Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond

2023 - 1 - 4

Post cover — Image courtesy of "Hope Standard"

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond no longer employed with UBC (Hope Standard)

The University of British Columbia and prominent B.C. scholar and lawyer Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond have cut ties. UBC's director of university of affairs, ...

My credentials have been vetted at the highest levels of our country.” I am of Cree, Scottish & English heritage & hold the name aki-kwe & am an active member of the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation. Turpel-Lafond formerly directed the university’s Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre. She is also well-known in B.C. The story digs into her past and finds contradicting information between the Cree heritage she has asserted, and which has characterized her career as an accomplished scholar and former judge, and historical records of her family and hometown. 13 that questioned Turpel-Lafond’s claims of Indigenous ancestry.

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond no longer at UBC law school (Saskatoon StarPhoenix)

In October, the university and the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs stood behind Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, with the latter calling her a "fierce, ethical and…

Turpel-Lafond declined to answer or say who she believes her father’s biological parents were, but hinted at family secrets in a statement. Indian Chiefs stood behind Turpel-Lafond, with the latter calling her a “fierce, ethical and groundbreaking advocate for Indigenous peoples for decades.” The media outlet said the claims of Cree ancestry and treaty Indian status are inconsistent with publicly available documents. as the province’s representative for children and youth from 2006 to 2016, and for a 2020 report on systemic racism against Indigenous people in B.C. The university did not say why the former judge and high-profile advocate for children’s and Indigenous rights is no longer a tenured professor at the Peter A. Indian Chiefs stood behind Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, with the latter calling her a "fierce, ethical and groundbreaking advocate for Indigenous peoples for decades."

Dr. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond retired from UBC in December (Ubyssey Online)

Dr. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond has retired from her tenured position at the Allard School of Law. CBC first reported Turpel-Lafond's departure from UBC in ...

[Indigenous Women’s Collective](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/indigenous-collective-wants-universities-revoke-turpel-lafond-honorary-degrees-1.6637426) calling on 11 Canadian universities to revoke the honorary degree they gave to the former law professor. She also published the [In Plain Sight report](https://www.ubyssey.ca/news/medicine-nursing-response-turpel-lafond-report/) in 2020 which found widespread anti-Indigenous racism within the BC health care system. “I decided to retire from UBC in December 2022 based on my age and stage of life," Turpel-Lafond wrote. [UBC](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/british-columbia/article-ubc-backs-mary-ellen-turpel-lafond-after-report-raises-questions-about/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter), the [Union of BC Indian Chiefs](https://www.ubcic.bc.ca/ubcic_stands_with_aki_kwe_dr_mary_ellen_turpel_lafond) and the [Saskatoon Tribal Council](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/mary-ellen-turpel-lafond-1.6615953) have voiced support for Turpel-Lafond following the CBC article, although UBC did not comment on her Indigenous identity. Other [prominent Indigenous women](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/turpel-lafond-honorary-degrees-1.6684340) — like Marion Buller, the chief commissioner of the [National Inquiry Into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls](https://www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/final-report/) — also said they were considering returning their honorary degrees if universities did not rescind Turpel-Lafond’s. [CBC first reported](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/mary-ellen-turpel-lafond-no-longer-employed-by-ubc-1.6702703) Turpel-Lafond’s departure from UBC in December on January 3, but was unable to report on the reason for her leaving.

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond retires from UBC (Vancouver Is Awesome)

Lawyer Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, a tenured professor at the University of British Columbia's Allard School of Law and the former academic director of UBC's ...

She served as the academic director of UBC’s Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre since its inception in 2018, until June of last year. According to UBC, the search for a new academic director began shortly after. LLP, a leading Indigenous law firm based in Victoria, until May 2022. She was also appointed by government in 2020 to investigate Indigenous-specific racism in B.C.’s health-care system. A UBC spokesperson confirmed that her tenure ended Dec. Lawyer Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, a tenured professor at the University of British Columbia’s Allard School of Law and the former academic director of UBC’s Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre, is no longer with the university in any capacity.

Headlines for January 4, 2023 — University Affairs (University Affairs)

High-profile professor and former judge Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond is no longer employed at the University of British Columbia, according to an official with the ...

CBC News

Dr. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond retired from UBC in December (Ubyssey Online)

Dr. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond has retired from her tenured position at the Allard School of Law. CBC first reported Turpel-Lafond's departure from UBC in ...

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond departure from UBC shines spotlight on ... (Vancouver Sun)

The departure of Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond from UBC is progress, says University of Alberta professor Kim TallBear, but she expressed frustration at UBC's ...

I respect my parents and all members of my family, and I will never call anyone out. The media outlet said the claims of Cree ancestry and treaty Indian status are inconsistent with publicly available documents. She is perhaps best known in B.C. UBC did not publicly state why the former judge and high-profile advocate for children’s and Indigenous rights is no longer a tenured professor at the Peter A. The committee looks forward to deeper conversations in the future on this topic,” and added that “the university will be communicating and engaging in conversations with Indigenous faculty, students and staff on this important issue.” Article content

Turpel-Lafond case prompts renewed calls to address ... (CTV News Vancouver)

Mary-Ellen Turpel-Lafond, who was the province's first children's watchdog, is no longer a professor at the University of British Columbia, months after a ...

mother asks for help to find her missing son](https://saskatoon.ctvnews.ca/we-miss-him-sask-mother-asks-for-help-to-find-her-missing-son-1.6230911) As a ceiling and wall collapsed on a woman desperately trying to flee the scene of an explosion at a Quebec propane distribution company, Éric Lizotte could only watch in horror. Subban, the former Montreal Canadiens defenceman put the spotlight on someone else. Aside from the more common symptoms of long COVID, some Canadians with the condition say they are also noticing long-term impacts on their ability to smell, taste and hear. On a night meant to honour P.K. [Meet Mila, the 7-year-old super-fan who joined P.K. More than 40 Canadians have been languishing in camps and prisons run by Kurdish authorities since 2019. The statement didn't specifically support a claim that she was born on a reserve or to an Indigenous father. A statement went on to say, in part, "Issues of First Nations identity and community membership are for Indigenous peoples, families, and governments to sort through based on their own laws, customs, and traditions." UBC says that's why it's having important discussions on the matter. 16, 2022 Turpel-Lafond was no longer working at the school. Allard School of Law and as the director of the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre.

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond

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