Peacemaking News

DWI court’s treatment program promotes Native culture   ALBUQUERQUE — Inside the busiest courthouse in New Mexico, Arnett Tafoya stood in the same courtroom where he had appeared numerous times after being charged last year with drunken driving. This time, things were different. There was cake on a table, and Bernalillo County Judge Maria Dominguez praised Tafoya for completing a regimented, court-run treatment program called the Urban Native American Healing to Wellness Court — the… Read More »DWI court’s treatment program promotes Native culture

Tribal courts have lessons for children’s courts, judges’ panel says   SANTA FE, N.M. — Peacemaking practices used in indigenous American cultures can have a place in courts dealing with child abuse and neglect within tribes and in nontribal courts, says a new national panel that includes two local judges. Read the full September 4, 2015, article at the Albuquerque Journal website.

When Justice Doesn’t Work: A NARF Attorney on Restoring the Circle Most Americans can turn to the courts for remedies to injustice. However, the mainstream justice system may not provide comfortable solutions, and sometimes isn’t even available, for Native people, said Brett Lee Shelton, an Oglala Lakota attorney with the Native American Rights Fund, a nonprofit law firm that has defended the rights of Indians and tribes for 45 years. Read the full May 29,… Read More »When Justice Doesn’t Work: A NARF Attorney on Restoring the Circle

Funding Opportunity: Safety and Justice Challenge (March 2015)   (FUNDING OPPORTUNITY)DUE DATE: March 31, 2015 The MacArthur Foundation has announced a five-year $75 million investment in a major new initiative called the Safety and Justice Challenge, to address over-incarceration by changing the way America thinks about and uses jails.   Core to the Challenge is a competition that will fund 20 jurisdictions working to reduce incarceration and improve the way their local criminal justice systems… Read More »Funding Opportunity: Safety and Justice Challenge (March 2015)

Natick Peace-making Circle Aims to Resolve Racial Tensions   Looking for a way to resolve the racial tensions in their own towns and beyond, around 25 people attended a peace-making circle at the Common Street Community Church Saturday afternoon. The exercise, according to leader Michelle Cromwell, is a “powerful mixture, elixir” of Native American tradition and more modern conflict resolution methods, and is intended to get participants to open up about their thoughts, fears and… Read More »Natick peace-making circle aims to resolve racial tensions

Funding Opportunity: Journalists and Writers Foundation’s Peace Projects FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DUE DATE: September 30, 2014 The Journalists and Writers Foundation’s Peace Projects is seeking proposals for conflict resolution and peacebuilding projects that support reconciliation and dialogue in communities experiencing conflict.

Aboriginal Person’s Court: ‘It’s a court that’s evolving’ Brantford’s Aboriginal Persons’ Court may be in its infancy but is already making a difference, says the judge who was the driving force behind the local court initiative that focuses on healing and rehabilitation of native offenders. “I think we’re seeing good results. It’s a court that’s evolving,” said Ontario Court Justice Gethin Edward. Read the full May 9, 2014, article at the Brantford Expositor website.