Early Life and Foundations
Caterina Petrolo was raised in Toronto, Ontario, where there was almost no acknowledgment of Indigenous cultures or histories within formal education. Like many Canadians, Caterina received very little knowledge or understanding of Indigenous cultures, traditions, or the hardships of Indigenous peoples. However, her approach to advocacy and justice would largely be shaped by her own personal experiences. Over time, she became well known for her efforts to elevate Indigenous voices and to confront the systemic injustices in our society.
Caterina’s career combined law, advocacy, and activism, and was unique for its personal empathy and systemic knowledge. Through her many roles as paralegal, prosecutor, and ally, she has continually pursued justice and fairness. These career experiences serve as a platform from which her advocacy work could expand, particularly in addressing the complications faced by Indigenous peoples living in Canada.
A Personal Connection
Caterina Petrolo brings a level of advocacy that is rooted in her own life. Since 2003, she has been with her common-law partner, and his lived experience as an Aboriginal adopted child into a white family has exposed her to the structural and cultural realities of Indigenous peoples. His experience attempting to prove his Aboriginal Status makes her realize the layered ways in which injustice manifests.
Her partner was born in 1972 to Aboriginal parents and was placed for adoption immediately after birth. He was raised in a loving home, but was mindful of being "different" and endured bullying and exclusion. When he was 19, a mentor in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police encouraged him to prove his Indigenous status. He filled out the application and thought he was finished. Over the next few years, he tried to navigate what CBC journalists called "one of the most complicated bureaucratic processes Canada has," and what started as an application turned into years of work. He was met with endless forms, vague timelines, and repeated contradictory directions. He also experienced fraudulent requests for payments from the "Indian Northern Affairs - adoption unit," and eventually, his file sat untouched for decades.
Petrolo’s determination was key to breaking up the system. In 2009, Petrolo commenced advocating for him by starting the application process, preparing documents, and including a statutory declaration from his biological mother. However, despite those efforts, his application was denied multiple times (and as recently as 2019) over the next decade. It was only in October 2020—after more than 27 years had passed—with renewed energy, that Petrolo contacted the adoption unit to request they look at the extensive file... and this persistence ultimately led to formal recognition.
For Petrolo, the conclusion of this saga was bittersweet. Her partner had lost years of relationships, potential, and status in his Indigenous community... and the incident was shocking to her and reaffirming about race and the barriers to reclaiming identity uniquely faced by Indigenous peoples.
Professional Experience and Advocacy
Caterina Petrolo’s career showcases a blend of advocacy and legal experience. Through her unique work experiences, she gained a necessary, experiential component about the criminal justice system - how it works and often how it does not work to support those it is supposed to protect. This experience supported her belief that justice could be pursued not only in courts but also through activism, storytelling, and change in the systems within which we live.
Her professional trajectory illustrates how legal training and expertise can align with personal passion to address more profound societal issues. This perspective led Petrolo to enroll in Indigenous Studies at the University of Alberta, where she used the opportunity to increase her education on Indigenous histories, cultures, and contemporary issues. The program enabled her to develop a structured approach for working towards and improving her advocacy.
Radical Empathy and Institutional Disruption
Petrolo often characterizes her advocacy as rooted in radical empathy. She is compelled by listening, honoring stories, and being mindful of Indigenous voices. For her, advocacy is not about taking up space for others, but about carving out platforms for debating new ways to hear marginalized voices.
When asked about a mentorship and storytelling initiative she is working on, Petrolo described it with its first five words: Your story deserves to matter. She believed this was in line with her overarching goal of recognizing and giving importance to the lived experiences of most members of our communities, which have routinely been delegitimized.
Petrolo also views reconciliation not as compromise but as reclamation. If designed by Indigenous youth, Petrolo believes it would be an acknowledgement of sovereignty and a recognition of land, water, language, and culture, ensuring that activism is characterized by creativity and digital technological literacies. When she discusses reconciliation, she is really focused on action, rather than symbolism, with an emphasis on equity rather than regret.
The project that her partner developed and the bureaucratic limitations they found reasserted her position that growth often involves discomfort. Through identifying unjust systems, she learned that persistence is not enough when used in isolation but must be worn against resistance. You can't play by broken rules all the time—you sometimes have to demand new rules, she states.
The Role of Technology in Advocacy
Petrolo sees technology as an ally in the advancement of Indigenous rights. If Petrolo were able to use AI, she would program it so that it stores Indigenous languages, oral histories, and legal customs. In real-time, AI could amplify cultural expressions and draw attention to policy inequities, and provide accountability while preserving heritage.
The view she has shows how innovation can live side by side with tradition. She sees AI as an instrument to amplify - not to replace the Indigenous voice - while ensuring the continuum of generations.
Vision for the Future
Petrolo's activism does not just challenge barriers; she is also about imagining futures where we thrive. If she could eliminate one piece of bureaucratic red tape, it would be the cyclical paperwork that prevents Indigenous people from reclaiming their status. In its place, she would establish a nation-to-nation recognition mechanism that enables communities themselves to define their identity.
Catreina Petrolo also makes clear the limits of government forms. For her, no form has the capacity to carry the weight of belonging or the pain of exclusion. For her, identity is dignity, relationship, and continuance, which cannot be forced in a signature.
When thinking of dining with Indigenous changemakers such as Cindy Blackstock, Buffy Saint-Marie, Autumn Peltier, and Justice Murray Sinclair, Petrolo would ask: "What does justice look like if it is also not just a matter of survival?" This question communicates her view of futures-oriented practice, seeking repair while also flourishing.
Conclusion
Caterina Petrolo's story exemplifies how a personal connection, professional expertise, and radically empathic help can trigger meaningful change. She always acted with justice, fairness, and a passion for systemic change. When her partner fought for decades to be recognized, it forced her to contend with systemic inequities and establish herself in a mission critical of administrative rigidity while elevating Indigenous voices and challenging the work of reconciliatory stereotypes.
While Caterina Petrolo continues in her work, she exemplifies that with perseverance, empathy, and imaginative innovation, we can create inclusive futures. Her story illustrates how advocacy is not just about making amends for past injustices, but also about developing systems that establish dignity, sovereignty, and a sense of belonging.
