Diversifying the bar: lawyers make history Biographies of Early and Exceptional Ontario Lawyers of Diverse Communities Arranged By Diverse Community For each lawyer, this document offers some or all of the following information: name of diverse community or heritage name gender year and place of birth; year of death where applicable year admitted to the profession in Ontario (up to 1889, the year called to the bar and/or year admitted to the courts as a solicitor; from 1889, all lawyers admitted to practice were admitted as both barristers and solicitors, and all were called to the bar) whether appointed K.C. or Q.C. biographical notes name of nominating person or organization if relevant sources used in preparing the biography and suggestions for further reading Please note that where possible, lawyers provided, approved or edited their own biographies, including the names of their community or heritage. The biographies are ordered by name of diverse community (see list on next page), then by year called to the bar, then alphabetically by last name. Francophone lawyers have two entries each, in French then English. Lawyers associated with more than one community are listed under each diverse community. For more information on the project, including the set of biographies arranged by diverse community rather than by year of call, please click here for the Diversifying the Bar: Lawyers Make History home page. Last published May 2012 by The Law Society of Upper Canada. Diversifying the bar: lawyers make history Diverse Communities Represented in the Biographies The following is a list of all diverse communities and heritages with which the early and exceptional lawyers in this project are identified. Lawyers were asked to describe their own identities; their choice of names for their communities are included below. Biographies are ordered by the name of the community; biographies of lawyers belonging to more than one community are repeated for each community. If you are interested in a particular diverse community, please conduct a word search of this file using the diverse community names listed below. Aboriginal . African Canadian . Anishinabek . Anishnabe/Ojibway . Antiochian Orthodox Christian . Austrian . Arab . Black . Black African . Bulgarian . Chinese . Dutch . Filipino . Finnish . Francophone . German . Greek . Hungarian . Indo-Guyanese . Irish Catholic . Italian . Japanese . Jewish . Jewish, Orthodox . Kanienkehaka/Haudenosaunee . Korean . Lebanese . Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered or Two-Spirited . Lithuanian . Métis . Muslim . Persons with Disabilities . Polish . Quebecer . Romanian . Roman Catholic . Russian . Russian-Polish . Sikh . South Asian . Tamil . Ukrainian . Women Diversifying the bar: lawyers make history Heritage or Community: Aboriginal Name: WHITE, Solomon Male Born 1836 on the Huron Reserve near Amherstburg, Ontario Died 1911 Called to the Bar: 1865 K.C. Biographical Information: Solomon White was the first person of Aboriginal heritage called to the bar in Ontario. White was the son of a Wyandot chief and a Francophone woman. He practised in Windsor and Cobalt, though he was also a farmer, businessman, and politician. In 1877, he and his father gave up their Indian status by choice, and profited personally, by promoting the conversion of some Huron Reserve lands from commonly held to individually owned lands, thereby accelerating the assimilation of the Wyandot people. However, from 1878 to 1894 (except for 1886-1890), White sat as a Conservative member of the provincial parliament, the first Aboriginal member and “the first legislator in Ontario to voice native concerns and attitudes.” (Demski) He argued for the provincial enfranchisement of Aboriginals, for native land rights, and for clemency for Aboriginals who took part in the North-West Rebellion of 1885, positions that led to his defeat at the polls. He was named K.C. in 1908. Derived solely from Peter E. Paul Demski, “Solomon White,” Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online v. 14 (University of Toronto/Université Laval). Web. Diversifying the bar: lawyers make history Heritage or Community: Aboriginal Name: KERR, William John Simcoe Male Born 1840 at Brantford, Upper Canada Died 1875 Called to the Bar: 1862 Biographical Information: William John Simcoe Kerr was the second known member of the Law Society of Upper Canada of partial Aboriginal descent. He was the descendant of two powerful military leaders and allies, Chief Joseph Brant (Thayendanagea) of the Mohawks and Sir William Johnson, superintendent of Indians in the late eighteenth century. Simcoe Kerr functioned as an intermediary among the Iroquois and between the British and the Iroquois during the period in which Aboriginal peoples lost many powers of