Jeffery Hewitt Designated as Indigenous Peoples Counsel (IPS) at The Indigenous Bar Association 33rd Annual Conference

OTTAWA, ON – The Indigenous Bar Association is honoured to designate Jeffrey Hewitt as Indigenous Peoples’ Counsel (IPC) at the 33rd Annual Conference of the Indigenous Bar Association. Each year, the IPC designation is given to an Indigenous lawyer in recognition of their outstanding achievements in the practice of law. Specifically, it honours those individuals who have worked to advance the goals and objectives of the IBA and who have served their community and the Creator with honour and integrity.

Jeffery Hewitt, a Cree legal scholar and practitioner, has devoted his professional career to promoting the rights and responsibilities of Indigenous Peoples, re-shaping legal education in the pursuit of greater understanding of Indigenous rights and legal orders, and in the course of which has elevated the dialogue amongst the Indigenous and non-Indigenous bar and judiciary.

IBA President Drew Lafond commented that “Jeffrey’s deep commitment to advocating for the recognition of legal pluralism while supporting Indigenous communities to reclaim and strengthen their laws and traditions embodies what the IPC designation is all about. He is a legal warrior in every sense of the word, educating the hearts and minds of future generations of lawyers in Canada regarding Indigenous Peoples rights and responsibilities. It is an honour to be able to recognize and celebrate Jeff’s achievements—particularly for someone who’s trademark humility and quiet dedication to advancing justice for Indigenous Peoples means he is rarely in the spotlight.”

Mr. Hewitt’s nomination letter, written by fellow IPCs Kathleen Lickers and Candice Metallic, highlights his many achievements. They write:

Jeff’s pathway to his legal career began in the conventional manner, attending the Program for Legal Studies for Aboriginal Peoples in 1993, graduating from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1996 and being called to the bar of the Law Society of Upper Canada in 1998. He went on to obtain an LL.M from Osgoode Hall Law School and a Certificate in Adjudication in 2015. Since beginning his legal journey, Jeffery has been an ardent supporter of the Indigenous Bar Association over his 23 years of membership as a reliable and regular speaker at annual conferences and leading the organization as its President from 2005-2009.

Having served as adjunct professor at the University of Windsor, Faculty of law, Jeff is now faculty at Osgoode Hall Law School. He draws an analogy to the beaver to explain why he joined the legal academic. To summarize, the Anishinaabe often refer to the beaver as “brother” as it is the only other most closely-related being that reshapes the landscape for its own purposes. Beavers remodel their surroundings to build their lodge, which is created for the purposes of raising and educating the young, so the kids will know how to grow and become good. Taking a lesson from his brother, Jeff joined academia reimagining the institution of law school as a great lodge in which his role is to both learn and teach others to become good. He views this task as repositioning legal education to a lodge that decolonizes and commits to the continuous shaping and reshaping in the way the beaver shapes the forest and waterways. Lodges take time to build and the practice of assessment, reflection and renovation is constant. To this end, Jeff is courageous in his writing and his teaching: examining the intersections and encounters between the settler colonialism and Cree leader order; creating a mindfulness that sources of law are as much to be found in the environment as it is in parchment.

In addition to the above accomplishments, Mr. Hewitt has served as General Counsel and Community Legal Researcher to the Chippewas of Rama First Nation, during which time the General Counsel’s Office received a 2011 Canadian General Council Award for Social Responsibility for work with First Nation Elders and youth. He has led countless seminars and continuing legal education sessions on topics such as Indigenous Legal Orders and Courtroom Inquiries; Judicial Ethics in the Courtroom, Indigenous Peoples and the Performance of Law; Reconciling Through Art and Law; Constitutional Law, Legal Pluralism and the Economy; among others and is a fixture and much sought-after speaker at the IBA Annual Conference each year. He has also been the recipient of numerous teaching awards and published extensively in the areas of constitutionalism, Indigenous rights and legal orders, decolonization, restorative justice and reconciliation.

Mr. Hewitt was welcomed by the 22 other legal warriors who have previously received the IPC designation during the IBA’s 2021 Annual Conference (held virtually this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic) and was blanketed by IPCs David C. Nahwegahbow and Dianne Corbiere in a small, private event held in the traditional territory of the Chippewas of Rama First Nation. The IBA looks forward to celebrating together with Mr. Hewitt in person as soon as public health orders and the safety of our communities permits.

The Indigenous Bar Association is a national association comprised of Indigenous lawyers (practicing and non-practicing), legal academics and scholars, articling clerks and law students, including graduate and post-graduate law students. We are mandated to promote the advancement of legal and social justice for Indigenous peoples in Canada and the reform of laws and policies affecting Indigenous peoples.  For more information please visit www.indigenousbar.ca.

NT5