E D U C A T I O N
I have always believed that life experience has a value which is unique from formal education and that a true education must have a good balance of both. My Mi’kmaq culture, history, and identity, together with my active political and communal participation, provided the necessary context for my formal education. It allowed me to maintain my Mi’kmaq identity, while opening my mind to additional knowledge and information about other concepts and ideas.
I was supported throughout my education by the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation, Legal Studies for Aboriginal Peoples, the New Brunswick Aboriginal Peoples Council and Skigin-Elnoog Housing Corporation. Through these invaluable organisations which provide programs and services to Status and Non-Status Indians, I was provided with scholarships, affordable housing for my children and I, and practical experience which has enriched my studies, my career, and my community work. More importantly, it has supported and enriched my identity as a Mi’kmaq woman.
My formal education and legal training is as follows:
Dalhousie University
Doctorate in the Science of Law (JSD)
Conferred: October 2009
Thesis: Beyond Blood: Rethinking Aboriginal Identity and Belonging
Dalhousie University
Master of Laws Degree (LLM)
Conferred: October 1999
Thesis: In the Path of Our Ancestors: The Aboriginal Right
to Cross the Canada-United States Border
Law Society of New Brunswick
Bar Admission Course
Completed in June 1998
Admitted to N.B. Bar: June 12, 1998
University of New Brunswick
Bachelor of Laws Degree (LLB)
Conferred: May, 1997
Fasken Campbell Godfrey Prize in Environmental Law
(Highest Marks in Environmental and
Natural Resources Law re: Aboriginal Rights)
Saint Thomas University
Bachelor of Arts Degree (BA)
Conferred: May 1994
Double Major: Native Studies & History