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Alfred Scow

Law and Justice (1995)

Judge Alfred Scow was the first Aboriginal person to graduate from law school in British Columbia, the first Aboriginal lawyer called to the Bar in BC and the first Aboriginal legally-trained judge appointed to the Provincial Court in BC.  Judge Scow was born in Alert Bay, BC to Chief William and Alice Scow, and educated in Indian Day Schools, and then in a Residential School.  He graduated from the Kitsilano High School in Vancouver in 1945.  Upon graduation from law school in 1961, he opened a private practice, concentrating on criminal and civil actions.  From 1965 to1969, he was the City Prosecutor in New Westminster, BC, and during this time, from 1967 to1969, he was a Canadian Member of the Amerindian Lands Commission in Guyana.  From 1970 to 1971, he was the Chairman of the Board of Review of the Worker’s Compensation Board; and from 1971 to 1992, he was a Judge of the Provincial Court of BC presiding over and adjudicating family, criminal, and civil cases in most regions of the Province.

In a voluntary capacity, he has been involved in the Aboriginal and legal communities, serving as:  a UBC Senator and Member of the Board of Management of the UBC Alumni Association; a board member of the John Howard Society, the United Good Neighbour Fund and Credit Union.  He was a founding member of the Vancouver Indian Centre Society, a founding member and president of the Canadian Indian Lawyers Associate.  He is currently a board member of the BC Lions Society for Children with Disabilities and a member of the Elders Committee for the First Nations House of Learning.  Judge Scow has just returned to the practice of law in West Vancouver.  Over a long career he has served his people and acted as a role model to both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal youth of what can be accomplished when one has the drive and discipline to pursue your dreams.

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