Tara Kearsey
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (June 28/02) - Giselle Marion is hoping to fill a wide gap in the Northern Justice system once she obtains her law degree.

Because aboriginals are underrepresented in the legal field, Marion hopes she will bring a unique perspective to the justice system when she begins to practise native law in the North.

The 25-year-old native of Rae-Edzo is currently employed as a summer law student with court services at the Department of Justice.

As a first-year law student at the University of British Columbia, Marion plans to specialize in native law, litigation and mediation, environmental law and dispute resolution when she completes her degree.

For now, she's gaining valuable experience working for the Department of Justice drafting proposals for legislative changes and reviewing legislative acts.

"This job offers a pretty good variety of what I need to learn. It's not too stressful for the first year," she said.

Valuable skills

The bulk of her job involves proposal work, which requires quite a bit of research, a valuable skill required by law students.

"I'm learning a lot about the law and legislation and how it goes about, and I'm really learning a lot about how the government works," she said.

Because there are so few natives practising law, Marion said there are very few lawyers who are sensitive to Aboriginal needs and issues.

"Part of my reason for going to law school is to bring a unique perspective to aboriginal issues," she said. The ongoing Dogrib Treaty 11 land claim negotiations are a prime example of why more aboriginals should learn about the legal system, according to Marion.

Being a lawyer requires keen leadership skills, something Marion has been working on for quite some time.

As a teenager she participated in the Western Arctic Leadership program which encourages leadership, community involvement and volunteerism.

During her undergraduate career she served as president of the Aboriginal Circle at Grand Prairie College and as student coordinator for the Centre for International Indigenous Legal Studies Program.

This year she also served as the first year representative for the First Nation Law Student Association at UBC.

Marion intends to return to the Northwest Territories to practise law once she obtains her degree.

In the future, she said, she hopes more Dogrib young people will attend law school and be encouraged "to use the tools of Canadian law to achieve social justice and sustainable autonomy for the Dogrib people."