The Canadian TRC is a process that is taking place in several cities in Canada including Winnipeg. The main purpose is to discuss residential schools. I arrived just after the process ended its Winnipeg stage. Interestingly, the weather was sunny before and after but stormy throughout the proceedings. Some say it was symbolic of the tears pouring.
However, there are several people staying on the CMU campus where I am at. They are working on a similar project called Restoring the Spirit. They are discussing the victims. I had an discussion about how the victimized tell a story about themselves and then become the 'victim.' Their work here was to work with the victimized on 'restoring the spirit' and help them move forward. There are Cree people, Native Americans from the US, and others from around the World. I met a South African Man who works on a Cree reservation.
I have spent a lot of time with one Cree woman, Lorraine. I sat down next to her at breakfast on Monday because I did not know anyone else. We have continued to talk. Last night, we spoke for 2-3 hours. She remarked at what a good listener I am. It is easy to listen to her. She has so much to share and I have so much to learn. We spoke about spirituality and colonialism.
We also spoke about the role of science and GMOs in our world. She heard a Cree, female scientist speak of what is going on in science as a dark or bad spirit. I have been struggling with my views of science and what it means for the world. I also feel that science is not this infallible process. People are involved in the process and thus, there is space for human bias and error. It has been hard to articulate these thoughts and I truly appreciated her view on the subject.
She remarked that it seemed like we were meant to meet and like she had known me before. It has been a powerful experience meeting her and I am sad that she leaves Wednesday. I hope to stay in touch and perhaps visit her on the Cree reservation.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Canadian School of Peacebuilding- Day 1
Having Howard Zehr teach this course is an amazing opportunity. I used to think of him as the theoretician. But he said that it was really practice first and theory later. He also discussed being able to handle the ambiguity and paradox that goes with restorative justice. I really appreciated this because I think I have been worried with this a lot.
People and life is more gray than black and white. It is also so damaging to have the labels of victim and offender. There also seem to be more advocates for victims. Yet, the access to offender is more structured. According to many of the Canadians at the course, there seem to be more programs oriented towards the offenders because they are more accessible in this way. People also hypothesized that volunteers do not want to work with victims because it is harder emotionally. I feel that there is a stigma created against prisoners that would create fear and a hurdle towards working with this population as well. To me, it seems like there are more American programs working with victims such as the Safehouse in Boulder that works with women.
Another thought is about the layers of a crime. There are the people directly involved: victim and offender. But, there are also all of their family members. I think we tend to forget about the family members of the offenders especially. People in jail have children who are living without a parent. They have brothers and sisters.
We watched a video on the Mural Art Program in Philadelphia. This program created a mural with prisoners and victims. I was surprised when the original vision on one mural shifted to be two murals. The victims and victim advocates did not feel that the prisoners' design reflected the experience of the victims. At first, I thought that two separate murals would make for two competing view points. However, these separate murals made the similarities easier to discern. For example, in both murals, there were people raising their hands to the air as if to ask "Why?"
The victim's journey (above) and the inmate's journey (below)
Victims and Offenders are dealing with similar emotions of fear, confusion, and anger. Even using the words "victim" and "offender" is extremely problematic and works to divide people and experiences. How do you bridge these constructions of difference?
People and life is more gray than black and white. It is also so damaging to have the labels of victim and offender. There also seem to be more advocates for victims. Yet, the access to offender is more structured. According to many of the Canadians at the course, there seem to be more programs oriented towards the offenders because they are more accessible in this way. People also hypothesized that volunteers do not want to work with victims because it is harder emotionally. I feel that there is a stigma created against prisoners that would create fear and a hurdle towards working with this population as well. To me, it seems like there are more American programs working with victims such as the Safehouse in Boulder that works with women.
Another thought is about the layers of a crime. There are the people directly involved: victim and offender. But, there are also all of their family members. I think we tend to forget about the family members of the offenders especially. People in jail have children who are living without a parent. They have brothers and sisters.
We watched a video on the Mural Art Program in Philadelphia. This program created a mural with prisoners and victims. I was surprised when the original vision on one mural shifted to be two murals. The victims and victim advocates did not feel that the prisoners' design reflected the experience of the victims. At first, I thought that two separate murals would make for two competing view points. However, these separate murals made the similarities easier to discern. For example, in both murals, there were people raising their hands to the air as if to ask "Why?"
The victim's journey (above) and the inmate's journey (below)
Victims and Offenders are dealing with similar emotions of fear, confusion, and anger. Even using the words "victim" and "offender" is extremely problematic and works to divide people and experiences. How do you bridge these constructions of difference?
Intro to the Blog
I am attending the Canadian School of Peacebuilding (CSOP) at the Canadian Mennonite University (CMU). CSOP is a 3 week program featuring courses that each run for a week. I am here for the last week of CSOP (June 28-July 2) and am taking "International Perspectives on Restorative Justice." The course is taught by Howard Zehr who essentially wrote the book on Restorative Justice or RJ.
This blog is entitled Mindy On RJ because I hope to continue this experience in Canada. I already volunteer with CU RJ or the Restorative Justice Program at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
I also traveled to South Africa in May 2009 with the Norlin Scholars from CU and learned about Reconciliation and Diversity. I am finding that international experiences make learning about this subject easier. Also, I am constantly searching to apply these thoughts to my local community.
I hope you enjoy this blog and feel free to ask questions of me and yourselves about how we view justice in our lives, communities, country and the world.
This blog is entitled Mindy On RJ because I hope to continue this experience in Canada. I already volunteer with CU RJ or the Restorative Justice Program at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
I also traveled to South Africa in May 2009 with the Norlin Scholars from CU and learned about Reconciliation and Diversity. I am finding that international experiences make learning about this subject easier. Also, I am constantly searching to apply these thoughts to my local community.
I hope you enjoy this blog and feel free to ask questions of me and yourselves about how we view justice in our lives, communities, country and the world.
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