The 2024 Annual ALF Holiday Banquet

In late November, the Aboriginal Lawyers Forum hosted its 14th Holiday Banquet. One of ALF’s most popular and anticipated events of the year, the Holiday Banquet is a time to celebrate, recognize and support the Indigenous legal community in British Columbia. 174 guests attended this year’s event at the Fairmont Waterfront in Vancouver to visit with old friends, make new connections and enjoy a delicious meal.

As always, the night featured a fantastic program. It began with a warm welcome to the territory from Skwxú7mesh Nation Elder Latash-Maurice Nahanee. Guests were then treated to a singing performance by Katisha Paul, Kwikws l̲vs̲áos. Katisha, who is from W̱SÁNEĆ (Tsartlip Nation) and Lilwat (Mount Currie Nation), gave a beautiful and powerful performance that is sure to be remembered by guests for years to come.

The evening continued with the announcement of this year’s ALF Student Appreciation Award. Each year, ALF honours three Indigenous law students, one from each B.C. law school.

Beginning in 2022, the awards are presented in honour of the Indigenous lawyers on whose shoulders we stand. In doing so, ALF shows its appreciation for, and collectively remembers the contributions of, our previous Indigenous trailblazers. This year, ALF awarded the students in honour of the Honourable Murray Sinclair, Mazina Giizhik-iban. The recipients were: Jessica Frappier (University of Victoria), Rachelle Grabarczyk (University of British Columbia) and Garfield Staats (Thompson Rivers University).

The final award of the night was the ALF Special Contribution Award. This award recognizes an Indigenous firm’s or individual’s contribution to addressing the various issues facing Indigenous people in the legal profession. This year’s award was presented to Michael J. McDonald, KC. A member of Peguis First Nation, Mike has had a remarkable career supporting Indigenous economic development and negotiating some of Canada’s largest and most successful impact benefit agreements. As a founding member and co-chair of the Law Society of BC’s Truth and Reconciliation Committee, Mike led the work of creating and implementing a Reconciliation Action Plan as well as mandatory Indigenous cultural competency training for all lawyers in B.C. A trusted mentor and educator, Mike taught at UBC’s law and business schools, Simon Fraser University, Native Education College, and Banff Centre of Indigenous Leadership. Mike continued his role as a mentor and role model for the Indigenous legal community by sharing some words of wisdom and inspiration.

The night concluded with a keynote address from Drew Lafond. Drew was raised in Treaty 6 territory on the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation reserve and is also of Shuswap descent from the Simpcw First Nation. His work and leadership have had a profound impact on Indigenous communities across the country. Since 2019, Drew has served as the President of the Indigenous Bar Association, tirelessly advocating for the advancement of Indigenous legal professionals and the broader Indigenous legal community. We were honoured to have Drew share his insights, experiences and wisdom.

As the evening drew to a close, the winners of the annual Silent Auction were announced. The Silent Auction was another success, thanks to the generosity of those who donated and bid on the fantastic array of items. This year’s auction raised over $3450 to support Indigenous law students articling in B.C. through the Warrior Project.