Peace region resident receives law scholarship

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — A local student has received the 2023 Indigenous Scholarship from the Law Society.

Peace region resident Bailie Copeland received the scholarship eligible to those enrolled in full-time studies. 

According to the Law Society, the scholarship aims to enhance the representation of Indigenous lawyers in British Columbia by supporting their legal education.

Copeland is a member of the Métis Nation of British Columbia and a 2024 Juris Doctor candidate at Thompson Rivers University Faculty of Law.

She is currently the vice president of the Indigenous Law Students Association at the university and has accepted the position of Métis president for the 2023 to 2024 year.

According to the Law Society, Copeland plans to practice law in northeast B.C. to help bring adequate legal representation to the rural north and Indigenous communities.

Her long-term goal is to continue to expand her knowledge of Indigenous and Agricultural law with a focus on Environment and Natural Resources.

Copeland competed in the Kawaskimhon Aboriginal Moot for the 2023 year, focusing on the Coastal GasLink pipeline project, and volunteered as a witness for the TRU MacIntyre team for their moot in Calgary.

In 2021, she obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Athabasca University and was elected secretary of the Fort St. John Métis Society.

Copeland first joined the Fort St. John Métis Society as a youth representative in 2016, the same year she obtained her Métis citizenship.

As a youth representative, she attended Métis Nation British Columbia events across the province and hosted learning opportunities, fundraising and cultural events.

The other recipient of this year’s scholarship was Tara-Lynn Wilson from the Xen’ak’siala tribe located in Kemano, BC. She was raised in the Secwepemc territory of Bonaparte and is currently a 2024 Juris Doctor candidate at Thompson Rivers University Faculty of Law.