COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course tells the story of the first planned colony in the Canadian prairies: the Red River settlement, established in 1812. We explore aspects of Indigenous law, business law, international law, criminal law, and constitutional law -- and we do so by studying archival documents, including actual treaties, proclamations, charters, and court cases from centuries ago.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: (1) Reveal law’s complicated relation to the colonial legacy of social, political, and economic inequality, and (2) provide a dynamic introduction to core theories and methods in Legal Studies.