On March 4, our team arrived in Goose Bay, Labrador, to spend two and
a half months working with the Innu communities of Sheshatshiu and
Davis Inlet. Anne Harrison from England and Muriel Meric from France
are researching structural violence as experienced by the Innu,
particularly the impact of the judicial system.
As little as 35 years ago, the Innu were still nomadic hunter-
gatherers. Since being settled into villages, the Innu have seen the
social collapse that is so familiar to Native communities throughout
North America. In the last few years, Innu have begun to try and
rebuild their lives, and have made huge strides forward in reducing
the amount of alcohol and substance abuse. But an increased openness
in that area has promoted openness in other areas, and there have been
a large number of disclosures about sexual abuse and assault, cases
both recent and in the distant past.
Some Innu are searching for a way to deal with these matters that will
promote healing and reconciliation. They do not recognise punishment
as an adequate or culturally appropriate way of dealing with people
who have committed crimes. They also say that because there are only
two Innu communities in Labrador, people returning from prison usually
come back to the same community and bring their anger and frustration
with them. So the healing of the individual is vital for the healing
of the community. At the same time, there is also concern within the
community that the needs of the victim could be lost by over-
concentration on the needs of the offender.
{Photo of meeting. Caption: Innu Nation, provincial government and
federal government representatives meet to negotiate alternative
justice programmes.}
One alternative being proposed is called the Justice Diversion
Programme, whereby the community would take responsibility for the
offender in assaultcases, and, working with the police, social
workers, and courts, try to reconcile the victim and the offender and
find a means of restitution without resorting to prison. This
programme is under negotiation with the provincial and federal
governments. There seems to be an openness to looking for more
culturally appropriate means of dealing with Innu offenders, and an
appreciation of how far the Innu communities have come in their own
healing.
The Country Treatment Programme
Another interesting development is the Country Treatment Programme.
This is a six week programme for families that is run by Innu
counsellors in the country. Part of the time is spent in the
traditional way, hunting and gathering, and part is spent in group,
family and individual counselling. The pilot programme that took place
last fall worked with 6 families, and was very successful.
{Photo: Innu elders from Sheshatshiu}
Over the past years, many people from the Innu communities have been
sent out to alcohol treatment centres. The Country Treatment Programme
is seen as a step forward, not only because it is run by the Innu
themselves in their own language, but also because it makes use of the
healing qualities of traditional Innu life. Elders from the community
have worked alongside the counsellors to plan and execute the
programme, and they teach traditional skills to participants who may
not have spent much time in the country.
Challenging Jurisdiction
At the same time as they are looking for more effective ways of
dealing with crime in their community, the Innu are also challenging
the Canadian government's right of jurisdiction over the Innu people.
They point out that the Innu have never signed any treaties with
Canada, nor fought any wars. This part of their struggle was vocalised
during the trial of three Innu women from Davis Inlet: Chief Katie
Rich, Justine Noah, a tribal police officer, and Nympha Byrne, a
former Justice of the Peace. The women were charged with contempt of
court, arising from the removal of the judge and RCMP from Davis Inlet
in December 1993.
The women defended themselves in court by arguing that theirs was a
political act by citizens of a sovereign Innu nation and that Canada
does not have jurisdiction over them. They refused to turn up for
court, and were arrested in Davis Inlet on a warrant and flown to
Goose Bay to be tried. They have also refused to sign the usual
undertaking that they will return to court for the continuation of the
trial, and were held in jail awaiting the summation of the lawyers and
sentencing. On April 28 the case went to trial and the judge found
them guilty, but they were all sentenced to time that had already been
served and then were released on the same day.
There has been a great deal of progress in Davis Inlet since the judge
was removed. Innu Nation and the RCMP have signed a policing agreement
that sets out a more holistic policing policy for the community, with
an emphasis on crime prevention and community healing. It also gives
more powers to the Innu tribal police officers, who no longer have to
automatically pass on cases to the RCMP. Some people believe that the
agreement would never have come about had it not been for the stand
that the three women made.
The women all made powerful and moving statements explaining their
actions.
Katie Rich: "There are many problems given to the Innu. All agencies
in the community are controlled by outside forces. Innu have become
beggars in our own land, the resources taken from the land haven't
come back to us... No-one listens to us. The action I took was
needed... When we try to stand up for ourselves and correct the
wrongs, we end up in court, we are branded as criminals. I don't see
myself as a criminal. I did what I had to do.
Once, I had a Canadian flag in my room, but when I realised that these
were the same people that treated my people like this, I swore I'd
work for my people. I'm not ashamed of what I did. I've told my
children that if the court sends me to prison, I'll be willing to make
that sacrifice."
{Photo: Peter Penashue consults with Justine Noah, Nympha Byrne and
Katie Rich, in court for challenging provincial jurisdiction over Innu
justice.}
Nympha Byrne: "My people are always being pushed round. We're like
puppets to the government... When I hold my baby and my kids, I feel
really good, and that same feeling came when I was there for my people
(when they removed the judge).
I learnt a lot in the country. The land is like our grandmother. When
a child is hurting, you just hold it. That's how I feel about the
land. We just go out and are there with the land. When the people are
hurting I want to be able to be there with them too...
Everything has to be signed. In our culture we don't sign anything. I
don't understand your system, your policies. I signed papers as
Justice of the Peace but I didn't know what they were. I don't know
the queen. I had no choice."
The Work of the Team
Until now, the team has been looking at the situation from an Innu
perspective. In the coming weeks we will be interviewing judges,
prosecution and defence lawyers, officials and staff of the prison
service, and people from victim services, social services and the
legal advice department. We also plan to travel to Davis Inlet to
conduct interviews there, and to attend a community meeting with
Provincial Chief Judge Luther. This meeting will be a prelude to
returning the court to the community.
On the surface, it could appear that the situation in this community,
alcoholism, unemployment, domestic violence, are similar to those
found in many isolated communities in North America. However, as has
been said to us, the source of the problem is different, and therefore
the solution must be different. We are encouraged to see that the
agencies involved are beginning to recognise this, and we have been
pleased by the positive reception that PBI has received from all those
we have met.