THUNDER BAY - Indigenous students from two local high schools received a unique lesson in how the legal system works and how they can pursue a career in law.
On Monday, 80 students from Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School and Sir Winston Churchill High School participated in the second annual Indigenous High School Law Day at the Lakehead University Law School.
Students learned about what rights they have, how legal aid clinics work, how the law school works, the human rights code, and Aboriginal Initiatives.
Angelique Eaglewoman, dean of the faculty of Law at Lakehead University, said the day is meant to encourage students to look at different career options and find inspiration to pursue their dreams.
“There is an access to justice issue in a lot of Indigenous communities and we firmly believe that this law school with its mandate, the first being Aboriginal and Indigenous law, is meant for these types of students to come through and go back to their communities in Northern Ontario and make a difference and they will understand the issues in a way that others won’t,” Eaglewoman said.
Claudia Kataquapit, a Grade 9 student at Churchill High School, said she has been interested in a career in law since she was in the sixth grade and she has learned a lot about how she can pursue that dream during her time at the law school.
“I always loved law, but I want to focus more on indigenous rights, especially for my generation,” she said. “We need change in Thunder Bay. It is full of racist people. We need a new life.”
Eaglewoman said the response from students has been very positive this year and last year and she hopes more Indigenous students pursue their dreams and learn more about the opportunities that exist in the legal system.
“They’ve been really happy to engage and they understand how much they care about them and really want to see them follow their dreams,” she said.
