CPD 452 – Understanding Indigenous Identity: Law, Community and Self-Determination

Recorded 2026-04-28
Qualifies for 1.0 CPD hours, all of which qualifies for Ethics.

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Join us for an engaging discussion on Understanding Indigenous Identity: Law, Community and Self-Determination, a thoughtful webinar co-hosted with Lexis Nexis. This webinar explores the complex and often contested meaning of Indigenous identity in Canada, examining how legal frameworks, community belonging, colonial histories, and self‑government shape who is recognized, who defines membership. 

Why do these distinctions matter? Through conversation with Honourable Judge Lua Gibb and Delia Opekokew alongside moderator Matt Canning, the discussion will unpack the differences between federally administered status and band membership, the intergenerational impacts of status rules, and the role of membership codes in affirming Indigenous jurisdiction and nationhood.

Speaker Bios

• The Honourable Judge Lua Gibb, Provincial Court of Saskatchewan is a member of the Onion Lake Cree Nation, was appointed to the provincial court in January 2020. Prior to her appointment to the bench, Judge Gibb worked with the province as a Crown Prosecutor; as Senior Counsel with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada and as the northern advocate and an investigator at the Saskatchewan Advocate for Children and Youth focusing on child welfare.
  An intergenerational residential school survivor, Judge Gibb has dedicated her legal career to creating transformative change in the way the justice system impacts Indigenous peoples and communities. She has been a champion for improving community outcomes through advocacy, reconciliation, and the promotion of access to justice in child welfare and criminal law. Judge Gibb has served as a faculty member for the National School for Prosecutors, where she delivered training in how Canada’s residential schools have affected the criminal justice system as well as understanding unconscious bias in decision-making. To read more, click here.

• Delia Opekokew (Cree, Canoe Lake Cree First Nation, Saskatchewan), IPC, LSM, LLD (honoris causa), works in association with J. de Whytell Law.
  Delia was the first Indigenous woman to be called to the Bar in Ontario in 1979 and in Saskatchewan in 1983. She attended the Beauval and Lebret Indian Residential Schools for 11 years, the University of Winnipeg for her undergraduate studies where she received the University of Winnipeg Bursary for first year arts with distinction. She earned her LL.B. from Osgoode Hall Law School.
  Delia specializes in Aboriginal Law and Indigenous Law and represents First Nation clients from coast to coast.Delia’s experience includes representing Canoe Lake Cree First Nation’s Peoples in their successful Treaty 10 land claim. She was counsel for the Saskatchewan First Nations Veterans Association in their court action alleging that they were wrongfully deprived of veterans benefits that they were legally and morally entitled to as a result of their service in World War I, World War II and the Korea War, which benefits were received by their non-Indian fellow soldiers, which action was successfully settled. To read more, click here.

Moderator: Matt Canning
As Corporate Counsel for North America at LexisNexis, Matthew Canning provides practical and strategic legal advice across a broad range of commercial, regulatory, and compliance matters. Passionate about enabling growth through sound legal frameworks, Matt plays a key role in advancing LexisNexis’s mission to advance the rule of law.

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This content has been prepared for use in conjunction with a CPD program hosted by the Law Society of Saskatchewan. Reproduction of any portion of the program content, for purposes other than personal use, without the express written consent of the Law Society is strictly prohibited. The presenters have assumed that viewers will exercise their professional judgment regarding the correctness and applicability of the program content. The Law Society can accept no responsibility for any errors or omissions and expressly disclaims any such responsibility.

This transcript has been generated by an automated speech recognition system and may contain misspellings, mistranslations, or errors. It may be incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or speech recognition errors. It is provided as is without any warranties or guarantees of accuracy. The Law Society of Saskatchewan does not assume any responsibility or liability for the use or interpretation of this transcript.