Professor Lindsay Borrows has earned a Kingston Young Professionals 40 Under 40 Award, which celebrates the exceptional achievements and contributions of individuals under the age of 40 who are making a significant impact in their profession and the greater Kingston community. Recipients demonstrate outstanding dedication, passion, and vision in their respective fields.
“I feel fortunate to have met so many incredible people in Kingston doing important and challenging work to make the local community and the broader world a better place,” Borrows says. “It’s wonderful to inspire one another through this award program as we share our work and stories. I am honoured to receive this recognition.”
Borrows was recently appointed as the inaugural holder of the Queen’s Law Professorship in Indigenous Law & Governance effective July 1, 2025, for an initial five-year term.
A faculty member since 2022, she is passionate about connecting youth and students to meaningful, land-based opportunities to learn Anishinaabe law in community contexts. Borrows is an innovative instructor incorporating land-based learning at the Elbow Lake Environmental Education Centre, and she champions experiential, on-the-land learning through immersive “Anishinaabe Law Camps.” Recognizing that Kingston is situated on the territories of the Anishinaabe Nation and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, her goal is to deepen our understanding of Canada’s legal obligations to Indigenous Peoples and to highlight the stories of these lands through the revitalization of Indigenous laws.
As an educator, Borrows has introduced courses such as “Indigenous Law in Practice,” “Indigenous Law and Ecological Governance,” and co-developed a new course for first-year law students, “Indigenous Peoples, Law and Reconciliation.” She also regularly shares her knowledge about Indigenous Peoples and the law with the broader Kingston community at public events and in children’s classrooms, and has published a book, Otter’s Journey Through Indigenous Language and Law, which employs the Anishinaabe tradition of storytelling to explore how Indigenous language revitalization can inform Indigenous legal revitalization.
Borrows is supporting the vision of former Queen’s Law students who help lead the Kingston Native Centre and Language Nest (KNCLN) to bridge the access-to-justice gap for Indigenous people in Kingston. She co-leads a student research team alongside colleagues at Queen’s Law to support the creation of the pilot KNCLN Indigenous Legal Centre (KILC).
“There are many ways that the Canadian legal system is failing Indigenous Peoples,” Borrows points out. “The KILC aims to draw on wise practices developed across Canada to do the challenging, essential, and ongoing work of reconciliation.”
Dean Colleen M. Flood refers to Borrows as “a trailblazer in reframing how Indigenous law is understood, taught, and practised in Canada.”
“Lindsay’s work demonstrates her dedication to bridging the justice gap for Kingston’s Indigenous community,” Flood says. “She is a true advocate for reconciliation, nationally and within our local community, and she truly exemplifies a young professional who is shaping the future of Kingston.”
Operated through Kingston Economic Development, the 40 Under 40 awards program is a focal point of Kingston Young Professionals. Learn more on the network’s website.
By Tracy Weaver