self-government. Four years after he became a lawyer, he assumed the hereditary chieftaincy of the Six Nations at Grand River, serving from 1866 to 1875. In 1870, Aboriginal leaders from across Canada met on Six Nations lands to strategize about laws constraining their peoples and lands. Kerr, elected chairman, offered interpretations of the existing acts, section by section, to worried and angry attendees. He also contributed to the Indian Act of 1876, the legislation that defined Indian status and set out policies and structures for the management and anticipated assimilation of Aboriginal peoples. Nominated by Jacqueline Briggs. Sources: William J. Simcoe Kerr, The General Council of the Six Nations, and Delegates from Different Bands in Western and Eastern Canada (Hamilton, 1870) CIHM 05766; Sally Weaver, “The Iroquois: The Consolidation of the Grand River Reserve in the Mid- Nineteenth Century, 1847-1875,” in Edward S. Rogers and Donald B. Smith, eds., Aboriginal Ontario: Historical Perspectives on the First Nations (Toronto: Dundurn Press, 1994), 182-212. Diversifying the bar: lawyers make history Heritage or Community: Aboriginal Name: LICKERS, Norman Male Born 1913 in Six Nations Territory Died 1987 Called to the Bar: 1938 Biographical Information: In the history of Ontario’s legal profession, Norman Lickers was the first person of full Aboriginal heritage (both parents were First Nations). He earned a BA from the University of Western Ontario and became a lawyer at a time when Aboriginal people could lose their status under the Indian Act merely by graduating from university or by joining a profession. Lickers set up practice in Brantford. He soon began to speak on behalf of his community as well as his clients. In 1946, he was appointed by the federal government as counsel to the Standing Committee on Indian Affairs which sponsored important revisions to the Indian Act in 1951. However, Lickers was disbarred from practice in 1950 for professional misconduct. He continued to advocate for his people. In 1969, he organized a protest against a policy that would have abolished special status for Aboriginals. A long-serving band councillor, he also founded educational and other organizations to preserve and promote Aboriginal culture. Source: Jacqueline Briggs, "Norman E. Lickers: The Untold Story of the First Aboriginal Lawyer in Canada," unpublished paper, 2008; Constance Backhouse, “Gender and Race in the Construction of ‘Legal Professionalism’: Historical Perspectives” (2003), 2-12. http://www.lsuc.on.ca/media/constance_backhouse_gender_and_race.pdf. Diversifying the bar: lawyers make history Heritage or Community: Aboriginal Name: ISAACS, Peter Male Born 1938 in Oshweken, Ontario Called to the Bar: 1966 Biographical Information: Peter Isaacs is a Mohawk and one of the first Aboriginal lawyers in Ontario. In the 1960s, he was a partner in the leading Hamilton firm of Millar, Alexander, Tokiwa and Isaacs, a multi-ethnic firm whose successful real estate practice depended in part on its ability to attract clients of diverse communities. In 1995, he became one of the first judges of Aboriginal heritage, appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice in Stratford. Source: Philip Sworden, "'A Small United Nations': The Hamilton Firm of Millar, Alexander, Tokiwa, and Isaacs, 1962-1993," in C. Wilton, ed. Inside the Law: Canadian Law Firms in Historical Perspective (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1996), 469-97. Diversifying the bar: lawyers make history Heritage or Community: Aboriginal Name: STAATS, Howard Edwin Male Born 1940 in Six Nations Territory Called to the Bar: 1966 Q.C. Biographical Information: One of the first Aboriginal lawyers in Ontario, Howard Staats practises in Brantford. Born and raised on the Six Nations Reserve, his determination to achieve without boundaries has enabled him to set an example to all, especially to Native youth, that all dreams are attainable. Many years of professionalism, compassion, confidence and proven results have made him a pillar of the Brant County legal community. Mr. Staats was named Q.C. in 1979. His achievements have inspired his own family as well; his son Mark Staats is currently practising with the firm, and a granddaughter is presently on her path to becoming a lawyer. Diversifying the bar: lawyers make history Heritage or Community: Aboriginal Name: OPEKOKEW, Delia Female Born in Saskatchewan Called to the Bar: 1979 Biographical Information: Delia Opekokew is one of the first Aboriginal women lawyers and the first to be called to the bar in both provinces of Ontario and Saskatchewan. In private practice, she has negotiated treaty rights and advised on Aboriginal law for clients across Canada. She helped resolve the land claim of the Canoe Lake Cree Nation, her