403.234.9266
Indigenous Services
Indigenous Law Program
Sahwoo mohkaak tsi ma taas (Blackfoot for "Before Being Judged")
Sahwoo mohkaak tsi ma taas employs a part-time Indigenous facilitator and educator, Indigenous Lawyer, and Indigenous articling student whose goals are to increase access to justice for Indigenous peoples, by helping people understand how to use the legal system to reach their goals.
What we can help you with
Our Indigenous lawyer provides legal services in the following areas:
Indigenous Law Issues
Criminal law and tickets
Small claims court
Employment law
Human rights law
Limitations, land claims and other legal questions
Indigenous issues such as membership, on-reserve housing, treaty, and day school
Sometimes we are able to give free legal representation to Indigenous people who need lawyers. In other cases, we provide legal information and referrals. We hope to always provide our services in a culturally appropriate way that makes your legal problem easier to understand and deal with.
To learn more about the Sahwoo mohkaak tsi ma taas program, please contact us at (403) 234-9266, or contact us at peirces@clg.ab.ca
Inii Moyis ("Buffalo Lodge")
Calgary Legal Guidance' Cultural Room Blessing and Naming Ceremony
On September 16, 2022, Calgary Legal Guidance was gifted a blessing and name of our Indigenous Cultural Room at our downtown office location by Elder Casey Eagle Speaker.
Casey began our time together with prayer and song. We then moved through every space of our new offices – both upstairs and downstairs – as Elder Casey blessed and smudged it all to keep us, our volunteers, and our clients, safe and healthy, and that we might continue to do our work in a good way.
We then joined together in the cultural room for ceremony. Prayers and songs were offered, and Elder Eagle Speaker gifted us the name for the room. “Inii Moyis” (Blackfoot meaning: Buffalo Lodge). Elder Casey told us the story of the Buffalo. Summation: Hard times will be faced by all of us in our lives, and our clients feel this especially when they are going through a legal concern on top of other things. Like the Buffalo, we need to stand and walk together, keep our heads down, and make our way through every storm to the other side where sunshine and blue skies and clear water awaits. Inii Moyis is a space to reflect upon this and to find our strength to get through difficult challenges.
Special thank you to our Funders: the Alberta Law Foundation; The City of Calgary; and The United Way of Calgary & Area for being there to participate with us.