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Palmater, Pamela

Pamela Palmater

Professor, Chair in Indigenous Governance
EducationDoctorate: J.S.D. (Doctor in the Science of Law): Dalhousie
/chair-indigenous-governance/

Biography

Pamela Palmater is a Mi鈥檏maq lawyer and a member of the Eel River Bar First Nations in northern New Brunswick. She is a Professor in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at 91福利. In addition to her faculty appointment as a Professor in the Department of Politics and Public Administration, Dr. Palmater holds the Chair in Indigenous Governance (opens in new window) , and is also a member of the Yeates School of Graduate Studies, affiliated with the MA program in Public Policy and Administration.

Pamela Palmater completed her Doctorate in the Science of Law (JSD) at Dalhousie University Law Faculty in 2009. Her thesis is entitled: Beyond Blood: Rethinking Aboriginal Identity and Belonging.  In addition, she holds a Master in Laws (LLM) from Dalhousie University in Indigenous Law, a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) at the University of New Brunswick, and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) with a double major in Native Studies and History from St. Thomas University in New Brunswick.

She was called to the bar in New Brunswick in 1998 and is a member of the Law Society of New Brunswick, the Canadian Bar Association and the Indigenous Bar Association. She worked for the federal government on Indigenous issues for over 10 years. Her position as a lawyer at Justice Canada involved various legal matters pertaining to First Nations. She also held several positions as Director at Indian and Northern Affairs, managing treaties, claims, self-government, land and registration portfolios. She also worked and/or volunteered with national and provincial Indigenous organisations and communities.

Pamela Palmater was one of the 23 Visionary Women Leaders selected to meet and answer the question 鈥淲hat do 23 women envision for our country for the next 150 years?鈥�  A Bold Vision (an organization formed by a coalition of women鈥檚 organizations in Prince Edward Island, with support from PEI 2014 Inc.) held a conference in Charlottetown, PEI on September 24-26, 2014 to commemorate the 1864 Charlottetown Conference that led to the formation of Canada, to celebrate the vital role women played and will continue to play in the advancement of Canada, and to update the 1864 vision of the 23 men (the Fathers of Confederation). Canadians nominated women leaders from all walks of life to participate in this discussion of the future of Canada. All of the participants contributed to a book sharing their vision for Canada, which was released during the conference.

Dr. Palmater was elected Associate Senior Fellow at Massey College (UofT), effective 24 April 2015.

In March 2016, Dr. Palmater was invited to be an inaugural member of the of the .  On 09 May 2016, the Institute was formally launched at a ceremony at Dalhousie University. View details on the .

On 02 November 2017, Dr. Palmater received the inaugural Award for Excellence in Human Rights presented by the Atlantic Human Rights Centre, St. Thomas University, Fredericton, NB, and delivered the Vigod Lecture in Human Rights.

On 18 May 2017, a Doctor of Laws  by the University of New Brunswick.

On 04 October 2016, the International Community Corrections Association (ICCA) honoured Dr. Palmater with the Margaret Mead Award, considered the highest honour presented by the Association.  It is given to an individual who has demonstrated leadership in the field of community corrections through guidance, innovative ideas, influence on policy and/or dedicated service to the ideals and goals of community-based correctional programming.  Dr. Palmater was recognised as a leader, an innovator, and a social justice advocate.

On 29 May 2016, Dr. Palmater was named recipient of the 19th annual J.S. Woodsworth Woman of Excellence Award.  The award was presented by the Hon. Andrea Horwath, Leader, Ontario New Democratic Party.

In May 2016 the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario recognized Dr. Palmater as one of 21 inspirational First Nations, M茅tis, and Inuit women in Canada.  The contributions of the women are commemorated in a  (PDF file) poster to be circulated to all elementary schools in Ontario.  

At an Award Dinner on 26 March 2015, in St. John, NB, Dr. Palmater received the University of New Brunswick 2015  for her social justice work for First Nations that has been recognized nationally and internationally.

On 29 October 2012, Dr. Palmater was inducted into the  by Kim Brooks, Dean, , Dalhousie University.  View photos of the ceremony.

