Pelican Narrows lawyers inspire others to enter legal profession
CBC
Six lawyers, one retired judge and one graduate waiting to take the bar exam, all from Pelican Narrows, Sask., gathered recently to reconnect over a meal of moose and pemmican.
Through story sharing and a photo shoot they wanted to showcase in a powerful and respectful way who they are, and the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation community they come from.
Cara Merasty, a Crown prosecutor working in Prince Albert, Sask., said Gerald Morin, a retired judge, led the way.
"It was one of those things where I saw another Indigenous person and said I could do this and so that's where I drew my inspiration," she said.
She graduated from high school in Pelican Narrows and had to leave her community and travel 400 kilometres to Saskatoon to attend post-secondary school.
But she mostly practised law in northern Saskatchewan during the start of her career.
"They called us 'bush lawyers,'" said Cara Merasty.
"We would go on the [Twin Otter] plane and fly all over northern Saskatchewan. I did defence work at that time for about five years with legal aid."
She speaks Cree fluently, and said her Northern clients feel more comfortable working with her.
"I've represented a lot of young people all over northern Saskatchewan," she said.
"As soon as I started speaking my language, you could see them relax, take a deep breath."
Her niece, Francine Merasty, is a Crown prosecutor in Saskatoon. Francine Merasty is also fluent in Cree and said she didn't learn to speak English until she went to the Prince Albert Residential School. She said, as a residential school survivor, she saw non-Indigenous people representing other survivors and decided she wanted to be the one to represent her people.
She's left Pelican Narrows, and returned, and left again, and said she was initially hesitant to leave home.
"I really didn't want to go, you know. I didn't want to leave my community because I like being with my family, my extended family, my aunts and uncles and my cousins," she said.
Run 3 Space | Play Space Running Game
Traffic Jam 3D | Online Racing Game
Duck Hunt | Play Old Classic Game
This story is part of CBC Health's Second Opinion, a weekly analysis of health and medical science news emailed to subscribers on Saturday mornings. If you haven't subscribed yet, you can do that by clicking here.
Thanks to a mouse watching clips from The Matrix, scientists have created the largest functional map of a brain to date — a diagram of the wiring connecting 84,000 neurons as they fire off messages.
The Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) is claiming vindication after a much-anticipated report affirmed the presence of seven Métis communities in the province. Opponents, however, are dismissing the review as "bogus," with a predetermined outcome.
Federal parties have pitched different approaches to dealing with the toxic drug crisis in B.C. — particularly when it comes to overdose prevention and supervised consumption sites.
A troubled fox finds an unlikely friend in a tiny, mischievous demon in the latest piece from a Wolastoqew storyteller.
One of the great things about astronomy is that it's full of surprises, especially when it comes to comets — you just can't predict when a new one might pop up. But when one does appear, it gets both amateur and professional astronomers very excited.
Six lawyers, one retired judge and one graduate waiting to take the bar exam, all from Pelican Narrows, Sask., gathered recently to reconnect over a meal of moose and pemmican.
A Canadian researcher has won a 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences for discovering the GLP-1 hormone used in diabetes and obesity medications — including Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro — that have changed the lives of millions of people around the world.
Warning: this story contains outdated language and discusses physical and sexual abuse at residential schools.
Jaela Villalobos originally signed onto the after-school cooking class she's currently taking to spend time with a friend, but the 10-year-old says the experience has been enriching and eye-opening.
This story is part of CBC Health's Second Opinion, a weekly analysis of health and medical science news emailed to subscribers on Saturday mornings. If you haven't subscribed yet, you can do that by clicking here.
When Mel Beaulieu prepared to work as the artist-in-residence at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton this winter, the world seemed ominous.
In the city centre of Amsterdam, a seemingly ordinary bird nest tells an extraordinary story of human impact on the environment.