Meet the Recipients of our 2025 Indigenous Law Student Scholarship!

Press Release

October 9, 2025

First Peoples Law is pleased to announce the winner, finalist and honourable mention of our 2025 Indigenous Law Student Scholarship. This year’s winner and finalist received a $10,000 and $2,000 scholarship award, respectively.

The Indigenous Law Student Scholarship is awarded annually to an Indigenous law student with a demonstrated commitment to serving and advancing the interests of Indigenous Peoples.

At First Peoples Law, we are honoured to support the scholarship recipients in their studies as part of our commitment to the development of Indigenous lawyers. We are confident in their contributions to defending the rights of Indigenous Peoples across Canada.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to apply. We’re looking forward to carrying it on next year.

You can meet past recipients on our website here.

–Bruce

Winner

Julie Albert

Tánsi, Nitisinihkáson Wapihkaniw. Ohci nína inniniw iskwéw Kinosao Sipi.

My name is Julie Albert, my spirit name is Snowy Owl and I am from Kinosao Sipi– Norway House Cree Nation in Treaty 5 territory. I’m in my final year of law school at Robson Hall, and everything I do has been shaped by the teachings I’ve received as a Swampy Cree woman growing up in Norway House, in Northern Manitoba.

I’m proud to be from Kinosao Sipi. I carry immense gratitude for my community—for the people who have guided me, and who continue to teach me the values and lessons that have grounded my path. I am the granddaughter of Bugoose and Mona Clarke, Jo Ann, and the late Ken Albert. Three of my grandparents survived the Indian Residential School system. I say this because their strength and resilience are the reason my family is here today. Kischi ninaskomon nôhkomak akwa nimosômak.

This year, I’m entering my final year of law at the University of Manitoba’s Robson Hall, where I’m continuing to balance and merge the worlds of both Cree and Canadian legal traditions. My heart’s work is to stand with my people, listen to the wisdom of our Elders and youth, and help protect the lands and waters that sustain us all. I’m also honoured to serve as a Northern Representative on the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Youth Council and as an executive council member for the Assembly of First Nations Youth Council.

One of the most meaningful and grassroots parts of my journey has been organizing Oskatsak Sokakopowak: a land-based healing and leadership gathering for youth displaced by wildfires across Manitoba. After working to help evacuate thousands of people during the 2025 wildfire season, I saw firsthand that our young people needed more than just an emergency response. They needed ceremony. They needed to come back to the land. They needed real connection. So we brought together elders, knowledge keepers, and 40 First Nations youth for several days of cultural teachings, healing, and community-building out on the land. This event was a powerful reminder that our strength comes from the land itself, and from each other.

To be chosen as the 2025 recipient of the First Peoples Law scholarship is deeply humbling. This support means a great deal to me on my path in law. More than that, I hope this recognition shows other Indigenous youth—especially other “rez” girls—that they belong here too, and that their dreams are possible. We need you in these spaces.

Thank you to my family, my community, and every single person who has lifted me up along the way. I’m only able to walk this path as a Cree law student because of your support—your prayers, your kind words, even your Facebook comments. I never walk alone. Kinanáskomitináwáw for all the love you’ve given me, for helping me continue this journey.

And a heartfelt Ekosi to First Peoples Law for creating opportunities that lift up Indigenous law students, honour our paths, and help us carry our responsibilities to our Nations and future generations. Kinanáskomitináwáw.

Finalist

Emily Sabourin

Emily Sabourin is Dehcho Dene from the Northwest Territories (NWT), raised in Yellowknife, and a proud member of Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́ First Nation. She is in her fourth year of the Joint Degree Program in Canadian Common Law and Indigenous Legal Orders at the University of Victoria. Her pursuit of legal education is deeply connected to her roots in Denendeh – also known as the NWT.

Emily’s interests focus on climate action and environmental justice, recognizing their inherent connection to Indigenous rights and the advancement of self-determination. She regularly participates in speaking engagements on Indigenous-led environmental stewardship initiatives, including as a youth representative with the Arctic Athabaskan Council. In addition to her legal studies, Emily is actively involved in the arts community in the NWT. While away at school, she turns to her art to maintain balance in her spiritual, emotional, and mental well-being. Her dog, Cornell, is a big help, too, in supporting that balance.

Honourable Mention

Joshua Gandier

Joshua Gandier is a Peguis First Nation member and is entering his third and final year of law school at the University of Manitoba. During his time in law school, he has served as the Vice President of Finance for the Manitoba Indigenous Law Students Association and recently completed his term as Youth Chief for the Southern Chiefs Organization. This past summer he worked as a summer student at Hall & Larocque LLP, learning to support Indigenous Nations on legal matters related to land, governance, and economic development. He looks forward to returning to Hall & Larocque LLP as an articling student and building a practice focused on supporting Indigenous self-determination and nation-building.

First Peoples Law LLP is a law firm dedicated to defending and advancing the rights of Indigenous Peoples. We work exclusively with Indigenous Peoples to defend their inherent and constitutionally protected title, rights and Treaty rights, uphold their Indigenous laws and governance and ensure economic prosperity for their current and future generations.

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Meet past recipients on our website here

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