Indigenous law is a complex area that encompasses issues concerning First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples and their relationship with governments, rights to land, rights to tradition and rights to self-government. In this guide, you will find resources available in our library, as well as links to external resources that are key to understanding this area of law.
Texts
- Aboriginal & Treaty Rights Practice by Mary Locke Macaulay Table of Contents
- Aboriginal Law Handbook, 5th ed. by Olthuis Kleer Townshend. Table of Contents
- Aboriginal Law in Canada by Jack Woodward Table of Contents
- Aboriginal Legal Issues: Cases, Materials and Commentary, 5th ed. by John Borrows Table of Contents
- Aboriginal Peoples and the Law: a Critical Introduction by Jim Reynolds. Table of Contents
- Annotated Aboriginal Law: the Constitution, Legislation and Treaties Table of Contents
- Constitutional Law of Canada, 5th ed. by Peter W. Hogg Table of Contents
- Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada Table of Contents
- Indigenous People and the Criminal Justice System: a Practitioner’s Handbook, 2nd ed. by Jonathan Rudin Table of Contents Also available as an e-text.
- Metis – Crown Relations: Rights, Identity, Jurisdiction and Governance by Frederica Wilson & Melanie Mallet Table of Contents
- Key Developments in Aboriginal Law by Thomas Isaac Table of Contents
Last revised Apr. 6, 2023
Indigenous Court
Calgary Indigenous Court Guide
A resource guide developed for the opening of the Indigenous courtroom in Calgary, Alberta. Current as of 2018.
Case Law
For more information on finding case see our research guide: Finding and Researching Cases.
E-Resources
Digests
The Canadian Abridgment available on: Westlaw Canada
All Canadian Summaries, Canadian Case Summaries and Canada Digest are available on: Lexis Advance® Quicklaw®
Alberta Court Judgments
A collection of judgments of the Alberta Courts is available from CanLII. The scope of coverage varies by jurisdiction and court. The official version of the reasons for judgment is the signed original or handwritten endorsement in the court file. If there is a question about the content of a judgment, the original court file takes precedence.
Legislation
Federal
For a complete list of Federal acts and regulations that directly impact First Nations, Inuit, and Métis see:
- Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada
- First Nations Gazette First Nation laws, by-laws, land codes, and other First Nation legislation
All Federal Acts and Regulations can be found electronically at:
Treaties
- Treaties, Laws and Regulations
- Treaties and Agreements – Historic and modern Canadian Treaties
- Treaty Texts
Encyclopedias
Canadian Encyclopedic Digest
Canadian Encyclopedic Digest (C.E.D.) (Western), 4th ed. available electronically through Westlaw Canada
Sections relevent to aboriginal law include:
- Aboriginal law
- Constitutional law
Halsbury's Laws of Canada
This multi-volume set includes coverage of Federal, Provincial & Territorial legislation. It explains the legislation and cases which govern indigenous law issues in every jurisdiction in Canada.
Titles related to indigenous law include:
Additional information may be found under other topical headings.
Also available electronically through: LexisAdvance Quicklaw
Journals
E-Resources
- Justice as healing : a newsletter on aboriginal concepts of justice
- Index to Canadian Legal Literature (ICLL) available electronically on Westlaw Canada and Lexis Advance® Quicklaw®
- Current index to Legal Periodicals – Available electronically on HeinOnline
Additional full-text articles are available electronically through:
- vLex Justis
- Lexis Advance® Quicklaw®
- Westlaw Canada – contains a collection of Canadian journals and law reviews, as well as all articles and case comments appearing in Carswell law reports.
- HeinOnline – provides full-text access to Canadian and international law reviews and legal journals.
Websites
Government Sites
Other Sites
- BearPaw Legal Education and Resource Centre
- Centre for First Nations Governance
- Delagamuukw Aboriginal Land Title Case Research Guide
- First Nations – Library and Archives
- Gladue Rights Research Database
- Gladue Primer
- Indigenous Law Centre – University of Saskatchewan
- Indigenous Studies Research Portal – University of Saskatchewan
- Indigenous Law Portal
- Indigenous Services Canada
- Metis Settlement Appeal Tribunal
- National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation
- Native Counselling Services of Alberta
- Native Law Centre – Legal Pleadings
- Royal Commission on Aboriginal People
- Specific Claims Tribunal Canada
- Treaties with Indigenous Peoples in Canada – Canadian Encyclopedia
- Understanding Gladue – podcast
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