Danielle Lussier
Danielle Lussier, LL.L., LL.B., LL.M., Ph.D., OOnt, is an award-winning Red River Métis public intellectual, legal scholar, educator, and beadwork artist. She is recognized for her contributions to Indigenous legal pedagogy, decolonial education, and the revitalization of Métis cultural practices within academic institutions. Lussier currently serves as the Queen’s National Scholar and inaugural Chair in Indigenous Knowledges and Perspectives[1] at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.
Early life and education
[edit]Lussier was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, within the heart of the Red River Métis homeland on Treaty 1 Territory. She is a citizen of the Manitoba Metis Federation.
She pursued her post-secondary education at the University of Ottawa, where she completed a Licence en Droit (LL.L.) and a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.), followed by a Master of Laws (LL.M.) with a specialization in Women's Studies, and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Law. Her academic training reflects an interdisciplinary approach that brings together feminist theory, Indigenous legal traditions, and experiential learning.
Her doctoral dissertation, Law with Heart and Beadwork: Decolonizing Legal Education, Developing Indigenous Legal Pedagogy, and Healing Community (2021), is believed to be the first legal thesis in Canada to incorporate beadwork as both methodology and legal text[2]—establishing a new precedent for creative, land-based, and culturally grounded research in the field of law.
Career and scholarship
[edit]Lussier's scholarly work emphasizes the integration of Indigenous methodologies and artistic practices into legal education. In her article “Other Materials”—Traitorous Love and Decolonizing the Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation (2021), she critiques traditional legal citation practices and advocates for the inclusion of Indigenous knowledge systems. Her chapter The Art of Teaching: Métis Beadwork and Indigenous Legal Pedagogy (2023) explores the role of beadwork in conveying legal principles and fostering community engagement. In Becoming the “Academic Auntie” I Needed: Raising Future Matriarchs of the Academy (2025), Lussier reflects on mentorship and the cultivation of Indigenous leadership within academia.
She previously served as Associate Professor and inaugural Associate Vice-Principal — Indigenous Knowledges and Learning at the Royal Military College of Canada (2022-2024), and Director of Indigenous and Community Engagement and the Indigenous Learner Advocate at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law (2018–2022), where she founded a beading circle that produced custom regalia for Indigenous graduates—embedding Métis cultural expression into institutional ceremony[3][4]. She reviews and critiques her experiences at the University of Ottawa's and Queen's University Faculties of Law in several articles including Dear (Legal) Ed: One Indigenous Scholar’s Reflections on 30 years of Interactions with Legal Education.
Beyond academia, Lussier is an accomplished beadwork artist. She utilizes beadwork as a pedagogical tool and a means of legal knowledge production, integrating artistic practice with scholarly research to engage learners and support the revitalization of Indigenous legal knowledge systems.
In 2024, she contributed beadwork and extra-intellectual knowledge to the renewal of Bellevue House National Historic Site (Parks Canada).
Recognition and impact
[edit]Dr. Danielle Lussier has received numerous honours recognizing her leadership in Indigenous education, legal scholarship, and community engagement. In 2025, she was appointed to the Order of Ontario[5], the province’s highest civilian honour, for her groundbreaking work in developing Indigenous legal pedagogies and advancing reconciliation within the Canadian post-secondary education system. This distinction recognized not only her scholarly contributions but also her creative and community-based approaches to transforming institutions.
In 2021, Lussier was named a recipient of the Order of Ottawa[6], an honour that acknowledges exceptional service and achievement across diverse fields. Her recognition by the City of Ottawa highlights her tenure at the University of Ottawa, where she pioneered initiatives such as the Indigenous beading circle at the Faculty of Law. The program provided cultural and emotional support for Indigenous learners and produced custom graduation regalia, creating space for Indigenous expression in formal academic ceremonies.
Her work has been widely cited in conversations on Indigenizing curriculum, and her publications are used in law faculties, education programs, and Indigenous studies departments across Canada and internationally. Through her research, she has helped to redefine how legal knowledge is understood and taught—by making space for artistic methods as legitimate and powerful modes of legal scholarly engagement.
Lussier’s emphasis on mentorship—particularly her commitment to supporting Indigenous women and gender-diverse scholars—has inspired a new generation of leaders in academia. She is often described as an “academic auntie,” a term she embraces in both her writing and teaching, reflecting her commitment to care-based, relational models of leadership[7].
She is also a frequent keynote speaker and has delivered addresses at national conferences on Indigenous rights, decolonization, and education reform. Her work continues to influence policy, curriculum design, and faculty development in post-secondary institutions across the country.
Selected works
[edit]- Law with Heart and Beadwork: Decolonizing Legal Education, Developing Indigenous Legal Pedagogy, and Healing Community (Doctoral Thesis, 2021)
- “Other Materials”—Traitorous Love and Decolonizing the Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation (2021)
- What do you call an Indigenous woman with a PhD in Law: Resisting the subjugation of Indigenous expertise in legal spheres (2022)
- A Legal Love Letter to My Children: If These Beads Could Talk (2022)
- The Art of Teaching: Métis Beadwork and Indigenous Legal Pedagogy (2023)
- Becoming the “Academic Auntie” I Needed: Raising Future Matriarchs of the Academy (2025)
- Dear (Legal) Ed: One Indigenous Scholar’s Reflections on 30 years of Interactions with Legal Education (2025)
References
[edit]- ^ "Lussier, Danielle | Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures". www.queensu.ca. Retrieved 2025-06-24.
- ^ "Our new doctors of law". Faculty of Law. Retrieved 2025-06-24.
- ^ "Indigenous symbolism at convocation". University of Ottawa. Retrieved 2025-06-24.
- ^ "Àbimì turns five: Celebrating Indigenous artistry and community". University of Ottawa. Retrieved 2025-06-24.
- ^ "Ontario Newsroom". news.ontario.ca. Retrieved 2025-06-24.
- ^ Clerk, Office of the City (2025-04-10). "Order of Ottawa and Brian Kilrea Award for Excellence in Coaching - past recipients". ottawa.ca. Retrieved 2025-06-24.
- ^ "Law school auntie". Faculty of Law. Retrieved 2025-06-24.