The University of Victoria has announced the appointment of former Hupacasath First Nation chief councillor Judith Sayers as National Aboriginal Economic Development Chair.
For the past three years, Sayers has split her time teaching in the UVic Faculty of Law and at the Gustavson School of Business.
The National Chair position was established in 2005 to support research, relationship-building and education to advance economic and community development for Canada’s First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples.
“Economic development is really two areas of expertise,” Sayers said. “One is business and business basics, but there are a lot of legalities around business–forming corporations, drafting agreements–so it’s really a nice fit.”
After graduating from Alberni District Secondary School in 1974, Sayers attended the University of B.C., earning her business degree in 1977, followed by her law degree in 1981. At that juncture, Sayers re-located to Alberta and was called to the bar in 1983.
“I had a very specialized practice in Alberta. I worked exclusively with First Nations,” she said. “I worked on treaty rights, the Constitution, I worked with First Nations to establish their governance and policing or child welfare.”
At the same time, Sayers also began working in international law, travelling to Geneva, Switzerland, two or three times a year, working on the Draft Declaration of Indigenous Rights through the International Labour Organization. Other duties required regular trips to New York, and by 1990, it began to become too much of a strain.
“I had two kids and it was just getting too hard to get away for 10 days or two weeks, leaving the kids behind,” Sayers said.
That year, Sayers moved her family back to Port Alberni and she opened a practice in town, dealing mainly in family law, while at the same time working with Community Futures and the Nuu-chah-nulth Economic Development Commission on economic and community development initiatives.
Sayers said part of her reason for returning home was to be close to her extended family, but she also believed things were about to start happening for First Nations in B.C. It was the start of the treaty process, and she wanted to be part of it.
Things fell into place quickly as the next few years progressed. In 1993, Sayers was honoured with an Honorary Doctor of Laws from Queens University. In 1994, she was appointed chief treaty negotiator for her community, and the next year, she was elected chief councillor for Hupacasath, a position she held until the spring of 2009.
That fall, Sayers joined UVic as an adjunct professor.
“I gave guest lectures in the law school and at the business school. I was also the Entrepreneur in Residence at the business school, working with both undergraduates and graduate students,” she said.
Sayers became an assistant professor two years ago, teaching courses in both faculties, and has created a new law course, the Landscape of Laws Facing First Nations.
“So, if you’re working with a First Nation, what kind of laws do you run into?” she said.
The course looks at how to navigate areas such as consultation and accommodation, as well as the range of settlements First Nations have been involved in negotiating.
“How do you determine the amount of money if the Crown destroys a sacred site? Or a fishing right?” Sayers said.
The course is open to both business and law students.
“I’ve had students from archaeology, as well. We ask, ‘What are the challenges out there with the Heritage Conservation Act?’” Sayers said. “It’s really related to current issues.”
As National Aboriginal Development Chair, Sayers’ mandate is both to encourage Canada’s indigenous people to launch their own economic initiatives and to encourage the non-aboriginal business community to undertake business ventures with aboriginal people.
“I think there is a recognition out there in business that First Nations people, by way of population, could be the answer to a lot of their labour shortages,” Sayers said. “But the question I think they’re asking is, ‘How do we do it?’ ‘How do we train aboriginal people?’ ‘How do we enter into relationships?’”
Sayers noted that while there are businesses that simply don’t know how to deal with aboriginal people, there are a growing number of companies who have learned how to build good relationships that benefit both parties.
“This is what is happening today. Every business that wants to develop natural resources in First Nations territory has to work with a First Nation,” Sayers said. “They have to figure out how to do business in an environmentally sustainable way that does not impact–or has minimal impact–on aboriginal rights. They can only do that by working with First Nations.”
More and more, Sayers said, those businesses are looking for help. That means educating a new generation of professionals in both the business and legal sector.
“The opportunities are tremendous, when you look at what’s going on in B.C.,” Sayers said. “I just want to be part of that.”
Currently, Sayers is teaching Indigenous Economics in the business school, and in January, it’s back to the Landscape of Laws in the law faculty. In late fall, she will also be conducting the annual Aboriginal Economic Development Symposium, with Aboriginal People in Business as the theme.
Nowadays, Sayers splits her time between Victoria and Port Alberni.
“I moved to Victoria, but I kept my home here so I can come back and see my family and fish,” she said.
