Potlatch justice

Abstract

The Indigenous origins of restorative justice practices have been acknowledged and debated extensively in restorative justice literature. Few studies, however, have examined how sovereign Indigenous communities navigate restoring and creating restorative justice practices. Utilizing extensive interviews with Tribal members and officials, this study analyzes how contemporary restorative practices are framed in a cultural and historical context. The experiences of the tribes on the Southern Oregon coast, the ancestral home of the Coos, Coquille, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians, have strong parallels to the larger processes of colonization that occurred throughout the United States. Faced with children being ‘lost’ to the mainstream justice system, and disruption to the recognition of their status as sovereign nations, these Tribes created a Peacegiving court. A specific cultural practice—potlatch—has come to symbolize for many Tribal members the underpinning philosophy of their own approach to justice. In a small, rural coastal town on the westernmost edge of the continental United States, an ethos of ‘potlatch justice’ is being used to both assert sovereignty and strengthen community bonds. Rather than simply describing yet another restorative practice, this article argues that restorative practices can be essential elements to restoring culture and sovereignty to Indigenous communities.