Building for a new future – A New House for UVIC Indigenous Law

I so enjoyed walking the corridors and some of the public spaces of the UVIC law building a few days ago. I was interested in the Indigenous program space, in part as a family member is a recent graduate of the JID program.

At the same time I am researching the history of a faith community reconciliation initiative, Aboriginal Neighbours, a project which connects deeply with a number of law faculty through the years. The building is described on the faculty website in part:

“The 2,440-square metre addition to the Murray and Anne Fraser Building offers a much-needed, culturally appropriate space for learning and teaching Indigenous Laws. Purpose-built to welcome, gather, learn, and share Indigenous legal knowledge, the new wing creates flow between old and new spaces, indoors and out. 

This building is more than architecture; it is a physical expression of reconciliation in action.  It is a place where law is not abstract but relational — rooted in the lands, waters, and teachings of this territory.  It is a place where our collective responsibilities to one another can be discussed, debated, and strengthened” according to Sarah Morales, Associate Dean of Indigenous Law.

The building is further described as “A new home for Indigenous legal resurgence . . . A place to share Indigenous legal traditions.” [It is a new home for] “the Faculty of Law’s JD/JID program – the first law program in the world to combine the study of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous laws.”

On the day I visited, the outside weather was poor, and conditions inside were similarly dim. That said, I think I caught the quiet and sympathetic mood of students and others working on site. A quiet intensity prevailed during my exploration.

I hope to return again, especially to photograph the Gitxsan Talking Stick carved by Gitxsan/Wet’suwet’en artist, Ron Sebastian . . . Custody of the Talking Stick was transferred to the law school in 2008. It is an encased centerpiece to a reconciliation display, a visual symbol of reconciliation. Talking sticks are integral to many Fist Nations’ desire to ensure ”respectful, patient communication in  decision-making, dispute resolution, and storytelling.”

Both university and law faculty acknowledge and respect the Lək̓ʷəŋən (Songhees and Xʷsepsəm/Esquimalt) Peoples on whose territory the university stands, and the Lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.

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