Indigenous Law and Legal Orders

For many Canadians, the law is something stern, even forbidding — a source of what we can’t do or how we’ll be punished if we break the rules. Indigenous law, by contrast, is about how we live well together, and how we care for each other as well as for the land, water, air and all living creatures. Truth Before Reconciliation: Indigenous Law and Legal Orders offers students a whole new way of thinking about these issues, one that has served Indigenous Peoples in this territory since time immemorial. Using easy-to-understand language and concepts, the publication draws on a wide range of Indigenous knowledge and scholarship, offering stories to learn from and ideas to ponder. 

The content was written and researched by a team from the Indigenous Law Research Unit at the University of Victoria, led by renowned legal scholar Val Napoleon, and edited by Ry Moran, founding director of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, with stunning original illustrations by Mi’kmaw artist CeilidhPitaw. 

Young readers will be challenged to reflect on what Indigenous law and legal orders have to offer us now and in the future if we are to live together in a good way.

To guide teachers in their own learning and to help bring truth and reconciliation into their classrooms, this magazine will be accompanied by supplementary educational resources available in English and French. The magazine, intended for students in grades 5–12, is offered in print and digital formats in both English and French.

There are 50 copies per box and orders are limited to a maximum of 200 copies. As a complement, you’ll have access to a free digital educator’s guide. Unfortunately, single print copies are not available, however, homeschoolers and members of the general public are welcome to register for the digital versions and accompanying resources.

Incomplete registrations are not guaranteed delivery of requested material. 

Please note: Due to high demand we are out of all print copies. You may still request digital versions.