What were the role of Canadian Aboriginal and Treaty Rights in the development of “new” justice relations?
Some of the treaties allow for Aboriginal Justice systems. This would include things like sentencing circles, or local ideas regarding restitution and/or punishment. Not all treaties have this provision, however, and not all nations have systems set up. There is a section in the Department of Justice that helps native peoples create local approaches to Justice (I’ve been in the offices), and they even give grants to help with this. A very broad idea is that unlike other systems, native justice systems seek to restore the balance between the person doing wrong, and the victim. Rather than simply punishing the criminal in jail, the person will have to work with the victim to make things better. This serves to impress upon the person the consequences of their actions, and helps restore a healthy community. Apologies are big in many native cultures, and helping the person see the error of their ways so that they can make a true apology, and then work to fix the harm they have done is the p
