Meet Alyssa S.

"This year, I have worked with the United Nations Declaration Team in the Strategic Policy Directorate at Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. It has been extraordinarily exciting. My team is the policy think tank that supports the Department of Justice in designing policy direction to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples for the country. I create briefing notes for ministers, attend inter-departmental meetings, design policy and have gotten to know decision-makers over virtual coffee. 

Throughout my work term, I have developed a better understanding of Section 35, Free Prior and Informed Consent, the United Nations Declaration Act and how this all interacts with judiciary precedents. Through understanding these legislative frameworks and how they interact with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, I can highlight gaps in communication strategies and policy through a whole of government approach."

Alyssa D. Schatz is a member of Wood Mountain Lakota First Nation. She is a fifth-year student in Human Geography and Economics with a Certificate in Sustainability. She currently lives in Leduc, Alberta.