Our Team
University of Victoria Team
Val Napoleon
Academic Lead
Val Napoleon (Indigenous Peoples’ Counsel, LLB, PhD) is a Professor for the UVIC Faculty of Law and the Law Foundation Chair of Indigenous Justice and Governance, and former dean. She is the co-founder of JD/JID (Juris Doctor and Juris Indigenarum Doctor) dual law degree program in Indigenous legal orders and Canadian common law, and the founding director of the Indigenous Law Research Unit (ILRU). She is Cree from Saulteau First Nation [BC Treaty 8] and an adopted member of the Gitanyow [northern Gitxsan]. Her areas of teaching are Indigenous legal traditions and methodologies (e.g., land, water, governance and democracy, gender and human rights, and families), Indigenous legal theories, Indigenous feminisms, legal pluralism, Indigenous democracies, and Indigenous intellectual property. In the JD/JID, she teaches common law property combined with Gitxsan land and property.
Lana Lowe
Executive Director
Lana Lowe, Executive Director, is Dene from the Fort Nelson First Nation. She has over 25 years’ experience working with Indigenous organizations and communities. With an extensive background in environmental governance, Indigenous resurgence and community and land-based research, Lana holds a Masters in Indigenous Governance and is currently a PhD candidate in Law at the University of Victoria, focusing on engaging Dene legal thinking through community dialogues. Lana brings a deep personal and professional commitment to advancing Indigenous self-determination through the revitalization of Indigenous intellectual traditions. Lana’s dedication and expertise are instrumental in driving the mission of the Next Steps initiative forward.
Laura Hamilton
Executive Coordinator
Laura Hamilton grew up in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains on the lands of the Aseniwuche Winewak Nation. Since 2021, she has lived and worked in Victoria, BC on the historic territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən peoples, where she has been an integral part of the Faculty of Law at the University of Victoria, first serving as Assistant to the Dean before being asked to join Dr. Val Napoleon in her expanding work in Indigenous law. Laura’s professional journey began in the hospitality industry, where she gained extensive experience through diverse roles in the airline and hotel sectors. These roles sharpened her strengths in collaboration, service excellence, event planning, and community engagement; skills she now brings to her work with the Next Steps: Rebuilding Indigenous Law initiative. Laura is Métis on her mother’s side, with English and Scottish settler roots on her father’s side.
Rebecca Johnson
Academic Research Affiliate
Rebecca Johnson is a Professor for the UVic Faculty of Law, and Associate Director of the Indigenous Law Research Unit (ILRU). She has a background in music, management, law, and literature (BMus, MBA, LLB, LLM, SJD). She grew up in Calgary in a family of storytellers, and story is central to her work. A lifelong love of music and movies has left her curious about the performative parts of social and legal storytelling, including sight, sound, and the body. She teaches in the JD and JD/JID programs (Graduate Legal Theory; Intersocietal Business Associations, Indigenous Research Methodology; Inuit Law and Film; Cultural Property), where she is nourished by the pleasures (and challenges) of being a non-Indigenous scholar working in collaboration with others at the intersection of Indigenous and common law legal orders. She spends part of each summer with her extended family in Secwepemcúl’ecw, where she grounds (literally) her theoretical interests in a world of practice, by sitting with her hands in clay at the pottery wheel.
Associate Research Directors - Secwépemc Law
Racelle Kooy
Associate Research Director
Racelle Kooy, also known by her ancestral name Laloya, is a member of Samahquam First Nation with strong family ties to Stswecem’c Xgat’tem. Growing up in the lands now known as British Columbia, Laloya means “seagull” in her grandmother’s language, symbolizing her destined travels and connection to her ancestral land. During an exchange year in the French Riviera, Racelle interned at the City Hall of Cannes, witnessing a major reputation management crisis involving the mayor. This experience introduced her to speech writing and diplomacy under pressure. Straight from university, Racelle coordinated the live launch of APTN, the world’s first Indigenous broadcaster, celebrating the diversity of Indigenous people, their cultures and talents. In 2021, Racelle led communications for Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc’s Le Estcwicwe̓y̓, sharing the monumental news of the missing children of Kamloops Indian Residential School, garnering international media attention around historical mistreatment of children in residential schools. Her work is deeply rooted in her ancestral spiritual teachings, guiding her through significant international media events and respectful engagement with affected communities.
Sunny LeBourdais
Associate Research Director
Sunny LeBourdais is an elected Council member of the Pelltíq’t te Secwepemc (Whispering Pines / Clinton Band). She holds a M.Sc. from Simon Fraser University and B.Sc. and B.Ed. from TRU. Sunny has managed projects for the Okanagan, Ktunaxa, and Secwepemc Nations, including as Director of Transformation for the Qwelmínte-Secwepemc and Director of Governance at the Secwepemc Nation Building Initiative. Sunny coordinated the Stk’emlúpsemc te Secwépemc (SSN) Indigenous Impact Assessment for the KGHM Ajax Mine and served on the BC Minister’s Advisory Committee for the Environmental Assessment Act. She developed the TeamSku7pecen Knowledge Builders program, which was awarded a BC Reconciliation Award in 2024. Sunny integrates Indigenous and western knowledge systems to effect change while honouring Secwepemc laws and traditions. Sunny lives with her son Raven on the Whispering Pines ranch near Kamloops, BC where she enjoys horseback hunting and fishing in her traditional territory.
