The Faculty of Law’s Certificate in Aboriginal Legal Studies
The Faculty of Law’s Certificate in Aboriginal Legal Studies is for students who have a vocational or intellectual interest in the intersection between law and the history, politics, thought, or practices of Aboriginal Law. The program complements students’ legal training by providing an interdisciplinary framework within which concepts and methods from the study of law can be applied to a relevant topic in Aboriginal Studies. Students complete the Certificate in accordance with Law Faculty requirements and in conjunction with the Aboriginal Studies Program through the Arts and Science program at the University of Toronto.
Requirements
The Certificate in Aboriginal Legal Studies has four requirements.
(1) Aboriginal Peoples and Canadian Law.
Students must participate in the Law Faculty’s core research course in Aboriginal Studies, Aboriginal Peoples and Canadian Law (LAW370H1S). This four hour credit course explores the constitutional context in which mainstream law confronts Aboriginal issues and seeks an understanding of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal perspectives and interests in relation to these issues. All students completing the Certificate in Aboriginal Legal Studies will take this core course requirement.
(2) Significant Writing on Aboriginal Law.
Option A. Students earning the Certificate in Aboriginal Law Studies and not writing a SUYRP under Option B must chose the paper-writing mode of evaluation in Aboriginal Peoples and Canadian Law, and produce two related writing assignments totaling 9,500-10,000 words on a topic developed in consultation with the instructor. One or both of these papers will be of publishable quality, and students will be encouraged to submit one or both of these papers to an appropriate publication.
Option B. Students may write a SUYRP on an Aboriginal Law topic in an upper level law course that permits SUYRP’s, provided the faculty member teaching the course is aware that the SUYRP project is being used to fulfil this requirement and agrees to supervise the SUYRP. Students writing a SUYRP may choose whichever mode of evaluation they like in Aboriginal Peoples and Canadian Law, and need only complete one Eligible Course from the list under requirement (4). The SUYRP paper will be of publishable quality, and students will be encouraged to submit one or both of these papers to an appropriate publication
(3) Public Presentation in Aboriginal Studies Program.
Early in the term in which a student completes requirement (2), students must consult with the Program Director of the University of Toronto Aboriginal Studies Program, and schedule a presentation of the paper(s) written in completion of the significant writing requirement at a suitable public forum.
(4) Additional Eligible Course(s).
The Aboriginal Law Program Coordinator will maintain the Eligible Course List of Law and graduate level courses in consultation with other Faculties at the University of Toronto. The Aboriginal Law Program Coordinator will update the list yearly, and students who find an appropriate course can request that it be added to the list of eligible courses. Ideally, students will take at least one of the listed courses during the second year, before or concurrently with Aboriginal Peoples and Canadian Law.
Students must complete one or two courses from the list. Students pursuing Option A under requirement (2) must take two courses from this list. Students pursuing Option B need only select one course from the list. However, students completing a SUYRP in Aboriginal Peoples and Canadian Law or one of the courses on the Eligible Course List must take a second course from the list.
In summary, each student will complete three courses towards the certificate: either the core course plus two eligible courses; or the core course, one eligible course, and a course in which the student writes a SUYRP on a topic in Aboriginal Law.
Eligible Courses
- LAW 477 HIF Aboriginal Peoples and Canadian Criminal Justice
- LAW 366 H1S Comparative Indigenous Law
- CHL 5421H Aboriginal Health
- ENG 6554H Race and Gender in Indigenous Law and Literature
- HIS 1120H Topics in Aboriginal/Non-Aboriginal Relations in Canada
- HIS 1114H Indigenous Histories in North America
- HIS 1104H Natives and Empires: Colonial History of the Americas, 1492–1800
- HIS 1118H Canada By Treaty: Alliances, Title Transfers and Land Claims
- JAR 6053H Aboriginal Religion in Comparative Experience
- JPG 1419H Aboriginal/Canadian Relations in Environmental and Resource Management
- NUR 1014H The Politics of Aboriginal Health
- POL 2062H Contemporary Indigenous Theory and Political Thought
- POL 2361Y Globalization and Indigenous Politics
- SES 1930H Race, Indigenous Citizenship and Self-Determination: Decolonizing Perspectives
- SES 2999H Aboriginal Peoples and Citizenship
- SES 1925H Indigenous Knowledge and Decolonization: Pedagogical Implications
CHL= Collaborative Program in Health Care - ENG= English - HIS=History - JAE Joint program in Religion - JPG=Joint Program in Geography - NUR=Nursing - POL=Political Science - SES=Sociology and Equity Studies.
Admission into the Certificate Program
Students apply to the Faculty of Law alone. In their applications or before the completion of their first year, students should select the Aboriginal Law Studies as a certificate program option. Students must contact the Aboriginal Studies Program and schedule their public presentation in order to formalize their admission to the certificate program.
