tkwəɬniwt (Westbank), Syilx Territory – December 21, 2020: The Chiefs of the Syilx Okanagan Nation offer their congratulations to Ardith Walpetko We’dalx Walkem, Q.C. on her appointment as a justice to the British Columbia Supreme Court.
Syilx Okanagan Nation Tribal Chair, Chief Clarence Louie provided the following comment, “On behalf of the Syilx Okanagan Nation, I am pleased to offer my congratulations to Ardith Walpetko We’dalx Walkem on her appointment to the BC Supreme Court. Justice Walkem is the first First Nations woman to be appointed to this bench,” He further stated that, “Justice Walkem is deeply respected amongst First Nations leadership, including the Syilx Okanagan Nation, for her advocacy and pursuit of justice for First Nations people. We wish her the very best in her many years to come as a Supreme Court Justice.”
Justice Walkem, Q.C. grew up in Spences Bridge, B.C., and is a member of the Nlaka’pamux Nation. After completing a B.A. in Political Science and Women’s Studies at McGill, she attended law school at the University of British Columbia. She also earned a Master of Laws degree from UBC with a research focus on Indigenous laws.
Madam Justice Walkem articled at Mandell Pinder and McDonald and Associates. Practising with Cedar and Sage Law, she has worked extensively with Indigenous communities and organizations to support them in asserting their Aboriginal Title Rights and Treaty Rights. She is a mediator who also works within Indigenous dispute-resolution mechanisms. Her work has focused on the rights of children. She authored “Wrapping Our Ways Around Them: Indigenous Communities Child Welfare” (for the ShchEma-mee.tkt project) to support Indigenous communities in implementing their own child welfare laws or to work within existing child welfare regimes and to educate the legal community on how to work effectively with Indigenous peoples.
For further information, please contact:
Chief Clarence Louie, Tribal Chair
T: 250-498-9132