate to camp-like conditions. Students will travel to the site together on Thursday, September 12, and camp as a group on the First Nation's lands, returning Sunday, September 15.  

Students interested in this course should submit a letter of interest to Assistant Dean Sara Faherty at sara.faherty@utoronto.ca by 10:00 am on Thursday August 1, 2024. 

A “letter of interest” should include specific personal, academic, or professional experiences that stimulate your interest in the course. For example, if your first exposure to informed reflection on Indigenous legal issues was during your first year classes please write about this. One of the primary reasons for the course is to invite the law school community to engage in thinking about important legal and historical issues in new ways. 

Evaluation
For those registered for credit in this course, you will write a reflective paper of approximately 5,000 words in length, inclusive of footnotes (up to 20 double-spaced pages in 12” Times-Roman font). The paper is due October 23, 2024 at 4:00 pm E.S.T. You are also able to write Supervised Upper Year Research Paper (SUYRP) in this course with my permission. This allows you to turn this 2-credit course into a 3-credit course by writing an extended paper. "Extended" means a few different things, but primarily it requires that you write approximately 10 pages (2500 words) more than underlying assignment count. You are also required to have at least one meeting with me (by ZOOM) about the paper, in the planning stages of your work. Finally, there must be at least one exchange of drafts of the paper, with you incorporating my feedback into your final submission.
Academic year
2024 - 2025

At a Glance

First Term
Credits
2
Hours
14
SUYRP

Enrolment

Maximum
30

28 JD
2 LLM/SJD/MSL/SJD U