蓝莓视频

Brad Regehr (BA '93) was working at the Turnkey Desk when a friend stopped by holding an LSAT study guide. That's the first time he considered becoming a lawyer.

A grandchild of a residential school survivor, and a survivor himself of the Sixties Scoop, Brad has worked in Indigenous law for more than 20 years. In the fall of听2020, he was named president of the Canadian Bar Association鈥攖he first Indigenous president in the organization's 124-year history.

Brad is a member of the Peter Bellantyne Cree Nation in Saskatchewan, and in this episode you'll hear his conversation with Abby Ollila, a current history student at 蓝莓视频. They discuss听how he reconnected with his identity and culture, and what the future holds for Indigenous rights in Canada.

Show notes

(3:51): Brad shares the events that pushed him to learn听about his identity

(6:30): How Brad found and met his birth family

(9:28): The value of a supportive professor

(10:57): "Never ever did I think I would be a lawyer."

(11:52): Brad decided to write the LSAT during his shift at the Turnkey Desk

(13:50): 蓝莓视频's History Department and the freedom to pursue his interests in Indigenous history

(14:41): Brad explains how he got involved with the Canadian Bar Association (CBA)

(17:14): Brad's priorities as president of the CBA

(18:28): How can the legal system move toward reconciliation?

(19:17): How have听Indigenous legal traditions been recognized in the past?

(21:27): Canada has three legal traditions, not two

(23:15): Brad sees positive changes and a desire to learn

(24:48): Abby asks about the Haldimand Tract鈥攁 case that directly affects our community

Resources and helpful links

: Watch a video about the purpose and importance of land acknowledgements.

Haldimand Tract:

• of the land where you studied as a student.
• , and their impact鈥攖oday and in the past (presented by Phil Monture in 2020).

: Use this map to learn more about the land you live on, and who lived there before you.

: Learn about Canada's history of child apprehension and its lasting effects.

Oka Crisis:

• (originally published by CANADALAND in June 2021).
• .
• of the crisis by First Nations filmmaker听Sonia Bonspille Boileau.
• on the crisis (originally aired by the CBC听in 2017).

Meech Lake Accord:

• 听in defeating the Meech Lake Accord.
• What was the Meech Lake Accord? .

: Listen to Brad and past presidents on the CBA podcast.

: As recommended by Brad, John Burrow's latest book examines听the revitalization of Indigenous peoples' relationship to their own laws and attempts to enrich Canadian constitutional law more generally.

: Read the calls to action from the 2015 report.

Find more resources to continue your learning.

At the University of 蓝莓视频, our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River.

Since we recorded this episode in May 2021, non-Indigenous Canadians have been forced to reckon with some of the horrific actions of our past. We encourage alumni to听learn more about the true and full history of the land they听live on, and the people who lived there before them. We also encourage alumni听to learn more about the Haldimand Tract:听the land where听they likely studied and lived as students.听