Philosophy and Practice: Restorative Justice and Restorative Approaches in Tribal Communities Series

Last month, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s Tribal Youth Program hosted its webinar, Philosophy and Practice: Restorative Justice and Restorative Approaches in Tribal Communities. A recording of the webinar can be viewed here.

Indigenous communities around the world have practiced restorative ways of living for generations. When a wrong caused disruption and harm to the community, leaders sought pathways to guide and encourage individual, family and community healing and repair. Ancient restorative approaches were not merely punitive, but conversely utilized strength-based and collaborative ways to resolve conflict. Today many tribal communities are reclaiming traditional teachings to re-inform and reshape tribal justice and community healing processes while integrating contemporary restorative approaches.

We invite you to join a special webinar series introducing the contemporary values and principles of Restorative Justice and approaches in the context of Indigenous philosophies and worldviews, the range of restorative techniques and applications in justice,educational, community and familial settings, and finally, integration of restorative approaches within a relevant cultural framework for differing tribal communities. Participants are invited to hear reflections first-hand from current practitioners in the field. Restorative justice and restorative approaches are defined and applied by each community, for community. Therefore, knowledge and experience is offered not as set directives but as meaningful possibilities for communities to create or renew their pathways to planning and integrating restorative justice and restorative approaches for positive youth health outcomes.