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This story originally appeared in the听2025 edition of听Hearsay, the Schulich School of Law Alumni Magazine.

For Violet Ford (LLB 鈥�91), returning to the Schulich School of Law this year as a faculty member and esteemed researcher, 34 years after earning her law degree, is a true homecoming.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a great feeling to come back to something that feels so familiar. 鲍鱼tv Law School prepared me very well. I will always feel grateful for that,鈥� she says.

As an Inuit woman who survived residential school, became the first female Inuit lawyer in Canada, and spent decades making global impacts by negotiating the inclusion of Indigenous rights internationally, Ford is a globally recognized expert on Inuit rights and the international legal dimensions of Indigenous cultural heritage.

鈥淲e are pleased and excited that Violet has joined our faculty,鈥� says Schulich Law Dean Sarah Harding (LLB 鈥�89). 鈥淗er deep knowledge of Inuit law and cultural heritage will enable us to enhance our Indigenous law curriculum and provide a more culturally grounded foundation for research in marine and environmental law.鈥�

For several years, Ford represented Inuit interests in international treaty negotiations on behalf of the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC). As the ICC鈥檚 vice-president, she was the leading legal policy advisor on international, environmental, and natural resource issues. She negotiated as part of the Canadian government delegation on the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing of Genetic Resources, the first legally binding international framework that establishes a set of rights for Indigenous Peoples and local communities over their genetic resources and traditional knowledge.

Ford鈥檚 professional work has left a lasting impact on Indigenous rights, environmental stewardship, and cultural preservation in Canada and around the world. For this, she received an Indspire Award, the highest honour that the Indigenous community in Canada can bestow upon its people, for her dedication to protecting and advancing rights internationally.

Throughout her career, Ford was drawn to scholarship. 鈥淚 have been interested in academia for a long time, both in teaching and the ability to do research,鈥� she says.

鈥淭he most exciting thing for me about joining 鲍鱼tv is the opportunity to work closely with colleagues who have the same passion for marine law that I have, and to learn from them and develop research projects together.鈥�

Collaborating with Inuit communities is also essential to Ford鈥檚 work. She stresses how important it is for Indigenous research to begin with community knowledge rather than anthropological writings. Currently a doctoral candidate in international law in Arctic regions at Finland鈥檚 University of Lapland, she has developed a new theoretical approach for legitimizing Inuit laws that is grounded in traditional knowledge and uses this lens to examine the application and practices of Inuit laws within legal pluralism. She argues that Inuit and non-Inuit laws should both be part of a legal system to ensure improved governance of the Inuit environment and move toward legal reconciliation.

鈥淭here are gaps in existing international laws that provide for marine governance. A lot of those gaps are centered around the lack of recognition for Indigenous rights, for example, the lack of recognition of their worldview into the antiquated Law of the Sea Convention.鈥�

Ford became interested in Inuit law in the 1980s while working with elders on a youth diversion pilot project in Nunatsiavut. 鈥淚nuit law is a complex system of laws that has layers and layers,鈥� she explains.

These laws have evolved and changed over time because the conflicts the Inuit face today are different than those they faced 500 years ago, but they remain relevant.

鈥淭he beliefs that determine those laws are still there because of their ongoing relationship to the land. They are living laws. They shouldn鈥檛 be archived, and they shouldn鈥檛 be considered anthropological. You can apply them to issues that Inuit face today.鈥�

Born in Makkovik, in the Labrador Inuit Land Claims settlement area of Nunatsiavut, Ford attended residential school in North West River near Happy Valley-Goose Bay and went on to study political science at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax.

鈥淚 felt I needed to gain more skills to understand political systems to be able to go back to my community and advocate for their rights and understand the political dynamics.鈥�

After completing her undergraduate degree, she returned home and worked with the Labrador Inuit Association, which advocated for its people鈥檚 legal rights. Before making the decision to study law, she also worked under the direction of elders on a pilot project in youth criminal matters. The experience sparked what would become a life-long passion for Inuit laws. The elders recognized this and encouraged her to attend law school, something Ford knew she needed to do in order to affect change.

At 鲍鱼tv, Professors Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, a well-known scholar on Indigenous rights, and Patricia Monture, who played a significant role in moving the law school鈥檚 Indigenous Blacks & Mi鈥檏maq Initiative forward, inspired and encouraged Ford.

Prior to being called to the Bar in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ford articled with the Department of Justice in Yellowknife and St. John鈥檚. She later became licensed as a lawyer in the Northwest Territories, Ontario, and Nunavut. Ford also had an Ottawa-based private law practice and worked with several Indigenous organizations, including serving as senior legal counsel on the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

Before joining the faculty at the Schulich School of Law, Ford was an assistant professor at Carleton University鈥檚 Department of Law and Legal Studies and previously held the position of associate vice-president of Indigenous research at Memorial University. She is enthusiastic about her new opportunity to continue teaching and mentoring the next generation of lawyers and to play a vital role in advancing the country鈥檚 reconciliation.

鈥淧art of Canada鈥檚 reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples requires recognizing and committing to a process where Indigenous legal systems can be practiced within colonial legal frameworks,鈥� says Ford. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 just talk about it; you have to take action.鈥�
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