Afterword (Legal Information for Indigenous People: National Edition)

Our communities in the north central coast are isolated areas and we have limited access to lawyers. We have a 3-month Circuit Court that sits in the community to hear family, child protection and criminal matters. We can see family and criminal lawyers then and apply for Legal Aid.

We have restorative justice and legal advocacy in our communities to help meet our legal needs. Due to the isolation, we have developed our restorative justice program as an alternative to the criminal justice system, bringing together the victim, offender and some members of the community to discuss the effects of the crime. Everyone involved must agree to the meeting, at which they talk about the impact of the crime and how to address the harm that was done. We use mediation and conflict-resolution programs, family group conferences, victimimpact panels, victim–offender mediation, circle sentencing, and community reparative boards.

Each restorative justice program within BC is unique to the needs of their communities and is knowledgeable of the resources within their communities. The Heiltsuk Gvi’las Restorative Justice program is very broad and diverse, which serves the needs of our community. The program works for us because it is inclusive of Cultural accountability and has greater accountability to elders & leadership, family and selves. It encompasses our Heiltsuk Values and integrates the provincial court system laws.

In addition, we build relationships with educational and outreach programs within the Central Coast. For example, the Bella Coola Legal Advocacy Program has served many people in our communities through their 15 years of outreach here. The idea for this booklet comes from their work.

Legal Information for Indigenous People: National Edition provides a wealth of information and is an amazing guide. Our people can access this booklet as a navigation tool when legal problems happen. This booklet will serve the needs of northern and isolated people across the continent, where our access to information and legal supports is limited.

- Mary Brown, Coordinator, Heiltsuk Gvi'las Restorative Justice Program Bella Bella

Legal Information for Indigenous People: National Edition

Legal Information for Indigenous People: National Edition comes from the heart of the Bella Coola Valley and reaches across the continent to share basic legal information for Indigenous people and their advocates. Two years in the making, we crossed paths with many people doing justice work in their own communities who kindly:

• shared the legal issues they were seeing amongst their people
• shared resources they were using
• discussed justice education strategies
• offered to help us distribute this booklet in their own agencies and amongst their own people.

We are so thankful for this collaboration and for the time people shared with us. This resource couldn’t have happened without it.

© Copyright 2024, Bella Coola Legal Advocacy Program (BCLAP).