Indigenous Blacks & Mi'kmaq Initiative

Indigenous Blacks & Mi'kmaq Initiative

The Indigenous Blacks & Mi'kmaq (IB&M) Initiative was established at Dalhousie University Schulich School of Law in 1989 with the purpose of reducing structural and systemic discrimination by increasing the representation of Indigenous Blacks and Mi'kmaq in the legal profession.

The IB&M Initiative was the result of efforts by African Nova Scotian communities and Mi'kmaq First Nations to obtain access to legal education and the legal profession and to address racism in the justice system. These efforts were the catalyst for Dalhousie University's study entitled "Breaking Barriers: Report of the Task Force on Access for Black and Native People" and coincided with the work of the Royal Commission on the Donald Marshall, Jr. Prosecution, which recommended that the then fledgling IB&M Initiative "receive the financial support of the Governments of Canada and Nova Scotia, and the Nova Scotia Bar" . Through the hard work and persistence of the Advisory Board and other community members, the directors, students, faculty, and staff, the IB&M Initiative grew to become a model for access to legal education and the legal profession across Canada and the United States.