Pubdate: Fri, 03 Feb 2006 Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN) http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/news/forum/story.html?id=0fd2d10a-b59a-408f-9032-5d69202b1c54 Copyright: 2006 The StarPhoenix Contact: http://www.canada.com/saskatoon/starphoenix/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/400 Author: Doug Cuthand CRIME CRISIS SPURS QUEST FOR TRADITIONAL ANSWERS When a serious crime was committed in a First Nations community, by tradition the elders would meet and debate the nature of the crime and what punishment was required. If it were a murder or serious threat to the camp's safety, the punishment would be banishment. In the past, banishment was the same as a death warrant. The country was a dangerous place, with wolf packs, plains grizzlies and marauding war parties. A person on his own without a horse or weapon had a very short future ahead of him. Then, it was all about survival. If someone was a threat to the survival of the tribe, they had to be dealt with. The safety of the group came first and there was no chance for appeal. The use of banishment as a punishment and deterrent is still being raised from time to time. The court sentenced William Taylor from the Lac La Ronge First Nation to an island a few years go, but the Crown appealed and he had to spend some jail time. Banishment has been used unofficially for years. I know of at least one incident where a murder was committed and the perpetrators were told by the band council to stay off the reserve. But can banishment be used as a punishment? There are legal questions as to whether this punishment could withstand the test of a challenge under Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Besides, does a band council have the legal right to ban people from their homeland? There is even talk of one band revoking an individual's membership in the First Nation, but this would be a slippery slope that could lead to disaster. Removing someone from a community is one thing, but striking that person from the band's roll is much more serious. Yet this is what banishment really was. Then there is the practical matter of enforcing the banishment. Reserves are porous places with many roads and entrances. A person who is determined to visit friends and family could become a major headache for local police. There is also the question of how severe a punishment it might be. For some people being banished from the reserve might not be a deterrent because they can simply move to the city and continue their destructive lifestyle. Banishment is regarded as a last resort and there is no concession to rehabilitation or restorative justice. It's a traditional sentence that considers the welfare of the community first. Statistics show that First Nations communities -- both urban and rural -- have high crime rates, and what many people fail to realize that this means our people are victims of crime at a rate much higher than the rest of the population. This raises the issue of a First Nations justice system. Our leaders are facing a crisis in their communities as law and order becomes more of an issue. In most cases justice is administered off the reserve and the lawbreakers are sentenced to federal or provincial jails, which are little more than residential schools for criminal activity. Jail has become a subculture and for many doing a "bit in the joint" is just a part of life. Clearly the present system isn't working. Our rates of incarceration continue to increase and, if the new federal government has its way, we will see 14-year-olds tried in adult court and sentenced to adult jails. Our First Nations are in crisis. Law and order has been administered by outside agencies and reserves are increasingly seen as sanctuaries from the law. Drug dealing, domestic violence and gang activity are making First Nations harder and harder to govern. One of the roots of this problem is that First Nations people have lost control over their lives, a situation brought on by colonialism. The Indian Act, the residential schools and the welfare mentality all took away the control that we need over our lives. That loss of control results in dysfunctional communities, and this in turn manifests itself in disrespect for the law. People with no stake in a society tend to exist on its fringes, and outside the constraints of the law. First Nations that are reaching back to traditional methods of control and punishment are looking for answers within their cultural base. This may be controversial but it is an essential step in the development of First Nations law and government. We need to look within our communities for answers and deal with the alarming rate of crime particularly among our young people.