Keynote Address: 2024 Kawaskimhon National Aboriginal Moot

The Faculty of Law at Thompson Rivers University is delighted to host the 2024 Kawaskimhon National Aboriginal Moot on the traditional territory of the Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc.
The Kawaskimhon Moot was first held at the University of Toronto in 1994. Each year, a different university hosts the moot and welcomes law students from nearly every law faculty across Canada.
The Kawaskimhon Moot is a consensus-based, non-adversarial moot that incorporates Indigenous legal traditions alongside federal, provincial and international law, and concepts of dispute resolution. Teams may represent a variety of parties (depending on the nature of the moot problem) such as First Nations, Band Councils, traditional Chiefs’ organizations, government agencies, and industry.
Mooters participate in roundtable negotiations on a particular topic in Indigenous law, representing their assigned party’s positions to their circles. Facilitators guide the discussions with the goal of reaching a consensus. There are no competitive awards. Instead, the Kawaskimhon Moot allows students to deepen their understanding of Indigenous legal issues and Aboriginal law.
Keynote Speaker:
Chief Justice of British Columbia Leonard S. Marchand
Leonard Marchand is Syilx and a member of the Okanagan Indian Band. He grew up in Kamloops. He was appointed to the Supreme Court of British Columbia in 2017 and to the Court of Appeal for British Columbia in 2021. He was recently appointed as Chief Justice of British Columbia and Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal of Yukon in 2023.
Marchand has dedicated a substantial portion of his career to achieving reconciliation for Indigenous Peoples, including by advancing civil claims on behalf of residential school survivors. In 2005, he helped negotiate and was a signatory to the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. He then served on the oversight committee for the Independent Assessment Process and the Selection Committee for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Speakers and Facilitators:
➡ Judge Linda Thomas, Provincial Court of British Columbia
➡ Judge Raymond Phillips, Provincial Court of British Columbia
➡ Dean Daleen Millard, Faculty of Law, Thompson Rivers University
➡ Robert Chambers, professor and department Chair, Faculty of Law, Thompson Rivers University
➡ Amanda Carling, CEO, BC First Nations Justice Council
➡ Chrystie Stewart, lawyer, Stewart & Springford LLP
➡ Charlotte Rose, lawyer, Qwelmínte Secwépemc office
➡ Mardi McNaughton, lawyer, Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP
➡ Wayne D. Garnons-Williams, BA, LLB, MPA, LLM; chair, International Inter-tribal Trade and Investment Organization; senior lawyer and principal director, Garwill Law Professional Corporation
➡ Jesse McCormick, senior vice-president of Research, Innovation and Legal Affairs, Chippewas of the Thames First Nation, First Nations Major Project Coalition
➡ Ted Gottfriedson, Secwépemc cultural advisor, Office of Indigenous Education
➡ Elder Leona (Doe) Thomas, Tk’emlúps te Secwe̓pemc
➡ Andrea Hilland, KC, assistant professor, Peter A. Allard School of Law
➡ Cedar W. Dodd, provincial director of Indigenous Justice Centres, BC First Nations Justice Council
➡ Justice Michelle O'Bonsawin
➡ Rob Houle, third-year student, TRU Law
➡ Murray Sholty, chair of Moot Committee, Faculty of Law and the Bob Gaglardi School of Business and Economics (TRU Law - 2014 alum)
Mastermind Studios is both proud and honoured to produce this documentary in association with Thompson Rivers University - Faculty of Law*. Mastermind Studios is located on the traditional lands of the *Tk'emlups te Secwepemc within *Secwepemc'ulucw*, the traditional and unceded territory of the Secwepemc people.