Back to the Roots of Restorative Justice: Restorative Justice on a Reservation

Source: (2002) Paper presented at “Dreaming of a New Reality,” the Third International Conference on Conferencing,
Circles and other Restorative Practices, August 8-10, 2002, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The restorative justice techniques of circle sentencing and family group conferencing are derived from practices of indigenous peoples. We have engaged these two practices in conjunction with the justice system and other services on the Mille Lacs Reservation, Onamia, Minnesota. We will go through the conditions which led up to the implementation of these practices including the failures and successes of each. We will emphasize the needed collaborations and partnerships. We will discuss the positive outcome techniques used in our evaluation and tracking processes. Authors’ abstract