The Four Circles of Hollow Water

Source: (1997) Aboriginal Peoples Collection. Aboriginal Corrections Unit. Ottawa: Solicitor General Canada.

This long document consists of a collection of various materials exploring the experience of the Hollow Water First Nation (the Ojibwa people in Canada) in responding to problems of sexual abuse among its people. More specifically, the Hollow Water Community Holistic Circle Healing (CHCH), an initiative begun in 1985, is a coordinated community response to the sexual abuse in Hollow Water. The holistic healing circle is intended to restore balance by empowering individuals, families, and communities to respond in a constructive and healing way with problems of sexual abuse. The four circles in the title of the document refer to the following scheme for understanding the variety of experiences and for organizing the presentation of the materials in the report: the Ojibwa circle; the offender circle; the victim circle; and the Hollow Water circle. The section on the Ojibwa circle covers Ojibwa tradition and change in interaction with Euro-Canadian culture and government, including Christianity and Indian residential schools. The next section deals with treatment of sexual offenders in relation to non-Aboriginal approaches and Aboriginal offenders. This leads to the section on victims and their traumatization as a result of sexual abuse, as well as examination of treatment of victims, with emphasis on the Hollow Water Community Holistic Circle Healing approach.