Recognising her as "... a trailblazing role model for young Indigenous women, planting seeds of change that are transforming Indigenous communities across Canada,鈥� the YWCA named her a  in the Social Justice category for 2012.

  • 鈥溾�� (with Cindy Blackstock).  The Guardian, 08 July 2021.
  • 鈥溾�� (with Cindy Blackstock).  The Guardian online, 09 June 2021.
  • Warrior Life: Indigenous Resistance and Resurgence.  Halifax: Fernwood Publishing, 2020.
  • 鈥�.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;惭补肠濒别补苍鈥檚, online: 10 October 2019.
  • 鈥�.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;惭补肠濒别补苍鈥檚, 07 October 2019; print: Nov (2019): 8-9.
  • 鈥�.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;Now Magazine online: 04 October 2019; print: 10 October 2019, p. 6.
  • 鈥�.鈥�&苍产蝉辫; Policy Options, 02 October 2019.
    • Cited by IRPP/Policy Options, in a , as among the top-10 "most read articles" in Policy Options in 2019.
  • 鈥�.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;Chatelaine, 01 October 2019.
  • 鈥�.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;Now Magazine, 27 June 2019; print pp. 6-7.
  • 鈥�,鈥�&苍产蝉辫;Policy Options, 06 February 2019.
    • Named #1 story of 2019 by Policy Options in a .
  • 鈥�.鈥� IMFG (Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance), University of Toronto, October 2018.
  • 鈥�.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;Canadian Dimension 15 May 2018.
  • 鈥淭rans Mountain Turning Point鈥� (op. ed.). Now 37:33 (3-9 May 2018): 12.  .
  • 鈥�.鈥�&苍产蝉辫; (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives) Monitor 23:4 (November/December 2016): 30-31.
  •  [with the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies (CAEFS) and the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA).  Geneva: (United Nations) Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, October 2016.
  • 鈥淪hining Light on the Dark Places: Addressing Police Racism and Sexualized Violence against Indigenous Women and Girls in the National Inquiry.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;Canadian Journal of Women and the Law 28:2 (August 2016): 253-284.
  • 鈥淢y Tribe, My Heirs and Their Heirs Forever: Living Mi鈥檏maw Treaties.鈥� Ch. 2 in Living Treaties: Narrating Mi鈥檏maw Treaty Relations, ed. Marie Battiste, 24-41. Sydney, NS: Cape Breton University Press, 2016.
  • 鈥�.鈥�&苍产蝉辫; Policy Options, 13 April 2016.
  • 鈥�.鈥�&苍产蝉辫; Policy Options, 23 March 2016.
  • 鈥淎ll 91福利 Strong Alliances: First Nations Engagement in the Federal Election.鈥�&苍产蝉辫; In 2015 Canadian Election Analysis: Communication, Strategy, and Democracy, ed. Alex Marland and Thierry Giasson, 60-61.  Vancouver: UBC Press/Samara, 2015.
  • 鈥溾�� (op ed)  Now 36:9 (5-11 November 2015): 14.
  • "A lethal legacy for First Nations." Toronto Star op. ed., 15 October 2015, A23. [Published online as "."]
  • 鈥淚n Defense of Sovereignty.鈥� Review of Unsettling Canada: A National Wake-up Call by Arthur Manuel (Toronto: Between the Lines, 2015).  LRC: Literary Review of Canada 23:8 (October 2015): 14-15.
  • Indigenous Nationhood: Empowering Grassroots Citizens. With a foreword by .  Halifax: Fernwood Publishing, 2015.
  • 鈥淐anada: As Long as the Grass Grows and Rivers Flow.鈥�&苍产蝉辫; In A Bold Vision: Women Leaders Imagining Canada鈥檚 Future, ed. A Bold Vision Steering Committee (with a Foreword by Roberta Bondar).  Charlottetown: Women鈥檚 Network, Inc., 2014.
  • 鈥�.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;Aboriginal Policy Studies 3:3 (2014): 27-54.
  • 鈥淣ative Winter is Here: Harper Better Buy a Warm Coat.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;Weetamah, 26 February 2013.
  • 鈥淢atnm tel-Mi鈥檏mawi: I鈥檓 Fighting for my Mi鈥檏maw Identity.鈥�Canadian Journal of Native Studies XXXIII:1 (2013): 147-167.
