A Genealogy of Indigenous Law: A Writers Journey – Canadian Network of Law & Humanities

On November 3, 2023, Professor John Borrows gave a talk overviewing his work throughout his career. CNLH was immensely grateful to host this event alongside Indigenous Legal Studies at the Peter A. Allard School of Law. For over 30 years, Professor Borrows has written about the revitalization of Indigenous peoples’ laws, and their relationship to other Canadian Laws. In this talk, Professor Borrows will discuss the arc of his writing over this period, through graduate work, sole-authored manuscripts, and edited books. In the process, he will consider some of the themes the courts have developed which facilitate and frustrate Indigenous law, and he discussed the role of academic legal writing in addressing these challenges.

John Borrows B.A., M.A., J.D., LL.M. (Toronto), Ph.D. (Osgoode Hall Law School), LL.D. (Hons., Dalhousie, York, SFU, Queen’s & Law Society of Ontario), D.H.L, (Hons., Toronto), D.Litt. (Hons., Waterloo), F.R.S.C., O.C., is the Loveland Chair in Indigenous Law at the University of Toronto Law School. His publications include, Recovering Canada; The Resurgence of Indigenous Law (Donald Smiley Award best book in Canadian Political Science, 2002), Canada’s Indigenous Constitution (Canadian Law and Society Best Book Award 2011), Drawing Out Law: A Spirit’s Guide (2010), Freedom and Indigenous Constitutionalism ((Donald Smiley Award best book in Canadian Political Science, 2016), The Right Relationship (with Michael Coyle, ed.), Resurgence and Reconciliation (with Michael Asch, Jim Tully, eds.), Law’s Indigenous Ethics (2020 Best subsequent Book Award from Native American and Indigenous Studies Association, 2020 W. Wes Pue Best book award from the Canadian Law and Society Association). He is the 2017 Killam Prize winner in Social Sciences and the 2019 Molson Prize Winner from the Canada Council for the Arts, the 2020 Governor General’s Innovation Award, and the 2021 Canadian Bar Association President’s Award winner. He was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2020. John is a member of the Chippewa of the Nawash First Nation in Ontario, Canada.