At the June 16, 2022, Call to the Bar ceremony in Ottawa, the Law Society will present a degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa (LLD) to David C. Nahwegahbow, an advocate for the rights of First Nations peoples who has litigated or negotiated some of the most important Aboriginal law cases in Canada.
The Law Society awards honorary doctorates each year to distinguished individuals in recognition of outstanding achievements in the legal profession, the rule of law or the cause of justice.
Mr. Nahwegahbow is one of Canada’s leading Indigenous lawyers and he has made it his focus to address systemic disadvantage and barriers facing Indigenous Peoples in Canada. He has represented First Nations in land claims, Treaty and Aboriginal rights, title cases and has appeared in courts at every level on a wide range of Indigenous legal matters, including at the Supreme Court of Canada in landmark Aboriginal law cases such as Tsilhqot’in.
He has served in many roles, including:
- Consultant for the Law Reform Commission (1985)
- Co-Research Team Leader on lands and resources for the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (1993)
- Member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Specialist Group on Indigenous Peoples and Environmental Law (2001)
- Co-chair on the Joint Committee of Chiefs and Experts on Recognition and Implementation of First Nations government for the Assembly of first Nations (2006)
Mr. Nahwegahbow has been active as an advocate — most recently in proceedings before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal on discrimination against First Nations children in childcare.
Another example of his decades-long advocacy is his involvement in the litigation involving 21 First Nations against Canada and Ontario alleging breach of treaty, breach of fiduciary duty and failure to uphold the honour of the Crown for failing to comply with the Robinson Huron Treaty’s annuity augmentation clause. Successful thus far, this case has the potential to benefit approximately 30,000 annuitants and will impact the course of future Aboriginal law proceedings across Canada.
The founding partner of Nahwegahbow, Corbiere Genoodmagejig, he received his LLB from the University of Ottawa in 1980 and was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1982.
He is a past member of the board of directors of the Advocate’s Society and is a founding member and former President of the Indigenous Bar Association (IBA). In 2003, he received the Indigenous People’s Counsel designation from the IBA.
In 2008, Mr. Nahwegahbow received the National Aboriginal Achievement Award (now called the Indspire Awards) for Law and Justice. That same year, he was also recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Anishinabek Nation. In 2010, the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law inducted him into the Common Law Honour Society – a prestigious Alumni distinction. In 2011, the Law Society of Ontario presented him with the Law Society Medal. The Advocates Society granted Mr. Nahwegahbow the Award of Justice in 2021 in recognition of his advocacy and his substantial contribution to achieving the goal of social justice.
Mr. Nahwegahbow is Anishinabe from Whitefish River First Nation. He and his wife Lois Jacobs, from Kahnawake, Quebec, have two children – Alexandra and Nicholas – and one granddaughter, Joni Nahwegahbow.