BA (Hons, Alberta), LLB (Victoria), LLM (York), PhD candidate (York), called to the Bar of Alberta in 1999.
Janna is excited to be one of the founding members of Thompson Rivers University Faculty of Law.
Prior to joining the Faculty in 2011, Janna taught at the University of Victoria, the University of Alberta, and Osgoode Hall Law School, where she was recognized with the adjunct faculty teaching award in 2008. She is also pursuing her doctorate at Osgoode Hall, for which she was awarded a Canada Graduate Scholarship from SSHRC. Her graduate research is an historical study of the informal law governing relations between indigenous and European fur traders and how this law relates to historical treaties between the Crown and First Nations. Before her graduate studies, Janna clerked with the Law Courts of Alberta (Queen’s Bench and Court of Appeal) and practised law with Davis & Company in the Northwest Territories where she worked for aboriginal clients on residential school claims, land claims implementation, and related corporate and community development. More recently, she worked for the Government of Ontario, providing policy advice on consultation with aboriginal communities.
Her teaching experience and research interests encompass constitutional and administrative law, aboriginal rights, legal history, colonial legal history and indigenous-settler relations, and legal pluralism.
Office: HL242
Email: jpromislow@tru.ca
Tel: 250.852.7692
Professor Promislow teaches Constitutional Law in the first year curriculum.
Book Chapters
“’It would only be just’: Territoriality and trading posts along the Mackenzie River, 1800-1827”, in Lisa Ford & Tim Rowse, eds, Between Indigenous and Settler Governance [working titles] (Routledge, forthcoming 2012).
“Aboriginal administrative law” (with Lorne Sossin) — draft chapter submitted for Colleen M. Flood & Lorne Sossin, eds., Administrative Law in Context, 2d ed (Emond Montgomery, forthcoming 2012).
“‘Thou wilt not die of hunger ... for I bring thee merchandise’: Consent, Intersocietal Normativity and the Exchange of Food at York Factory, 1682-1763” in Jeremy Webber & Colin Macleod, eds., Between Consenting Peoples: Political Community and the Meaning of Consent (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2010).
“One Chief, Two Chiefs, Red Chiefs, Blue Chiefs: Newcomer Perspectives on Indigenous Leadership in Rupert’s Land and the North-West Territories” in Hamar Foster, Benjamin L. Berger, & A.R. Buck, eds., The Grand Experiment: Law and Legal Culture in British Settler Societies (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2008).
Book Reviews
“Book Review of The Duty to Consult. New Relationships with Aboriginal Peoples, by Dwight G. Newman (Saskatoon: Purich Publishing Ltd., 2009)” (2010) 48 Osgoode Hall Law Journal 183.
Editing
Guest Editor (with Introduction), The Natural Resources Transfer Agreements at 75, (2007) 12(2) Review of Constitutional Studies/Revue d’études constitutionnelles.
Managing Editor, Review of Constitutional Studies/Revue d’études constitutionnelles, volumes 10 (1) & (2).
Managing Editor, Constitutional Forum constitutionnel, volumes 13(3), 14(1), 14(2); Co-editor with Judy Garber on volumes 14(3) & 15(1).
Other Works
Towards a Legal History of the Fur Trade: Looking for Law at York Factory, 1714-1763 (LL.M. Thesis, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, 2004).
Works in Progress
“Law, History, Treaties: Historical rights, constitutional narratives, and Canadian treaty jurisprudence” (working title) — first draft completed; to be submitted to a Canadian law journal in early 2012.
“Empire and the Honour of the Crown” – this project will explore the legal history of the unwritten constitutional principle that governs Aboriginal-Crown relations in Canada. The first stage of this project will explore the doctrinal origins of this principle in English law and its transfer to different parts of British the Empire. Initially tied to the development of the rule of law and the evolution of the Crown, the project aims to trace the transfer of this principle into the area of Crown-indigenous relations. A second aim is to consider this doctrinal evolution in historical context – political, intellectual, and doctrinal. A draft will be presented at the Law, Spaces, Cultures & Empire conference in Singapore, July 2012.
Research Projects, Grants & Reviews
A Genealogy of the Honour of the Crown (awarded fall 2011)
- Law Foundation of British Columbia, 2011-2012; $10,700.
- Research funding for a project on the historical legal and political development of the principle of the Honour of the Crown in England, Canada, and across the British Empire.
