By Angela Brown

Local Indigenous lawyer honoured with appointment from province

Dec 19, 2018 | 1:00 PM

An accomplished Battlefords area Indigenous lawyer was recently recognized with a Queen’s Counsel (Q.C.) designation for her work in contributing to the legal profession as well as to public service. 

Eleanore Sunchild is one of 18 lawyers in the province to be honoured with the title in the province’s announcement Dec. 18.

Sunchild, from Thunderchild First Nation, was involved in many projects to promote justice for Indigenous people as part of her work over the years. She was admitted to the bar in 1999.

“I’m honoured to have received the Queen’s Counsel designation,” she said. “As an Indigenous woman working in the province it has been a difficult year.

“There is a pressing need to have a real conversation about racism in the province and to address the unequal treatment faced by Indigenous people in the justice system. Though I was surprised to receive the designation, I can only accept it as recognition by my peers that the work I do is important. And, that they in part are also committed to addressing these issues. I look forward to continuing my work with the support of the profession.”

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Some of the projects Sunchild has been involved in include designating the Battlefords Industrial School cemetery a heritage site.

One of her goals is to improve Canada’s justice system, specifically to be more inclusive of Indigenous rights. Sunchild continues to advocate for Colten Boushie’s family, and for equal treatment of Indigenous people in the justice system.

“I am still working on many civil actions relating to Indigenous people, and their treatment within the Canadian society as a whole, both past and present,” she said.

She helps residential school survivors and ’60s Scoop survivors, among her work. She has also worked on the Orange Shirt Day activities to raise awareness each year.

Sunchild is a local expert on what she describes as the “true history” of colonization, and the history of residential schools in Saskatchewan. She was also a co-lead on the Walking with Our Sisters art installation that came to North Battleford in 2016.

North Battleford lawyer Benedict Feist said Sunchild is well deserving of the appointment for her dedicated work in the field helping others.

“I’m pleased to see she is being recognized in this way,” he said.

Feist commended her work in the community, noting she’s spoken at engagements across North America on issues related to the law. Sunchild speaks frequently in Saskatchewan with the Law Society on residential schools and the history of residential schools in Saskatchewan. 

“She is a really good example for other lawyers like me to look up to,” he said.

To be considered for the Queen’s Counsel appointment, individuals must reside in Saskatchewan and have practised law for at least 10 years, and practised in  the superior courts of any province or territory of Canada. According to the province, Queen’s Counsel appointments are based on recommendations from a selection committee from the Saskatchewan’s Minister of Justice and Attorney General, the Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan or the Chief Justice of the Court of Queen’s Bench, and the past presidents of the Saskatchewan branch of the Canadian Bar Association and the Law Society of Saskatchewan.

“These individuals have made significant contributions to the legal profession, the justice system and their communities,” Justice Minister and Attorney General Don Morgan said in a statement. “I’m pleased to recognize their hard work and dedication to our province.”

Sunchild will be honoured during a special ceremony on Jan. 4 at Government House in Regina.

angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW