Aboriginal Courts

1. Aboriginal Courts “with particular attention to the circumstances of Aboriginal offenders and victims”

4. Colonial consequences Systemic discrimination & assimilation Contemporary “circumstances” Challenges and Potentials of Gladue and Section 718.2(e) Aboriginal “courts”

5. Denial of cultural sophistication pre contact Denial of Aboriginal rights and title Cultural disruption and distortion Erosion of gender & generational logic Coerced conversion to Christianity Forced relocation Exclusion

6. Identity & Membership Restricted Mobility Removed from the Land Diminished Food security Interrupted Cultural safety Outlawed Ceremony Eroded Knowledge systems Erased Life & Liberty

7. Colonialism “Law as Cutting Edge” Criminalization of cultural practices Legislative restrictions on rights and freedoms [Indian Act] Residential Schools Racial Profiling Systemic Racism & Discrimination Failure to uphold Treaties

8. Multiple jeopardy Denied identity & status Bill C- 31 backlash Bureaucracy Conflicts over reintegration Very few exit options Increasing rates of incarceration

9. They are in the way of economic prosperity They are stranded between 2 worlds Focus on corruption and nepotism Integration = prosperity Assimilation is the low cost solution Frozen rights theory Concept of tradition

10. Adoption of western technologies, education,literacy,Christianity,urbanization all evidence of assimilation Colonization is over Not responsible for the past They have been ‘given enough’ Problems prove they should be just like ‘us’ Saying sorry is enough Aboriginal peoples do not have sovereignty

11. Integration – [denies Indigenous differences] Equal access Equal treatment No race based policy [resource use] Urbanization offers more opportunities – paternalistic view of reserves as traditional There is no racism or discrimination in Canada

12. Consequences Lower life expectancy High rates of illness Family & community violence Substance misuse Inadequate educational opportunities Inadequate housing Water and sanitation systems problems High unemployment & welfare dependency Over and under representation in the justice system

13. INCREASED SURVEILLANCE DENIED BAIL MORE PRE-TRIAL DETENTION MULTIPLE CHARGES LESS TIME WITH LAWYERS TWICE AS LIKELY TO INCARCERATE MORE LIKELY TO PLEAD GUILTY ‘to get it over with’

14. The People that you Meet Experienced racism Witnessed violence (normalized) Foster care (40% +) Mental health issues (undiagnosed, FASD) No social work involvement Addictions (60 – 95% police calls) Prior convictions Under employed, minimal education, few prospects

15. Challenges to CJS Transportation & communication problems Intimately knows people who have committed suicide, or died in tragic accidents Language (increasing) May use ceremony Kinship networks and feuds May value or deny cultural identity May want to go to jail to avoid the chaos Unable to pay fines

16. Consequences Normalization of violence Focus on day to day survival Accumulative and intergenerational trauma Ontological conflicts Control of membership / decision making removed Isolation and resistance to assimilation Denial of Aboriginal rights

17. Problems of access and choice Problems of trust and fear Language barriers and silencing Culturally inappropriate responses Lack of empowerment Resource shortfalls Internalization of colonialism Us versus Them

19. Victims and Offenders May not be aware of the alternatives available Legacies of colonization are innate Likely cannot articulate the systemic factors influencing their lives Living in survival mode See the justice system as another form of oppression / discrimination Perform acts of resistance Demonstrate remorse in different ways

20. Population expansion Constitutional recognition s. 35 Supreme Court Decisions Nation building exercises Assertions of sovereignty Responsibility of rights discourses Treaty Implementation and Land Claims Duty to Consult

21. Marshall Recommendations Native Criminal Court Community Justice Committees Probation Incarceration programs Aftercare / Reintegration Translators

22. Success Requires Community design and ownership Sustainable mobilization Sufficient resources to make choices available Culturally appropriate & Comprehensive programs Interagency Access to justice, collaboration Reinvigoration of traditional roles for contemporary society

23. 10th anniversary Gladue reports include Aboriginal voices Involves sharing Reveal the consequences of systemic issues RCAP as a guide Adds cultural context to the justice system Identifies culturally specific and appropriate services Opportunities for healing

24. Obligations of Marshall, Gladue, & RCAP • To challenge systemic discrimination • To enhance cultural competency of wider society • To enhance Aboriginal cultural capacity • To recognize and affirm Aboriginal rights • To have meaningful remedies • For Aboriginal peoples to experience justice • Legitimize Aboriginal identity • Apiksiktuaqn

25. Recognition of Mi’kmaq rights & fiduciary obligations of the Crown; • Expansion and integration of current programs: Mi’kmaq Legal Support Network, Mi’kmaq Family Healing Programs, Mi’kmaq Victim Services; • Creation of culturally comprehensive strategies involving: education, health, justice, addictions, employment and political institutions.