Bonnie Leonard
Associate Research Director
Bonnie Leonard graduated from the University of Victoria law school in 1996 and was called to the bar in 1997. She worked as legal counsel in Kamloops before serving a three-year term as Chief of the Kamloops Indian Band. In 2004, Bonnie joined the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council (SNTC) as Director of Aboriginal Rights and Title, becoming Tribal Director in 2010. She managed the Tribal Council’s administrative affairs and led Secwepemc law revitalization projects in partnership with the University of Victoria (UVic) Indigenous Law Research Unit (ILRU), including Stsmemelt (children and family) and lands and resources. In 2019, Bonnie became Strategic Advisor to National Chief Perry Bellegarde at the Assembly of First Nations, providing political and legal advice. She assumed her current role at UVic in 2025.
Research Team - Secwépemc Law
David Archie
Community Liaison
David Archie is Secwepemc from Stswecem’c Xget’tem. David learned from his parents, community and elders about what it means to be Secwepemc. He learned many aspects of Secwepemc wilc (Shuswap way) including spirituality, culture, food gathering and protocols. David has shared those teachings and built on them over the decades including as the Research Assistant for Three Corners Health Services Society where he interviewed Community Members from northern Secwepemc communities. Working for Northern Secwepemc Law’s and Custom’s Research for Proposed Justice Centre David did further work recording and transcribing interviews of Elders and knowledge keepers from the northern Secwepemc including focused questions regarding Laws and Customs of the Secwepemc pre/ post-colonial influence. As the Traditional Wellness Coordinator- Secwepemc Health Caucus he initiated a Traditional Wellness Steering Committee consisting of Elders/Knowledge Keepers from the Secwepemc Nation (17 communities). He also served as the Culture and Language Manager at Williams Lake First Nation creating space for Secwepemc Culture and Language Programs for the community of T’exelc.
Tamara Archie
Community Research
Tamara Archie is Secwépemc from Stswecem’c Xget’tem First Nation. She gained a wealth of lived experience and Secwepemc knowledge growing up in community and learning from her parents, grand-parents, and Elders. In 2000, she was elected as a council member for her community, leading portfolios in Natural Resources, Housing and Social Development as it pertained to federal and provincial engagement. At the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council, she developed her experience regarding Secwépemc language and law where she organized events relating to the Indigenous Law Research Unit research for the Secwépemc: Lands and Resources Law research project. Tamara’s work with Qwelminte Secwepemc included leading the development of the Knowledge Builders Program based on the Skú7pecen telling. The program focused on the concept of ‘Walking on Two Legs’, upholding both western laws and science as well as Secwépemc Laws as laid out in Secwepemc oral histories and language.
Lois Paul
Event Coordinator
Lois Paul is a member of Esket’emc First Nation. She brings a wealth of experience, education, and care to her position as Events Coordinator. She was honoured to serve in this capacity for the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council for multiple gatherings including a memorable one at Jasper National Park. She also served as the coordinator for the Kamloops Pow Wow and was honoured to help it grow. Lois assisted in the launch and establishment of the St Eugene Mission Resort as a go-to destination. Lois added to her toolkit of skills at the College of the Rockies as well as Thompson River University for events and convention management. She is delighted to reside in Secwepemcúl_̓ecw with her husband and two girls.
Julianne Rae Peters
Community Researcher
Julianne Rae Peters is from Canim Lake in Secwépemc Territory. Her maternal grandparents are the late Ray (Raphael Peters) and Antoinette Archie, and her paternal grandparents are the late Freddy Christopher and late Mary Anne (Emile) Christopher. She is a student in the Indigenous Languages and Linguistics Master’s Program at Simon Fraser University, set to graduate in 2026. She holds her Indigenous Languages Certificate and Diploma. Julianne’s first language mentors are her kikyé7e, Antoinette and Elsie Archie, Tsq_̓e_̓scnem_̓c, and has worked with several Secwepemctsín Elders throughout Secwepemcúl_̓ecw. Julianne’s skillsets include transcribing and translating the language. She has helped transcribe the Secwepemctsín in the Tsq_̓éscnem_̓c “Kíkwe Law”, Canim Lake’s Child & Family Jurisdiction Law. Julianne has been the bilingual MC for the Northern Secwépemc te Qelmúcw Treaty’s “Citizen’s Assembly” in 2022 & 2023. She has also performed Secwepemctsín songs for various events, such as the BC Memorial Cup and First Nations Blazers Night. Julianne’s goals are to continue working in Secwépemc Law, and to create resources for parents and caregivers to nurture their children’s language development.
Connect With Us
We welcome inquiries, collaborations, and conversations from communities, researchers, students, and organizations interested in Indigenous legal revitalization.