From reimagining treaty relationships and decolonizing legal practice to revitalizing Indigenous laws and exploring new technologies, three faculty members are leading research that supports truth, justice, and reconciliation.
At Queen’s Law, reconciliation is more than a concept – it’s a lived commitment. Professors Kimberly Murray, Lindsay Borrows, and Mark Walters are advancing Indigenous-related research in distinct but complementary ways. From reimagining treaty relationships and decolonizing legal practice to applying Indigenous laws to environmental issues and examining the possibilities and complexities of database development for Indigenous legal orders, their work contributes to Indigenous legal revitalization and supports broader reconciliation efforts in Canada.
Set out below, each faculty member explains the goals of their latest research and how it contributes to advancing reconciliation.
Decolonizing legal practice
Professor Kimberly Murray
“The Truth and Reconciliation Commission wrote in its Final Report that the Canadian legal system has been, and continues to be, a significant obstacle to reconciliation.
My current research focuses on the need to assist justice sector workers in understanding how they can foster reconciliation in their day-to-day work with Indigenous people and communities. Although there are many examples of the legal system impeding reconciliation efforts, there are also emerging wise practices that can aid in decolonizing the practice of law.
The purpose of my research is to highlight these positive actions so lawyers, judges, and other justice sector workers can learn from others’ experiences and gain a better understanding of what reconciliation can look like in practice.”
Murray, Kanyen'keha:ka of Kanehsatà:ke Mohawk Nation, joined Queen’s Law in January 2025 as the Queen’s National Scholar in Indigenous Legal Studies. Her previous roles include serving as the Independent Special Interlocutor for Missing Children and Unmarked Graves and Burial Sites Associated with Indian Residential Schools (2022–2024), Ontario’s first Assistant Deputy Attorney General for Indigenous Justice (2015–2022), and Executive Director of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (2010–2015).
Since her faculty appointment, Murray has received several honours. Her project, “Lawyering for Reconciliation: Decolonizing the Practice of Law,” is supported by the Law Society of Ontario. With a grant from the Law Commission of Canada, she hosted a symposium at Queen’s on June 16–17 on crimes against humanity and Indigenous Peoples. She was also awarded a King Charles III Coronation Medal in recognition of her significant contributions to Canada.
Revitalizing Indigenous laws and exploring digital tools
Professor Lindsay Borrows
“How might Indigenous Peoples’ own laws be revitalized and applied in contemporary Canada – an era marked by new realities like global climate crisis and artificial intelligence?
My current research examines how Indigenous people are writing their own constitutions, rooted in worldviews that see nature not as a resource for extraction but as living kin relations. Through collaborations with several Anishinaabe First Nations, I’m exploring how contemporary written Indigenous constitutions can strengthen the ecological integrity of the Great Lakes region.
I’m also investigating the complexities of how artificial intelligence might ethically support the creation of an online legal database of Indigenous laws to support First Nation tribunals. Legal search engines like CanLII and LexisNexis are integral to Canadian legal practice, yet no such database exists for any Indigenous legal order. I’m seeking to understand how we might bridge this access to justice gap for Indigenous Peoples.”
Borrows, Anishinaabe from Neyaashiinigmiing (Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation), joined Queen’s Law in July 2022 and was appointed Queen’s Law Professor in Indigenous Law & Governance in June 2025. Her research has been supported by Queen’s Law’s Indigenous Faculty Resource Fund, the Canadian Foundation of Legal Research, and the Law Foundation of Ontario.
Rediscovering the Covenant Chain
Professor Mark Walters
“Reconciliation is an aspiration that puts relationships between peoples in the spotlight. Sometimes it means building new relationships based on mutual respect. But often it means rediscovering old relationships that have long been disrespected and reimagining them in ways that further reconciliation today.
My research explores reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada in this second way. I am writing a legal history of the Crown–Indigenous treaty relationship known as the ‘Covenant Chain.’
The Covenant Chain originated in the mid-17th century in what is now New York State and extended throughout the Great Lakes region, and into Canada, by the mid-18th century. What makes this treaty relationship so fascinating is the clear evidence that Crown representatives sought to understand and conform to Indigenous laws about how to structure good relations between peoples.
Courts today are increasingly willing to take up the challenge of rediscovering the Covenant Chain. A general legal history of this unique relationship will be important.”
Walters is recognized as one of Canada’s leading scholars in public and constitutional law, legal history, and legal theory. His work on Aboriginal rights has been cited by the Supreme Court of Canada, as well as courts in Australia and New Zealand. When he concluded his deanship at Queen’s Law in 2019, he chose the Indigenous Faculty Resource Fund as his legacy fundraising project to advance key initiatives related to Indigeneity and reconciliation.
Whether through research funding, institutional support, or curriculum development, sharing the work of Professors Murray, Borrows and Walters is central to Queen’s Law’s broader commitment to reconciliation and Indigenous legal renewal.