LAW589

The ᐘᐦᑯᐦᑐᐏᐣ wahkohtowin Intensive: ᒥᔪ ᐑᒉᐦᑐᐏᐣ miyo-wîcêhtowin Principles and Practice APPLICATION 

(Friedland & Lightning-Earle)

Prerequisite courses: First year courses complete

Prerequisite for:

Instructor(s): Professor Hadley Friedland, Koren Lightning-Earle and a community-based instructional team from Aseniwuche Winewak Nation

Course credit: 3

Term: Summer

Maximum enrollment: 10

Method of presentation: Other

2023 APPLICATIONS DUE WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12, 2023 to law.facultyservices@ualberta.ca.

Course poster

METHOD OF EVALUATION

Seminar and In-camp Activities - 40%

Learning Journal – 20%

Integration Paper - 40% 

Course is CR/NC (credit/no credit) graded. Students do not receive letter grades.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This unique intensive course introduces students to sources and resources for engaging with Indigenous – particularly Cree – legal concepts from a language and land-based perspective. The Cree concept of Wahkohtowin (roughly: relationality and interdependence) has been a central tenet of Cree law, philosophy, spirituality and politics for centuries. Miyo-wîcêhtowin is a closely related concept about building and maintaining good relations. Students will actively engage or re-engage with these core precepts of Cree legal thought through a variety of pedagogical methods, guided by professors, elders, and knowledge-keepers within a classroom and a community setting. These may include lectures, stories, language, land-based or nature based teachings, experiential learning, reading, writing, and ceremonial experiences. The central pedagogy the class will be structured around is the traditional tanning of a moose hide and related activities.

Please ensure you read the following before completing or submitting this application:

This course includes an on-the-land camp that will take place over four days in Aseniwuche Winewak Nation territory. 

You must be able to attend the following course dates:

Pre-course seminars: June 26 - 27, 2023 (on campus)

Travel: June 30 and July 4, 2023 (travel)

Land-based Camp: June 30 – July 3, 2023 (in community)

This course is largely experiential so participation and active involvement is necessary. Of particular note:

• This course requires spending four overnights in a camp five hours northwest of Edmonton in the Rocky Mountains. You must provide your own bedding and appropriate clothing. You will receive a list of recommendations. There are no extra fees for this course this year, as accommodations and course material costs are provided through an Alberta Law Foundation grant and transportation costs are covered under a Faculty of Law Experiential Learning grant.

• Many camp activities will be outdoors and are of a physical nature. Students should be prepared for mild to moderate physical exertion, some walking on uneven ground, as well as all sorts of weather.

• A major activity the camp is centered around is the making of a traditional brain-tanned moose hide with Elders and other knowledge-holders. This activity involves physical exertion and touching raw moose hide.

• If you have mobility or other challenges, and are unsure of your ability to participate in the camp setting as a result, you are encouraged to talk to the instructors beforehand. We will strive to make necessary accommodations and may be able to adapt activities on a personalized level to ensure this experience is as inclusive as possible for all.

• No alcohol or drug use is permitted during the camp.

• Please note that enhanced Covid-safety protocols beyond current university of provincial standards may apply.

HOW TO APPLY

Students interested in this course must submit a separate application. Information on the application process can be found on the Faculty of Law Experiential Courses and Application page. 

REQUIRED TEXTS (IF ANY)

Stephanie Irlbacher-Fox, Finding Dahshaa: Self-Government, Social Suffering and Aboriginal Policy in Canada (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2009).  

All other course readings and materials will be provided to students through TWEN for the preparatory seminars.