Jean Teillet
“State of Métis Legal Affairs” and Repatriation ceremony of the Two-row Wampum to the Faculty of Law
— March 9th, 2010, 12:30pm-2pm, in the Faculty Lounge
--- Lunch will be served
Jean Teillet will be kicking off the Aboriginal Speakers’ Month on Tuesday, March 9th, 2010, from 12:30-2pm in the Faculty Lounge (for list of speaker see headnotes for week of March 8th). Ms. Teillet will review the state of Métis law since the precedent setting case of Powley, and end her talk by repatriating a Haudenosaunee two-row wampum to the Faculty of Law, which she initially gifted some years ago (its home is in the wall showcase on the stairwell in Flavelle). She will describe the significance of this representational wampum.
Jean Teillet is called to the Bars in Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and Manitoba. She is a partner in the firm of Pape Salter Teillet with offices in Vancouver, Toronto and Behchokö, NT. Ms. Teillet specializes in Aboriginal rights litigation and negotiations, with a particular emphasis on Métis rights. Since 1993, she has been a tutor and mentor to Aboriginal students at the University of Toronto, the University of Alberta and Osgoode Hall Law School. As a founding member of the Métis Nation of Ontario, founding president of the Métis Nation Lawyers Association and former treasurer and vice-president of the Indigenous Bar Association of Canada, she has freely devoted her time and efforts to the Aboriginal Community. In 2002 Ms. Teillet became the first recipient of the Law Society of Upper Canada's Lincoln Alexander Award for her work "as a mentor and teacher and her commitment to advancing Aboriginal issues". The 2005 Aboriginal Justice Award was presented to Jean Teillet by the Aboriginal Law Students' Association, Faculty of Law, University of Alberta "In Recognition of Service to the Aboriginal Community" and for her "Outstanding Contributions to the Development of Aboriginal Justice". Ms. Teillet is the great-grandniece of Louis Riel.
