Dr. John Borrows is one of the world’s leading scholars on Indigenous law. Dr. Borrows is a full professor of law at the University of Victoria, where he holds the Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Law and co-founded the world’s first dual degree program in Indigenous and common law. He supports efforts for and by Indigenous peoples to reclaim their inherent rights to self-governance in order to address systemic and individual injustice and to build healthy, safe and inclusive communities.

Prior to his involvement with the University of Victoria, he was Professor and Robina Chair in Law and Society at the University of Minnesota Law School; Law Foundation Professor of Aboriginal Law and Justice at the University of Victoria Law School; Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto; Associate Professor and First Nations Legal Studies Director, Faculty of Law at the University of British Columbia, and; Associate Professor and Director of the Intensive Programme in Lands, Resources and First Nations Governments at Osgoode Hall Law School.

Dr. Borrows is Anishinabe/Ojibway and a member of the Chippewa of the Nawash First Nation in Ontario. He has written and spoken extensively on Indigenous legal rights and traditions. His publications include Recovering Canada: The Resurgence of Indigenous Law; Canada’s Indigenous Constitution; Aboriginal Legal Issues: Cases, Materials & Commentary; and Drawing Out Law: A Spirit’s Guide. Dr. Borrows is a Fellow of the Trudeau Foundation, a recipient of the Aboriginal Achievement Award in Law and the 2017 Canada Council Killam Prize, is a Fellow of the Academy of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada, and was awarded the 2019 Canada Council Molson Prize. On January 1, 2021, Dr. Borrows was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada.