Research Guides: Aboriginal Law & Indigenous Laws: A note on terms

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Aboriginal law refers to laws developed by Canadian legislators and courts that applies to Indigenous Peoples and their relationship with the Canadian state. This concept encompasses the Aboriginal and treaty rights protected by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, federal jurisdiction under section 91(24) of the Constitution Act, 1867, and other constitutional authorities, as well as legislation (such as the Indian Act, RSC 1985 c I-5 and several more modern statutes) and common law rules in which Indigeneity is a factor that impacts the applicable law in a given situation.

Indigenous laws refers to the specific legal orders of Indigenous Nations, such as
Mi’kmaq law. These orders continue to grow, evolve, govern affairs in Indigenous communities today, and are among Canada’s founding legal orders.

-From Best Practices for Writing about Indigenous Peoples in the Canadian Legal Context:
An Evolving Style Guide for the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University (2024)

Indigenous law and legal traditions finding new Canadian context
(2022) Queen's Law Reports, pages 28-35.
Professor Lindsay Borrows, Jaimie Lickers (Law '07), Sara Mainville (Law '04), John Rowinski (Law '00), Professor Mark Walters, and Professor Hugo Choquette discuss "revitalizing Indigenous people's ways of knowing, being, and doing to carve out space for their laws."
Best Practices for Writing about Indigenous Peoples in the Canadian Legal Context: an Evolving Style Guide for the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University
Because legal writing often engages with topics and terminology that may not be discussed at length in other areas, this resource seeks to assemble guidelines that are helpful to those in the legal profession. Various existing resources were consulted in the preparation of this guide, including books, government websites, cultural sensitivity courses used in corporate settings, and existing legal scholarship, in addition to consultations with subject matter experts at Dalhousie University’s Schulich School of Law. These resources were synthesized to create a more cohesive set of guidelines relevant specifically to the Canadian legal context. As the guide was authored in Mi’kma’ki primarily for the use of law students at Dalhousie, particular attention is paid to terminology regarding the Mi’kmaq and Wolastoqewiyik Peoples who have inhabited the Atlantic region since time immemorial. This guide will be updated periodically as emerging trends in the field become established conventions.