WORKSHOP: Indigenous Peacemaking Initiative: Tribal Justice, Roots and Allies

IPI will be at the National Association of Community and Restorative Justice conference in June. This workshop will address the following objectives:

1. Gain awareness of the resources available to support learning about tribal peacemaking.
2. Learn how differences in worldview can impact conceptions of core values and justice.
3. Begin understanding deeper level of indigenous influences in restorative justice origins and existing models.

Workshop description:

Native American and other indigenous nations worldwide are recovering, restoring, or increasing the use of traditional dispute resolution practices from their ancestors. The roots of the worldwide restorative justice movement can be seen more clearly when learning more of the philosophical background behind the practices of indigenous nations. The Indigenous Peacemaking Initiative (IPI)is decades-old project of the Native American Rights fund, a Denver-area based nonprofit law firm that has protected and advance Native American rights and resources for nearly 50 years. The IPI exists to support those efforts at cultural revitalization and recovery. Presenters will explain the focus of the Initiative, how it is guided by Native American experts, the philosophical and spiritual roots of indigenous practices, and how thinking in tribal communities and beyond is beginning to shift from adversarial models to more restorative modalities.  Finally, we will discuss how tribal communities are helping neighbors and allies to adopt similar, but appropriate, models for justice as well.

Presenters of this workshop include: Brett Lee Shelton, Hon. Cheryl Demmert Fairbanks, and Hon. David Raasch