Canku Ota

(Many Paths)

An Online Newsletter Celebrating Native America

July 12, 2003 - Issue 91

Groundbreaking Aboriginal Lawyer Chief Roberta Jamieson to Receive Honorary Doctorate

TORONTO - The Law Society of Upper Canada will present an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) to Chief Roberta Jamieson, I.P.C., O.C., in recognition of her service to the public and the legal profession as a lawyer, social activist, and role model for women and Aboriginal Peoples in Canada.

During the ceremony, held July 8, 47 new lawyers will be called to the Ontario Bar - 32 women and 15 men. Two London-area students, both women, will also be presented with special awards for attaining the highest grades in the Law Society's Bar Admission Course and excellence in skills.

Roberta Jamieson is a woman of many firsts. She was the first woman from a First Nation in Canada to obtain a law degree, first Aboriginal woman to hold the post of Ontario Ombudsman, and the first woman to be elected Chief of the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. Chief Jamieson is a member of the Advisory Board of CH Television in Hamilton, Ontario, and is Co-Chair of the President's Committee on Indigenous Studies at McMaster University. She is also the founding Chair of "ImagineNATIVE", an international Media Arts Festival that showcases the work of indigenous artists from around the world working in film, television, video, radio and multimedia formats.

The honorary degree is awarded at the Law Society's Call to the Bar celebrations to select members of the public and profession who exemplify the character and values held in esteem by the legal profession. Following her award, Chief Jamieson will serve as keynote speaker.

Law Society Treasurer, Frank Marrocco, Q.C., will confer the special award to Chief Jamieson before the graduating class in a ceremony that welcomes the province's newest lawyers to the Ontario Bar.

London is the first of five ceremonies taking place in July. The Law Society will call almost 900 new lawyers to the Bar at Calls in London, Ottawa and Toronto. Continuing a trend seen over the last few years, women account for the majority of new calls to the Bar (54%) province-wide.

To learn more about Chief Jamieson, visit her site:

Roberta Jamieson
Chief Roberta Jamieson is a member of the Mohawk Nation of the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory where she has lived throughout her life. As Chief, Commissioner, Ombudsman, and activist, she has thirty years experience in conflict resolution involving governments at all levels. She is a dynamic and highly skilled leader with a unique ability to succeed in complex political environments. Her expertise includes social justice, critical analysis, problem-solving, consensus building and organizational change.
http://www.robertajamieson.com/index.html

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