Meet Jolene Ashini, the first Labrador Innu woman to become a lawyer

Sheshatshiu Innu First Nation's Jolene Ashini is leaving the University of Victoria with a law degree and a prestigious award. 

Ashini is graduating from the university with a joint degree in Canadian common law and Indigenous legal orders, a program that combines classroom learning and field studies with Indigenous and First Nation communities in British Columbia.

The Innu Nation says she's the first Labrador Innu woman to earn a law degree.

"The program itself is definitely an experience," Ashini told CBC News on Wednesday, noting it was designed in response one of the calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, asking the federal government "to fund the establishment of Indigenous aw institutes for the development, use, and understanding of Indigenous laws and access to justice in accordance with the unique cultures of Aboriginal peoples in Canada."

Ashini's class of budding lawyers was honoured with a special ceremony last weekend as inaugural graduates of the program.

Ashini also walked away with an award from the Royal Society of Canada in honour of Justice Rosalie Abella — the first Jewish woman appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada — designated as the graduate who is most likely to positively influence equity and social justice. 

"It was an honour to even be nominated for this prize, thinking that little me couldn't do it from Labrador," she said. 

"I had gotten the email a couple of weeks ago and had to keep quite a secret since then.… I can't even explain how honoured I am to have this."

Ashini said her attraction to law stems from the influence her father had on her as a prominent Innu leader in her community. Daniel Ashini, a former president of the Innu Nation, represented the organization in land claims talks and during negotiations on the development of the Voisey's Bay nickel mine.

"I grew up around lawsuits. I grew up around protests. I grew up around the recognition of the Innu, so it's always been instilled in my sister and I that there's such a big importance to try to revitalize our culture," she said. 

"From a very young age we were taught about the injustice across Canada and the colonization and assimilation of Indigenous communities."

Ashini said Canadian common law has problems with hearing Aboriginal law, which uses common law concepts and applies them to Indigenous and First Nations in Canada. 

She said there's also a history of fighting for the credibility of Indigenous oral history in Canada, as anthropologists claim there needs to be written proof for it to be evidence.

"There's been quite a piecemeal approach to Aboriginal law in Canada. It's been a slow process when we see other areas of law moving forward and modernizing," she said.