THE ADVOCATE 411
VOL. 78 PART 3 MAY 2020
PETER A. ALLARD
SCHOOL OF LAW
FACULTY NEWS
By Simmi Puri*
An important part of the law school’s 75th anniversary celebrations
involves reflecting on our rich history, through the stories shared by our
graduates, faculty and students. This past year, we have undertaken two
important history projects that will be available to the public later this year:
the history of Indigenous legal studies at the law school and the history of
women at the law school.
Indigenous Legal Studies Oral History Project
It has been a research project like no other for third-year law student Jennifer
Mackie. Working over the past year with the Dean’s Office and Indigenous
Legal Studies faculty and staff, Jennifer has been interviewing Indigenous
alumni across generations about their experiences as a law student at UBC.
“I am grateful and honoured to have had the opportunity to connect with
several alumni and to have engaged in some good conversations,” said Jennifer.
“People have shared important moments, some good, some not so
great. But there were also a lot of laughs regarding the lifelong friendships
that were made then, which continue to this day.”
The intent of this project is to learn about the experiences of Indigenous
students who graduated from the law school and to ensure that their stories
are a part of our historical record.
“This is an important part of our history as a law school,” said Dean
Catherine Dauvergne. “We hope that those interviewed will share their
truth with us with the goal of providing an honest account of the experiences
of our Indigenous students over the years.”
The history will be published in the spring of 2020 in both digital and
print formats.
* Simmi Puri is the communications manager for the Peter A. Allard School of Law.