Conference Speakers
Jacqueline Romanow-Bear
Faculty Member, Aboriginal Governance Program
University of Winnipeg
Jacqueline Romanow-Bear is a recent addition to the Aboriginal Governance program at the University of Winnipeg. She is currently finishing her PhD thesis in Political Science (International Relations) at Queen’s University and has a master’s degree (Economics) from the University of Manitoba. Her main field of interest is in international human and indigenous rights, especially the work of international organizations in the field, such as the United Nations, the International Labour Organization, and the Organization of American States. All three have been active in the development and promotion of emerging international norms and customary law in support of the rights of indigenous peoples.
Most recently, her research has focused on cases before the Inter-American Human Rights system for the rights of indigenous peoples to their traditional territories. Using human rights models for norm implementation, she explored state level barriers to the implementation of IACHR rulings for indigenous property rights in the Ecuadorian Amazon and the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua. In both cases, the state signed contracts with transnational corporations to explore and extract natural resources within traditional indigenous territories without their prior, free and informed consent.
Romanow-Bear has worked extensively with indigenous communities in Canada as well as Latin America in the fields of property rights, economic development and self-government. Prior to joining The University of Winnipeg, she founded consulting company, Romanow, Bear & Associates (RBA) with partner, Stanley Bear. RBA has worked directly with First Nations governments for almost ten years providing economic development and management advisory services as well as comprehensive program and project evaluations. In addition, she worked in senior management for several years at the Tribal Council level, overseeing community-based programs for health, education and economic development.