Justice as Healing: Indigenous Ways (review)

"Restorative justice" is a catchall term to describe a process for addressing various social conflicts. It is decidedly different from how modern states deal with social conflicts. Legislators prescribe solutions for social conflicts through legislation, often backed up with sanctions for noncompliance. Judges likewise impose solutions or sanctions when social conflicts come into their courtroom. The ideal of restorative justice is that the people affected by social conflicts meet together to resolve those conflicts. They come up with their own solutions that are agreeable to all concerned. Those solutions are thereby more constructive and enduring for producing increased social harmony.

Justice as Healing is a compilation of articles that explores in detail the use of restorative justice to address the present-day plight of Indigenous peoples. It is difficult to provide a chapter-by-chapter summary of the book, since many of its themes are interwoven through many places. The articles are all nonetheless bound together by a central and coherent thesis.

The starting point is the fact of colonialism over Indigenous peoples, both historical and present. Some of the early articles describe the initial phase of colonialism. European powers subjected Indigenous peoples to an inhumane process of conquest that included military campaigns, acts of genocide, starvation, and forced removal. Other articles describe the subsequent process of social colonialism. Indigenous peoples had their laws and value systems suppressed and eroded. They were also forced to live in economic deprivation to the benefit of their colonizers. Other articles then describe the enduring legacy of colonialism. Indigenous peoples are impoverished, have been separated from their cultures and traditional values, and suffer from low self-esteem that manifests in a variety of self-destructive behaviors such as substance abuse and suicide.

Restorative justice is explored as a solution to this enduring legacy in two different contexts. In a political context, colonialism is perpetuated because the dominant society is reluctant to accommodate substantial social change that would upset the status quo. Some articles explore restorative justice as a means of challenging that status quo, a political process whereby both the colonizers and colonized work together to address the problems. The colonized begin the process by communicating to the colonizers the past injustices, and the injustices suffered in the present. This crucial first step is meant to break the denial of, inspire contrition in, and educate the colonizer. Both sides then work together in a process of reciprocity, reconciliation, and sincere negotiation. The ideal end product is a realignment of political and social relations whereby Indigenous communities obtain greater autonomy, and an end to their cycles of poverty.

Restorative justice is also considered in a criminal justice context. The colonial legacy of poverty, low self-esteem, and substance abuse has resulted in increased criminality among Indigenous peoples, which often generates its own cycle as Indigenous criminals victimize other Indigenous people, who then take out their suffering on other victims. This in turn leads to Indigenous peoples being incarcerated far out of proportion when compared to other groups. Western justice systems are unable to address this problem effectively. Incarceration, fines, and probation do not address the root causes of Indigenous criminality. Adversarial procedures (e.g. the right to cross-examine opposing witnesses) further strain relations between the offender and those affected by the crime. Restorative justice facilitates more constructive responses to Indigenous crime and addresses its root by compelling the offender to face up to the harm caused, to persuade the offender to willingly make right for the harm, to set the offender on a path of emotional and spiritual healing, to guide the offender to living a more productive life, and to inculcate traditional values in the offender. Restorative justice makes an offender less prone to criminal behavior by making him or her a healthier and more complete person. Through restorative justice, imprisonment could be rendered largely unnecessary. Of course, the restorative resolution must not only account for the offender but must consider the interests of the victim and the broader community as well. The restorative resolution is in...