Golden Eagle Rising Society acknowledges that this work could not have been undertaken without the passion and commitment of Myrna McCallum who led this project. Myrna inspired others to join her in this work and we are profoundly grateful to the law students, lawyers and mental health professionals who wrote chapters or otherwise contributed to these materials. Most importantly, we are grateful to the individuals with lived experience of our colonial legal systems for their wisdom and participation in our consultations, all of which guided the development of this resource.
According to a recent publication, "The Justice Crisis: The Cost and Value of Accessing Law", by Trevor C.W. Farrow & Lesley A. Jacobs, less than 7% of people use courts to resolve their problems and less than 20% get legal advice; access to justice costs and barriers are higher and more complex for domestic violence survivors; and within Indigenous communities, the justice system has retraumatized and revictimized some, particularly in context of Indian residential school litigation.
This Toolkit is dedicated to those who have been retraumatized and revictimized by our legal system. We are working to ensure that our advocacy efforts and legal education centers these voices and experiences. We are committed to doing no further harm.
Writers: Victoria Craig, Alison Granger-Brown, Kareem Ibrahim, Jessica Magonet, Myrna McCallum, Nazanin Moghadami, River Shannon, Nisha Sikka, Hannah van Mook and Angela Wong.
Reviewers: Myrna McCallum, Samantha Breslauer and Kareem Ibrahim. Derek LaCroix and Susan Burak of the Lawyers Assistance Program (for Self-Assessment Tool).
Graphic designer: Alice Joe
Web design: GoOnline.ca
