“This is How We Did It”: One Canadian First Nation Community's Efforts to Achieve Aboriginal Justice

Abstract

The current proliferation of community-based Aboriginal restorative justice programmes in Canada cannot be understood solely as the direct expression of Aboriginal Peoples asserting their right to self-determination, or the result of the Canadian government's appropriation, compartmentalization and administration of restorative justice. To explain the ambiguous state of Aboriginal justice in Canada, and to illuminate government and community responses to these Aboriginal justice initiatives, we offer a case study of one such initiative in Canim Lake, British Columbia. Through interviews, the Canim Lake Band and their supporters tell of the development and implementation of a Family Violence Programme, which we (re)present as a process-oriented story of community ownership, community development and community/government relationship building. Their example suggests that justice on Aboriginal terms can be realized provided that the solutions to crime and justice issues are community-generated and that political will is not limited by narrow interpretations of government policy.