Jorie Halcro, an Anglo-Métis student at the University of Saskatchewan College of Law, was recently named the winner of the Brian A. Crane/Gowling WLG Indigenous Law Student Scholarship.
Established in 2018 by Gowling WLG in partnership with the university's Wiyasiwewin Mikiwahp Indigenous Law Centre, the $3,000 scholarship supports Indigenous students who are pursuing a career in law.
The 2020 recipient was announced in a virtual ceremony at the University of Saskatchewan on Sept. 16. The award recognizes the longstanding and significant contributions of lawyer Brian Crane to the firm of Gowling WLG and to the area of Indigenous law. Crane is an influential practitioner who has served as a mentor to many of the firm’s younger lawyers, including many with Indigenous backgrounds. He is a frequent speaker on Indigenous and treaty rights who has co-authored multiple publications on these subjects.
Originally from Melfort in northeast Saskatchewan, Halcro excelled in her undergraduate studies, earning a Bachelor of Arts with Great Distinction and a place on the Dean&'s Honour List at the University of Saskatchewan. She received an Aboriginal Achievement Award for outstanding academic achievement, as well as an award for Most Outstanding Graduate in Religion and Culture. Halcro was a member of the Golden Key Society, which is reserved for students with marks in the top 15 per cent of their class.
Halcro became interested in a career as a lawyer and scholar and says this scholarship will ease the financial burden while she pursues her studies. She expressed her gratitude to Gowling WLG and to Brian Crane for the financial support she received.
"I was overjoyed when I found out I would be receiving the Brian Crane/Gowling WLG Scholarship in Indigenous Law," Halcro said. "It really lifted my spirits. Now that I've been given the opportunity to obtain a law degree, I feel compelled to give back by becoming a donor myself one day."
The Indigenous Law Centre (formerly the Native Law Centre) at the University of Saskatchewan recently announced the launch of a new Strategic Plan which will see an expanded mandate and a renewed focus. In September it announced expanded courses and student supports.
Since the 1950s, Gowling WLG has been at the forefront of Indigenous law in Canada. The firm has worked alongside Canada's First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples in landmark self-government agreements, resource development projects and Supreme Court cases. Gowling WLG is one of the only full-service law firms in Canada that acts for Indigenous clients as well as private industry, project proponents and all levels of government.