Developing & Evaluating Justice Projects in Aboriginal Communities: A Review of the Literature

Source: (1998) Solicitor General, Canada.

There has been a proliferation of Aboriginal justice initiatives in recent years. The main impetus has been a wide-spread view, common among both Aboriginal people, and officials and key players in the justice system, that the conventional criminal justice system has not worked well for Aboriginal peoples. This working bibliography assembles written materials – books, monographs, reports, articles, and papers – that are of value for policy makers, practitioners, academics, and citizens who are concerned with justice issues and projects in Canada’s Aboriginal communities. The field of justice is defined in the broad sense to include laws, justice practices and processes, policing, and corrections. The objective has been to provide readers, where possible, with a short description of each work, emphasizing its key themes and the issues dealt with. For readers’ convenience, the review of literature is divided into two parts: Part A, Contextual and Academic Bibliography, and Part B, Evaluations, Manuals and Programs. Additional sections provide a short background or context for locating or placing Aboriginal justice initiatives and, from the authors’ perspective, a short compilation of chief “lessons learned” from the previous justice initiatives.