Litigating Indigenous Rights: The Rio Yaqui of Mexico and International Law

Join us for a conversation with Professor James C. Hopkins as he discusses his work in the landmark Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) case of Tribu Yaqui v. Mexico (Caso #13.001) and the implications of international law. This case involved a claim for violations of the rights to land, water, culture, life, liberty and security, and freedom from discrimination based on Yaqui identity and socio-economic status, which ultimately led to a historic settlement. Professor John Borrows (Professor and Loveland Chair in Indigenous Law, University of Toronto) will be joining us as discussant.

Professor James C. Hopkins is Associate Clinical Professor in the Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program (IPLP) at the University of Arizona, James E. Rogers College of Law (Tucson, AZ).  He was the inaugural IPLP director and is the former Chair of the American Indian Studies Graduate Interdisciplinary Program at the University of Arizona. Professor Hopkins is Algonquin/Metis from Quebec. He is a former law clerk to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and is a member of the Ontario Bar. He served as Chief Justice to the Pascua Yaqui Court of Appeals as well as the White Mountain Apache Tribe.  He has been a visiting professor at the University of Ottawa and the University of Victoria.  Prior to joining the University of Arizona’s College of Law, he was an Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Law at the University of Alberta. He graduated from Harvard Law School's joint Masters of Laws and International Tax Program (LLM/ITP) in June 2000. Professor Hopkins' area of interest is the intersection between trade, human rights, tax, environmental and Indigenous law. He is a recipient of the Harvard University International Tax Program's Award for Excellence in Research and Writing for his graduate thesis titled, "Democratization by Taxation:  Democratic Experimentalism in Aboriginal Canada." Professor Hopkins is also a University of Toronto alumnus.

Open to the public, all are welcome. No registration required.