Beyond Politics
Pam Palmater
Pam Palmater finished second in voting to Shawn Atleo in the 2012 Assembly of First Nations Leadership contest. A mother of six in a blended family, Pam herself grew up in a large family, 8 sisters and three brothers on the Eel River Bar First Nation in northern New Brunswick. Her great-grandfather Louis Jerome was one of her community's first chiefs and in her family politics as always being discussed around the kitchen table. Pam earned her BA in Native Studies at St. Thomas University and her law degree from the University of New Brunswick. At Dalhousie Law School she completed both a Masters and Doctorate in Law specializing in First Nation Law. Palmater worked for several years in the Department of Indian Affairs before beginning an academic career at Ryerson University in Toronto where she is an associate professor and chair in indigenous governance. She was one of the spokespeople for the Idle No More Movement in 2012. Catherine Clark spoke to Pam Palmater in Ottawa.
