THUNDER BAY – Nishnawbe Ask Nation leadership is slamming Lakehead University for its appointment of Justice Patrick Smith as interim dean of the Bora Laskin School of Law.
Deputy Grand Chief Derek Fox, in a release issued on Friday afternoon, called the move an insult to First Nations to allow Smith to head an institution that prides itself on advancing Indigenous interests and called on the university to immediately rescind its decision.
“I question the university’s claims of his expertise in Indigenous legal issues when he does not recognize First Nations jurisdiction over our lands. The university should have accepted the recommendations of the Aboriginal Advisory Committee delivered last week, which (specifically) requested that no positions at the law school be filled without input from Indigenous partners.”
Smith’s appointment came under fire because in 2008 he sentenced Chief Donny Morris and five other members of the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug council to prison during a lengthy fight to keep mining activity off their traditional lands.
“I do not agree with the recognition of Justice George Patrick Smith as the interim dean. When we look inside our hearts and minds we believe that this is our land. I question how Justice Smith can be an expert in Indigenous law when he doesn’t understand where we came from,” Morris said in the release.
Smith’s appointment, announced to Lakehead staff on Thursday and to the public on Friday, comes weeks after former dean Angelique Eaglewoman quit, citing systemic issues, including racism, at the Thunder Bay school.
The school has been asked for comment, but was not immediately able to provide one.
