Truth and Reconciliation Steering Committee
In October, the Faculty of Law at the University of Windsor formed a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Steering Committee.
The Committee was launched pursuant to the Recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Report, “Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future”, which calls on law schools and many other social and sociolegal systems to both come to grips with the destructive role law and other systems have played in the lives of Indigenous and Métis communities, and to make significant reforms to improve our collective futures.
The Committee is co-chaired by Associate Dean Gemma Smyth, Professor Valarie Waboose and third year Métis law student Alex Melanson. The Committee is comprised of students, professors, Russell Nahdee from the Aboriginal Education Centre, Acting Dean Chris Waters, as well as residential school survivor Susie Jones.
The Committee’s work will include curriculum reform recommendations, improved space for Indigenous and Métis students, and deepened community connections. The Committee aims to strike a balance between decisive action on a long-neglected part of Canada’s colonial history and a reflective and critically aware process required to sustain reconciliation over the next many decades.