Indigenous Blacks & Mi'kmaq Initiative
A catalyst for change
The Indigenous Blacks & Mi'kmaq (IB&M) Initiative at the Schulich School of Law was established in 1989 to increase representation of Indigenous Blacks and Mi'kmaq in the legal profession in order to reduce discrimination.
The IB&M Initiative works to ensure that Mi'kmaw and African Nova Scotian students, and other Aboriginal and Black students, are represented at the Schulich School of Law. The Initiative involves community outreach and recruiting, providing financial and other support to students, developing scholarships in the areas of Aboriginal law and African Canadian legal perspectives, and promoting the hiring and retention of graduates.Â
Students who enter the Schulich School of Law through the IB&M Initiative join the regular first-year class, write the same exams, complete the same work and earn the same JD degree as all other students. Since the IB&M Initiative began, more than 217 Black and Aboriginal graduates have gone on to pursue careers with private law firms, the judiciary, community organizations and government. They have taken up a range of leadership roles across Nova Scotia and beyond. The IB&M Initiative has been nationally recognized numerous times as a model for diversity in legal education.