Val Napoleon is Cree from Saulteau First Nation, and she is adopted into Gitanyow [Gitxsan]. She is the co-founder of Juris Doctor and Juris Indigenarum Doctor (dual law degree program in Indigenous and Canadian law), and the founding director of the Indigenous Law Research Unit. She is the academic lead for the major national Next Steps Rebuilding Indigenous legal orders initiative. Napoleon researches and publishes on Indigenous legal traditions and methodologies (e.g., lands, waters, governance, gendered violence, human rights, pedagogies, and families), Indigenous legal theories, intersocietal legalities, Indigenous feminisms, legal pluralism, Indigenous democracies and civil societies, and Indigenous intellectual property. She is a professor and former acting dean (law), and she teaches Canadian and Gitxsan property. Her books include
With Debra McKenzie, eds., Intersocietal Pedagogies (UofT, forthcoming 2026).
- Val Napoleon, Emily Snyder, Rebecca Johnson, and Debra McKenzie, eds. Raven Talks: Indigenous Feminist Studies (UofT, 2025).
- With Rebecca Johnson, Richard Overstall, and Debra McKenzie, Indigenous Intellectual Property: An Interrupted Intergenerational Conversation (UofT, 2024).
- With Angela Cameron and Sari Graben, eds., Creating Indigenous Property [UofT, 2020].
- With Cathy Bell, eds., First Nations Cultural Heritage and Law: Case Studies, Voices and Perspectives (UBC, 2008).
Selected awards include:
- 2025 King Charles III Coronation Medal (June 2025)
- 2024 Royal Society of Canada Yvan Allair Medal
- 2024 Honorary Doctorate in Law, University of Queens
- 2021 Honorary Doctorate in Law, UNBC
- 2021 Indspire Award (National) for Law and Justice
- 2016 Indigenous Peoples’ Council Award
- 2010 University of Victoria’s Governor General’s Gold Medal for Outstanding Dissertation
Next Steps: Rebuilding Indigenous Legal Orders
Dr. Val Napoleon’s research, Next Steps: Rebuilding Indigenous Legal Orders, proposes a transformative expansion of Indigenous legal revitalization in Canada. Grounded in the conviction that law is essential to the self‑governance, dignity, and safety of any people, the project seeks to address the deep structural injustices facing Indigenous communities—rising incarceration rates, gendered violence, and the ongoing asymmetry between Canadian and Indigenous legal systems. Building on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action, the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Calls to Justice, and the implementation of UNDRIP, the initiative aims to rebuild five full Indigenous legal orders over five years.
This work builds on three major achievements led by Dr. Napoleon: the Indigenous Law Research Unit (ILRU), which developed nationally recognized Indigenous legal methodologies; the world‑first JD/JID dual law degree, which has reshaped legal education; and the new Indigenous Law Wing at the University of Victoria, a hub for national and international engagement with Indigenous legal issues. These milestones have already generated significant impact, informing government‑to‑government agreements, co‑management models, environmental assessment processes, and judicial education.
The proposed research represents the next major leap: shifting from sector‑based legal reconstruction to the holistic rebuilding of entire legal orders, including governance, water, lands, citizenship, family, human rights, and institutional processes. Designed in partnership with Indigenous peoples, each pilot will reflect distinct histories, governance structures, and inter‑societal relationships.
With a total budget of $50 million, five pilots will serve as exemplars for future nation‑to‑nation work across Canada. The initiative centers women, gender‑diverse people, climate justice, democratic participation, and human dignity, offering a practical path toward a pluralistic legal landscape in which Indigenous and Canadian legal orders co‑exist robustly.
Ultimately, this project stands to reshape the future of justice in Canada, strengthening Indigenous legal capacity while advancing national reconciliation and democratic resilience.
