The Indigenous Law Centre has been in the midst of redesign for the past year, including the creation of a new Certificate in Indigenous and Aboriginal Law to replace our Summer Program. This growth will change the role of the Centre as the unit to filter Indigenous students ‘conditionally’ accepted into Canadian law schools due to lower GPA or LSAT scores impacted by generational colonial practices particularly in the area of education. Instead, the Indigenous Law Centre will provide academic credit for courses students take to earn a Certificate in the area of Indigenous and Aboriginal law.

During the Centre’s redesign, many law schools across the country have taken on new programs, hired more Indigenous faculty and brought in supports for the Indigenous student body. Law schools are working to ensure there are supports and services available to ensure success of the students within each school without a Summer Program and within all the issues that COVID has added to everyone’s daily routine.

The Certificate in Indigenous and Aboriginal Law is still being created through the proper channels at the University of Saskatchewan. We anticipate the certificate will be available by 2022. Courses are being designed in both sub disciplines and a review of how to supplement the certificate with courses from other institutions is also being undertaken. Please check back here for details as they become available.  

The University of Saskatchewan’s College of Law has also been reviewing the needs of Indigenous students it has accepted into its JD program and determining how to move forward during the summer of 2021. The college is working with the university to allow for the creation of a Summer Semester for Indigenous students. The purpose of this Summer Semester will be to offer incoming Indigenous students, who have been accepted into law school, the opportunity to take two JD courses in that semester.

The college anticipates having the decision and the details of this finalized by March 30, 2021 with a course start date of May 8, 2021. The courses will be online and will be 11 weeks in duration. The college will accept a maximum of 50 Indigenous students into these courses.