A Report on the Relationship between Restorative Justice and Indigenous Legal Traditions in Canada

The Ongoing Relationship between Indigenous Legal Traditions and Restorative Justice

The relationship between restorative justice and Indigenous legal traditions is more complex and nuanced than this report has indicated so far. While this report has strategically suggested a clear divide exists between “restorative justice” and “Indigenous legal traditions” as a way to emphasize that they need to be discussed and understood independently from each other, the truth is that these justice systems blend into each other. For example, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that Indigenous legal traditions influenced the early development of restorative justice programs. This includes influencing their underlying principles and values, to informing what programs should look like and how they might function (Archibald and Llewellyn 2006; Cameron 2005; Milward 2012; Tomporowski 2014). Likewise, there is evidence to suggest that the influence flows in the opposite direction, in that restorative justice has influenced the modern day implementation of some Indigenous justice programs (Milward 2012; Napolean and Friedland 2014). Restorative justice has informed some modern Indigenous legal processes, in that it has filled the gaps that colonization created (i.e. when Canadian officials suppressed Indigenous legal systems, most aggressively between the late 19th to early 20th centuries), meaning modern Indigenous justice projects, and possibly future justice projects, may take a more restorative approach, when historically they may have been more punitive and harsh (Deer 2015; Milward 2012).

Going into the future, advocates for both restorative justice and Indigenous legal traditions should recognize the influence each approach to justice has had on the other, and use that awareness to establish a more consistent dialogue with each other. This is especially true for advocates of Indigenous legal systems, who can learn from the journey of restorative justice programs, when they went from being a rather obscure criminal justice strategy in the early 1970s (Tomporowski et al. 2011), to becoming a legitimate alternative to the mainstream criminal justice process. Advocates for Indigenous legal traditions can look at this experience to understand how restorative justice eventually became seen as a legitimate approach to crime and conflict, exploring what they did, who they talked to, etc. Ultimately, the relationship between restorative justice and Indigenous legal traditions will continue to evolve, with each approach to justice likely to continue to influence the other.