Moot Report 2025: Kawaskimhon Indigenous Moot

The 2025 Kawaskimhon Indigenous Moot took place March 7 – 8, hosted by the Bora Laskin Faculty of Law at Lakehead University on the traditional Anishinabe territory of the Fort William First Nation, home to Anemki Wajiw (Mount McKay, Thunder Bay, Ontario). The University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Law sent two teams to compete, including Mary-Charlet Lathlin (3L), Janell Jackson (2L), Raven Morrisseau (2L), and Chloe Dreilich-Girard (2L). The team was coached by Marc Kruse, Director of Indigenous Legal Learning and Services, and Daniel Diamond, Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Law.

This year, the Kawaskimhon did a number of things differently. Instead of conducting negotiations between the colonial government and Indigenous people, it involved all Indigenous organizations negotiating a treaty amongst themselves. As well, table awards were given out for the first time to honour team work at each table. Manitoba’s team of Lathlin and Jackson brought home one of those table awards.

The specific problem at this year’s moot involved each team representing an Indigenous community coming together to protect the water. As Dreilich-Girard explained, each table consisted of six teams, each representing different Indigenous organizations and governments, all with the goal of protecting the Lake Winnipeg Watershed. “Throughout the negotiation, we worked to move beyond colonial legal frameworks, and opted to create a Water Treaty inspired by the Buffalo Treaty. This treaty recognized principles such as kinship, reciprocity, respect, relationships, regeneration, and responsibility. It also integrated ceremony as a way of honoring and upholding these commitments.”

“In creating the treaty, we acknowledged and recognized the ongoing work being done in community such as the great work being done at the Turtle Lodge. We emphasized the need for a Grandmothers’ Council and ensured that the treaty, along with all related documents and communications, would be available in the languages of all signatory nations. Additionally, we called for the renewal of relationships and commitments to be marked during the solstice. One of the most significant aspects of our treaty was Article #7, which spoke about the importance of future generations being included in all discussions and decisions, with an open seat at every discussion and gathering to welcome new community members and individuals who wish to join the conversation.”

Dreilich-Girard observed that “This opportunity saw us utilize what we’ve learned in the classroom while integrating ceremony and teachings.”

Kawaskimhon Team Manitoba (left to right): Coach Marc Kruse [JD/15], Director of Indigenous Legal Learning and Services; Mary-Charlet-Lathlin (3L); (back left) Raven Morrisseau (2L); Chloe Dreilich-Girard (2L); Janell Jackson (2L); Coach Daniel Diamond, Assistant Professor, UM Law.

Thanking her teammates, Dreilich-Girard said, “Together, we successfully mirrored the partnership our “clients” have, and navigated the negotiation process while supporting each other’s visions and goals.

The moot’s keynote speaker was Aimée Craft, a Full Professor at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Common Law, who holds the University of Ottawa Research Chair Nibi miinawaa aki inaakonigewin: Indigenous governance in relationship with land and water. Her talk highlighted the “incredible work being done by communities to protect water, including the development of a Water Treaty,” said Dreilich-Girard.

The team thanked their coaches Kruse and Diamond for their support throughout the Kawaskimhon including bringing them Thunder Bay’s iconic Persian donuts.

Finally, Dreilich-Girard extended kihchi marsii to her and Morrisseau’s table moderator, Jamie McGinnis, Manager of Legal Services, Human Rights Legal Support Centre in Thunder Bay. “Her guidance was instrumental in helping us navigate the negotiation with respect, reciprocity, kinship, relationships, regeneration, and responsibility all in mind.”

Story submitted by Faculty of Law with Chloe Dreilich-Girard (2L).