Peuples autochtones et gouvernance/Indigenous Peoples and Governance (co-researcher)
- Major Collaborative Research Initiative, SSHRC (2006-2011), coordinated by Centre de recherche en droit public, Université de Montréal; $47,500 over 5 years (my portion).
Assessor, SSHRC (January 2008)
- Provided a peer assessment of a scholar’s application for a fellowship program.
The Dynamics of Custom: An Examination of the Interaction of Custom and Law in Colonial History (Principle Investigator with collaborator Prof. David Yarrow, Monash University, Australia)
- Relationships in Transition Program 2005, Law Commission of Canada & SSHRC: Customary Practices and Law; $25,000 (declined).
Peer reviews for UBC Law Journal, Ottawa Law Journal, and McGill-Queen’s University Press.
Conferences, Seminars & Symposia
Invited:
Between Indigenous and Settler Governance: Histories and Possibilities
Centre for Citizenship and Public Policy, University of Western Sydney, Australia
August 18-20, 2011
- Presented “’It would only be just’: A study of territoriality and trading posts in the Indian Territories, 1800-1827.”
Critical Case Update: Rio Tinto Alcan v Carrier-Sekani Tribal Council and Little Salmon/Carmacks First Nation v Yukon, Osgoode Professional Development Tele-seminar
December 14, 2010
Osgoode Constitutional Law Roundtable: Rights, Developments and Transitional Justice, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University
February 21 - 22, 2008
- Presented: “History in law: historical injustice and Canadian treaty jurisprudence.”
Colloque Autochtonie et Gouvernance
Centre de recherche en droit public; Université de Montréal
October 21 - 22, 2004
- Responded to a paper by John Leclair, entitled “Federal Constitutionalism and Aboriginal Sovereignty.”
Consent as the Foundation of Political Community
Consortium on Democratic Constitutionalism; Faculty of Law, University of Victoria
October 1 - 3, 2004
- Presented: “Trading on Pity: An Exploration of Intersocietal Normativity in Relations Between Cree and Hudson's Bay Company Traders in the Eighteenth Century.”
Selected peer reviewed abstracts/proposals and other conferences:
Law, Spaces, Cultures & Empire: Engagements & Legacies
Sponsored by the National University of Singapore and the Faculty of Law and Centre for Asia Pacific Initiatives, University of Victoria
Singapore
July 5-7, 2012
- Will present a paper exploring the historical development of the “honour of the Crown” as a principle of law in England, Canada, and across the British Empire.
Active History: History for the Future
Sponsored by York University & University of Toronto
Toronto, Ontario
September 27 - 28, 2008
- Presented: “History in Law: Problems in Canadian treaty jurisprudence” on a panel entitled “Peoples with Histories: Beyond Recognition.”
9th N. American Fur Trade Conference & 12th Rupert's Land Colloquium
St. Louis, Missouri
May 24 - 28, 2006
- Presented: “Making Friends and Relatives: Ideas of leadership and political community amongst aboriginal peoples in the early fur trade along Hudson's Bay”
Western History Association - 45th Annual Conference
Scottsdale, Arizona
October 12 - 16, 2005
- Presented: “Nations, tribes, and friends: Glimpses of aboriginal political community and sovereignty along the coast of Hudson Bay in the eighteenth century.”
Canadian Law and Society Association, Annual Meeting
Harrison Hot Springs, BC
June 25 - 30, 2005
- Book panel commentator: Peter H. Russell, Recognizing Aboriginal Title: The Mabo Case and Indigenous Resistance to English-Settler Colonialism (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2005).
- Presented: “Nations, tribes, and friends: Glimpses of aboriginal political community and sovereignty along the coast of Hudson Bay in the eighteenth century.”
9th Annual Wanapitei Aboriginal History & Politics Colloquium
Temagami, Ontario
September 23 - 26, 2004
- Presented: “Regulating Exchange at York Factory, 1714-1763: An Intersocietal Law of the Fur Trade?”
Law and Society Association, Annual General Meeting
Chicago, Illinois
May 27 - 30, 2004
- Presented: “Middle Grounds and Missed Meaning
Education
PHD Candidate, 2012 (anticipated)
Osgoode Hall Law School, York University
Supervisor: Kent McNeil. Dissertation title (working): “I smooth’d him up with fair words”: case studies of fur trade law in the Canadian northwest.
