Skip to main navigation Skip to search Skip to main content
Naiomi Metallic

Naiomi Metallic

Associate Professor of Law; Chancellor's Chair in Aboriginal Law and Policy

 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6311-1590
20082023

Research activity per year

Personal profile

About

I hail from the Listuguj Mi’gmaq First Nation located on the Gaspé Coast of Quebec, known as the Gespegewagi district of Mi’kma’ki. I speak English, French and a little Mi’kmaq (I have been taking lessons for a over a year and it is a life goal of mine to become fluent). After nearly 10 years of a very rewarding practice in Aboriginal law, I decided to make the move to academia to continue my work for First Nations in a different way — through teaching, writing, and speaking about the issues facing Aboriginal peoples in Canada and how the law can be a tool for reconciliation and improving the lives of Indigenous peoples. 

Above all, I am interested in how the law can be harnessed to promote the well-being of Indigenous peoples in Canada. I approach this issue from multiple angles, from constitutional to administrative law, international law to equality law and human rights codes, to Indian Act Band Council bylaw powers. Although some advances have been made since the recognition of Aboriginal and Treaty rights in s. 35 of the Constitution Act in 1982, there is still much work to be done.

Indigenous peoples in Canada remain at the bottom of virtually every socio-economic statistic in this country and continue to face discrimination and systemic racism on a regular basis. As legal practitioners and scholars who are concerned about the situation of Indigenous peoples in this country, we have the responsibility to think about the problems facing Indigenous groups in Canada in innovative ways and to convey our ideas in ways that are accessible to the communities they are intended to serve.

Although a lot of my work to-date focuses on Aboriginal Law (Canadian law as it relates to Indigenous), I am a student of Indigenous Law (the laws of Indigenous peoples) and hope to make contributions to the revitalization of Mi'kmaq during my career.

Contact Information

Schulich School of Law
Weldon Law Building
6061 University Avenue
PO Box 15000
Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4R2

Related documents

Education/Academic qualification

LLM, Osgoode Hall Law School of York University

2014 → 2015

LLL, University of Ottawa

2006 → 2007

LLB, Dalhousie University Schulich School of Law

2002 → 2005

BA, Dalhousie University

1998 → 2002

PhD, University of Alberta Faculty of Law

2022 → …

Research Interests

  • Diversity in the Legal Profession
  • Diversity in the Judiciary
  • Equality and Human Rights
  • Revitalizing Indigenous Law
  • Aboriginal and Treaty Rights
  • Self-Determination
  • Socio-Economics

Disciplines

  • Law
  • Human Rights Law
  • Indigenous, Indian, and Aboriginal Law
  • Constitutional Law
  • Administrative Law
  • Legal Education

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  1. SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities
    SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
  2. SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics where Naiomi Metallic is active. These topic labels come from the works of this person. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
  • 1 Similar Profiles
View full fingerprint
View all 50 research outputs
View all 7 courses