  • 鈥淲hy Idle No More Matters To Us All.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;Now Magazine 32:19 (10-17 January 2013).
  • 鈥淛ustifying Blood Quantum as Sui Generis State Law.鈥� Review of Tribal Constitutionalism: States, Tribes, and the Governance of Membership, by Kirsty Grover (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011). Review of Constitutional Studies 17:1 (2012): 135-145.
  • 鈥淗arper鈥檚 Indigenous Manifesto: Erasing Canada鈥檚 Indigenous Communities.鈥� In Best of Rabble 2012. Toronto: rabble.ca, 2012. [selected, by rabble editors, from the blog, , 09 September 2012.]
  • 鈥淲hy We Are Idle No More.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;Ottawa Citizen, 29 December 2012, B7.
  • 鈥淔orcing Our Hearts: Legislative Oppression of Indigenous Women in Canada.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;Fuse Magazine 35:3 (Summer 2012): 4-6.
  • 鈥�.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;Precedent Magazine: The New Rules of Law and Style, 14 March 2012.
  • 鈥淯nbelievable but Undeniable: Genocide in Canada.鈥� In Best of Rabble 2011. Toronto: rabble.ca, 2011. [selected, by rabble editors, from the blog,, 05 November 2011.]
  • 鈥淲hen Legislators Make Bad Law: Bill C-3鈥檚 Assault on Democracy.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;Aboriginal Law Section of the Ontario Bar Association, 02 September 2011.
  • 鈥淪tretched Beyond Human Limits: Death By Poverty in First Nations.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;Canadian Review of Social Policy / Revue Canadienne de Politique Social 65/66 (2011): 112-127.
  • Beyond Blood: Rethinking Indigenous Identity.  Saskatoon: Purich Publishing Ltd., 2011.
  • "  Review of Bad Medicine: A Judge鈥檚 Struggle for Justice in a First Nations Community by John Reilly (Victoria: Rocky Mountain Books, 2010). LRC: Literary Review of Canada 19:6 (July-August 2011): 11-12.
  •  Beyond the Indian Act: Restoring Aboriginal Property Rights, Tom Flanagan, Christopher Alcantara, and Andr茅 Le Dressay (Montr茅al and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2010). LRC:  Literary Review of Canada 18:3 (April 2010): 6-7.
  • The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples鈥� Response to Canada鈥檚 Engagement Process Affecting Indian Registration and Band Membership (McIvor v. Canada).  Ottawa: Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, November 2009. 
  • 鈥淚n My Brother鈥檚 Footsteps: Is R. v. Powley the Path to Recognized Aboriginal Identity for Non-Status Indians?鈥�  In J. Magnet and D. Dorey, ed., Aboriginal Rights Litigation, 149.  Markham: LexisNexis, 2003.
  • 鈥淎n Empty Shell of a Treaty Promise: R. v. Marshall and the Rights of Non-Status Indians鈥� (2000) 23 Dal. L.J. 102.

Dr. Palmater's current research interests relate to Indigenous Governance matters, specifically how land and natural resources, treaties and Indigenous rights, jurisdiction and law-making powers and citizenship and identity issues can contribute to stronger Indigenous families, communities, organisations and Nations.  A key part of this research is the ever-changing political structures and relationships within and between Indigenous communities, their relationships with the state and on the international stage. She is interested in partnering with Indigenous organisations and communities to conduct further research in these areas.

Dr. Palmater鈥檚 areas of teaching expertise and interest include Indigenous Governance and Justice; Comparative Indigenous Studies; Human Rights (both domestic and international); and Constitutional Law (including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms), and she can supervise students who wish to undertake independent studies, Masters or doctoral studies in research areas relating to Indigenous peoples.