Scholarships and Awards:
- Canada Graduate Doctoral Scholarship, SSHRC, 2005 - 2008
- Harley D. Hallett Graduate Scholarship, York University, 2003/04
LLM, 2004
Osgoode Hall Law School, York University
Scholarships and Awards:
- Sir James Lougheed Award of Distinction, Alberta Heritage Fund, 2000/01
- York Scholarship, 2000/01
- Northwest Territories Law Foundation Grant, 2000/01
LLB, 1998
Faculty Of Law, University of Victoria
Scholarships and Awards:
- Maclean Scholarship in Legal History & Criminal Law, University of Victoria, 1998
- David Roberts Prize in Legal Writing, University of Victoria, 1998
- Canada Law Book Company Prize, Second Year Law: Alternative Dispute Resolution Course, University of Victoria, 1997
BA (HONOURS), 1993
Faculty of Arts, University of Alberta
Double major in Economics and Political Science; graduated with first class honours
Teaching & Academic Appointments
Assistant Professor, Tenure Track Appointment, July 2011 - Present
Faculty of Law, Thompson Rivers University
- Teaching: Constitutional law (2011/12)
Assistant Professor, Contractually Limited Appointment, 2010/11
Faculty of Law, University of Victoria
- Teaching: Constitutional Law, Civil Liberties and the Charter, Legal Research and Writing
Adjunct Professor/Instructor, 2003/04, 2006, 2008-2010, Spring 2012
Osgoode Hall Law School, York University
- Adjunct Faculty Teaching Award, 2008
- Teaching: Aboriginal Peoples and the Canadian Constitution, Osgoode Professional Development LL.M. program (with Ron Stevenson, Spring 2012, Winter & Fall 2009), Indigenous Peoples and the Law (Winter 2010 & Winter 2008), Administrative Law (Winter & Fall 2006), Legal Research and Writing (2003/04)
Executive Director, 2004/05
Centre for Constitutional Studies
Faculty of Law, University of Alberta
Belzberg Lecturer in Legal Research and Writing, 2002/03
Faculty of Law, University of Alberta
Selected Professional Experience
Senior Policy Advisor, July 2008 – July 2010
Consultation Unit, Aboriginal Relations and Ministry Partnerships Division Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs
Government of Ontario; Toronto, ON
- Developed policy and educational programs to support government actors in meeting the Crown’s duty to consult with aboriginal peoples.
Consultant, March – July 2008
Self-employed; Toronto, Ontario
- Expert review of grade nine social studies resource materials for the Alberta Government, Dept. of Education. Materials covered aboriginal and treaty rights, Charter rights, immigration and refugee law and policy, and legislative process in Canada.
- Opinion work.
Research Counsel, June – August 2003
Alberta Law Reform Institute, University of Alberta
- Drafted an issues paper for the Institute’s Rules of Court project.
Barrister & Solicitor, 1999 – 2001
Davis & Company; Yellowknife, NWT (1999 - Sept. 2000; March - Sept. 2001)
Self-employed; Toronto, Ontario (Sept. 2000 - March 2001)
- Negotiated compensation agreements for Indian residential schools survivors as well as aspects of the dispute resolution process by which these agreements were reached (2001); assisted senior counsel in the same process (2000-2001).
- Advised land claims organizations and resource co-management boards , specializing in land claim implementation issues and community development (1999-2000).
Law Clerk, 1998 – 1999
Law Courts of Alberta (Court of Appeal and Queen’s Bench); Edmonton, AB
Community Development Consultant, Fall 1995 & Summer 1996
Behdzi Ahda” First Nation; Colville Lake, NWT
Professional Memberships
Law Society of Alberta (inactive), 1999 - Present
Law Society of the Northwest Territories, 1999 - 2007
Community & Professional Service
Canadian Association of Law Teachers: Board member at large (2011/12)
Student Government, Organizations & Conferences: Treasurer and Conference Organizer, Graduate Law Students’ Association, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University (2003/04); Graduate Student Representative, Faculty Council, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University (2003/04); Board Member, Volunteer Coordinator, and Student Researcher, Environmental Law Centre, Faculty of Law, University of Victoria (1997/98).
Swimming: Volunteer Assistant Swimming Coach, Making Waves Masters Swim Club for Gay & Lesbian Swimmers (Edmonton, 2002-2003) and Yellowknife Polar Bears Swim Club (Yellowknife, 1999-2000); Competed nationally and internationally for Canada, Alberta and the Edmonton Keyano Swim Club (1982-1993).
Other Volunteer Experience: Literacy Tutor, Aurora College (Yellowknife, 1999-2000).