Aaron Mills

In the media: “The River Knows Where to Go.” Entitled podcast, season 1, episode 6, October 2021.
"Communauté et enracinement - Entrevue avec le Professeur Aaron Mills" - Le délit, 9 avril 2019

Biography

Aaron Mills (Anishinaabe, Couchiching First Nation) is an Assistant Professor and the Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Indigenous Constitutionalism and Philosophy. He holds a BA from Carleton, a JD from the University of Toronto, an LLM from Yale, and a PhD from the University of Victoria, where he studied under James Tully and John Borrows. Mills’ primary field of inquiry is Indigenous law, which he uses to frame broader questions of legal theory, political theory, comparative law, and Indigenous-settler reconciliation.  

Mills’ approach to practise, theory, and method in Indigenous law is informed by 15 years of education with a number of Anishinaabe elders from Treaty #3 and from southern Manitoba. Consequent to this formation, Mills’ teaching and research in the area of Indigenous law are oriented around three connected projects: (1) theorizing and communicating Indigenous law on its own terms; (2) imagining how Indigenous law so understood can inform contemporary Indigenous law revitalization projects; and (3) examining how those projects can impact upon internal (or settler) colonialism and on Indigenous-settler relationships more broadly. To these ends, Mills frequently partners with Indigenous elders and knowledge-holders, in support of Indigenous governments and service organizations. In an educational capacity, he also supports Canadian legal and political actors, as well as legal advocacy and civil society organizations.  

Beyond his CRC, Mills has received numerous awards and recognitions, including a SSHRC Talent Award, a Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation scholarship, a Vanier Canada scholarship and a Fulbright Canada scholarship. 

Education 

• PhD Victoria, 2019 
• LLM Yale, 2012 
• JD Toronto, 2010 
• BA Carleton, 2005  

Career 

• Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Indigenous Constitutionalism and Philosophy, 2019— 
• Assistant Professor, 2019— 
• Assistant Professor (Special Category), 2018-2019 

Areas of Interest 

Indigenous legalities, Indigenous resurgence and contemporary Indigenous law revitalization projects, Anishinaabe philosophy and cultural practise, legal theory, political theory.