Minister of Justice R.J. Simpson announced earlier this week the judicial appointment of Stephanie Whitecloud-Brass to the Territorial Court of the Northwest Territories. This appointment is effective as of December 13, 2022.
Ms. Whitecloud-Brass holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Regina and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Saskatchewan. She was called to the bar in the Northwest Territories (NWT) in 2017.
Ms. Whitecloud-Brass has been a lawyer for 14 years, including approximately five and a half years as a Legal Aid Criminal Defence Lawyer in the Northwest Territories. Ms. Whitecloud-Brass has enjoyed a reputation as a skilled criminal lawyer practicing at the Territorial Court level since 2017 and has varied experience as a lawyer in Saskatchewan. This includes experience as private criminal defence counsel, as counsel for claimants in the Independent Assessment Process under the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, as counsel with the City Solicitor’s Office in Saskatoon, and various roles with the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations.
Throughout her professional career she has been active in volunteer work, including as a volunteer barrister and solicitor with a community-based program designed to support young mothers in Saskatchewan called ‘Healthy Mother, Healthy Baby’, as well as for the Community Legal Assistance Services for Saskatoon Inner City Inc. Ms.Whitecloud-Brass has also served her professional community as a member of the Territorial Court Bench and Bar Committee and the Saskatchewan Aboriginal Courtworker Program Advisory Committee.
Ms. Whitecloud-Brass is Indigenous of Dakota/Lakota descent and is a proud member of the Standing Buffalo Dakota Nation in southeastern Saskatchewan.
