Learning about Indigenous Law and Legal Orders Through Story

Teacher Background

• In order for law to be public and accessible to all, it must be recorded somewhere.

•  Canada’s legal system is recorded in three main forms: statutes, common law, and civil law.  

  1. Statutes are written laws made by the government. These laws are written down in many books. These books belong to series such as the “Revised Statutes of Canada”.
  2. Common law, used in most of Canada, comes from past court decisions made by judges. Judges can follow old decisions for similar problems or make new rules based on changes in society.
  3. Québec does not follow the common law system. Instead, it follows the Civil Code of Québec. The Civil Code is a long list of rules and regulations.

• Indigenous societies have always had ways of recording, as well as teaching and expressing their laws. The ways an Indigenous society records, teaches and expresses its laws are unique to the society. Indigenous societies may record their laws in place names, languages, oral histories and stories, traditions and practices, ceremonies, songs, dances, art, and relationships. People draw on these resources to better access and understand the law, and to apply the law to challenges of today.

• Sources of law are the foundations or authorities underlying the law. They are what people look to when making or justifying legal arguments.

• For this activity, we are going to focus on one of the places you can find Indigenous law: stories. Stories can be a resource of Indigenous law, legal principles, and legal processes. They contain lessons and can serve as models for problem solving. You can analyze stories for legal principles, the same way that you do a legal analysis for Canadian law.

• When we talk about stories in this context, we are not referring to “make-believe” or entertainment in the way stories are often understood in Western traditions. In many Indigenous worldviews, stories are an essential way of teaching, guiding, and passing on knowledge. They help us reflect, ask questions, and think more deeply about the issues we face. Stories are rooted in histories, languages, and ancestral connections. Storytelling—and the oral tradition more broadly—is a vital practice of Indigenous knowledge sharing.

  Because stories carry teachings and responsibilities, they must be treated with respect. Not all stories are meant to be shared, and it is important to have permission from the storyteller or community before retelling them. The stories included in this guide and in the magazine have been shared with permission for teaching and learning.

Activity: Part 1

1. All laws come from a place of authority—someone or something that people listen to and respect. It is important to know where the law comes from so that people can understand, follow, and use the law. According to Dr. John Borrows, there are five main sources of Indigenous laws that ground legal thinking. His list is found on page 15 of Truth Before Reconciliation: Indigenous Law and Legal Orders.

Indigenous societies may record their laws in many different ways. Have your students explore pages 16 and 17 to discover some of the ways that Indigenous law is woven into every part of life. Ask your students: where is Indigenous law found? How is it communicated to members of society?

Activity: Part 2

1. Explain to students that for the next part of the activity, they are going to focus on one of the places you can find Indigenous law: stories. As explained on page 20 of the magazine, “By asking questions of the stories, we can learn how people in the past thought about the problems and how they worked to solve them. When we draw on past stories or cases, they help solve the current problem or conflict by telling us what people have done before.” 

Students are going to learn how to analyze stories for legal principles, processes, and decisions. They are going to read a story and identify the problem, facts, decision/resolution, and the reasons behind the decision.

 2. Have students read pages 20-22. They will start by learning about the context of analyzing stories and then read an example, the story “Summer in a Bag.”

 3. As a class, work together to answer the following questions about “Summer in a Bag.”

We have provided some potential answers for this section based on the problem, “How does a group of people living together respond to a catastrophe that affects everyone?” It is important to remember, however, that there is never only one right answer. Many problems can be brought to a story, and the facts and decisions that matter depend on the problem that is being asked. Legal reasoning is about interpretation and application based on context.

4. After the class discussion, have students read page 23 for the analysis of the story.

5. Give students an opportunity to analyze another story using this same method. Hand out copies of “The Story of Porcupine” and the analysis document. Alternatively, you can play the following video, which features Kenthen Thomas telling the Story of Porcupine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LNeGvNJwps&t=1s  

This story comes from the Secwépemc Nation and shares how two opposing groups of people might come together to resolve their differences. 

6. As a class, review your answers to the questions together. Ask your students: What other questions would you have asked? Did you have a different interpretation than what was provided?

Activity: Part 3

1. Having completed a legal analysis of two stories, students can now start to consider how they can apply what they learned in these stories to problems in their own lives. 

Begin by asking students to reflect on what they learned in either “Summer in a Bag” or “The Story of Porcupine”: What did you wonder about? What surprised you? How does this connect to your life? What types of problems would the lessons in this story help you solve?

2. Have students read page 24 in Truth Before Reconciliation: Indigenous Law and Legal Orders.

3. Provide students the situation on page 25 and give them a chance to apply what they learned in “Summer in a Bag” to the situation. 

Divide the class into four groups and assign each group one of the following perspectives: the birds, the swimmers and boaters, the company, and the river. In their groups, have students prepare a short paragraph or bullet point list describing the problem from their perspective. Bring the class back together and have each group take turns sharing their concerns. Encourage a conversation to determine a process for coming up with a solution. 

Remind students of the story “Summer in a Bag,” and ask:

• How does this story share values and principles that could apply to our scenario?  (e.g. respect for non-human beings, sustainability) 
• What process was followed for finding a solution? Could any of that apply to this situation? (e.g. public meeting with humans and animals, consultation, consensus, ceremony). 

Once students have determined a process to follow, encourage them to explore creative and collaborative solutions. Document the solution (the decision and the reason) through a poster or art piece, story, or poem. 

4. Have students think about how the lessons in “Summer in a Bag” or “The Story of Porcupine” could apply to other examples in their lives or communities. Here are some sample situations you could present to students or consider researching other examples currently being discussed in your own community.

Remind students that this exercise is about finding ways that we are all going to live together and treat each other fairly and to find solutions to the problems we are encountering today. As you explore the scenarios, have students consider the following questions: How do you think about the situation? What process could you follow? How do you ensure all perspectives are accounted for? How might you solve the problem? 

• Every time you go to the playground for recess, you find garbage everywhere. It doesn’t seem like anyone is responsibly throwing out their waste. Animals are starting to eat the garbage, and some parts of the playground are now dirty and unsafe because of waste. 
• At lunchtime, a lot of food ends up in the garbage, some of it completely untouched. Items like full apples, unopened drinks, or sandwiches are thrown away every day. At the same time, some students don’t have enough food and often go without a full lunch. Rotting food is unsafe, and some students are allergic to some of the things being thrown out. The school has strict rules about sharing food. It seems like there could be a better way to handle all the extra food instead of throwing it away.
• In many Canadian cities, people are having a hard time finding a safe, affordable place to live. Rents are rising, and there aren’t enough homes for everyone. Some reasons for the situation include high building costs, not enough government support for renters and homebuyers, and rules that make it hard to build new housing. In some neighbourhoods, people also resist change when affordable housing is planned nearby. Everyone agrees people need safe places to live—but how can we work together to address all these challenges? 
• In 2014 and 2016, thanks in large part to Inuit oral history and knowledge, the wrecks of the British ships HMS Erebus and HMS Terror—from Sir John Franklin’s 1845 expedition through the Northwest Passage—were discovered. The artifacts found at the wreck sites were initially considered the property of the United Kingdom, since the ships were British. However, the sites themselves are located in Canada, and specifically within the territory of Inuit of Nunavut.  How should we determine who are the owners of these artifacts and how can we ensure that they are being properly protected, cared for, and shared with the public?

5. Have students reflect on what they have learned about Indigenous law and legal orders by creating a mind map or visual summary of their learning. Encourage them to include pictures, definitions, key words, etc.