Miranda Schmold was called to the British Columbia bar on June 25 in Prince George.
Law graduate Miranda Schmold (’14) has much to be proud of these days. At the top of the list is being among the first Lheidli T’enneh First Nation members to be called to the British Columbia bar.
Schmold and another Lheidli T’enneh member, Sonya Pighin, were called to the bar during a ceremony at the Prince George courthouse on June 25. The two are believed to be the band’s first members to become lawyers.
“I have always been very proud of my Carrier ancestry and am especially proud to have returned to traditional Lheidli T’enneh territory to practice law,” said Schmold. The Lheidli T’enneh traditional territory covers more than 4.3 million hectares, according to the band’s website, reaching from the Rocky Mountains to the interior plateau and including Prince George.
“Now being closer to my community, I hope to get more involved with community events and become a role model to Lheidli youth,” she said. “Schooling at any level is a long and challenging road, but for those Lheidli members who have completed their education, I think we serve as a positive example that it can be done.”
Schmold helped establish TRU’s Indigenous Law Students’ Association and went on to be its founding vice-president and later president.
She articled in Victoria with the Ministry of Justice, Legal Services Branch, which provides legal services to the government, and now practices general criminal, family, and civil law with Jon M Duncan Law Corp. in Prince George. Her dream is to eventually specialize in Aboriginal or animal law.
Her love for animals runs deep and for years she hoped she would be a veterinarian. When her math and science weren’t strong enough, Schmold re-assessed her skills and concluded law was another way to help animals.
“Humans interact with and rely on non-human animals in a multitude of ways, including for companionship, for entertainment, for testing and for food, to name a few. However, during these interactions animals cannot speak for or represent themselves,” said Schmold. “Therefore, I think it is incumbent on humans to do our best to understand them and assess their quality of life within our homes, research labs, zoos, factory farms, etc., and provide them with the proper care and protections that they deserve. It is my hope that through a career in law I can help forward the development of better legal protections for the fellow sentient beings that we share this planet with.”
