On Friday, September 13, 2002 the Commission on First Nations and Métis Peoples and Justice Reform held a roundtable on Research at Wanuskewin Heritage Park. In attendance were the Commissioners and staff plus invited guests from a wide range of service and government organizations. An open discussion was held throughout the day.

The purpose of the roundtable was to bring together leading authorities on the issue of First Nations and Métis justice to generate and share ideas with the Commissioners relating to justice reform. In return the Commissioners were to share what they have learned so far from the people of Saskatchewan and how they feel about the issues that have emerged. The only guideline in the discussion was that they look to the future, be broadly justice related and that they contribute to creating a healthy, just, prosperous and safe Saskatchewan.

• Programs do not look at the characteristics of an individual and match programs to their situation and consider the mix that can be combined to lead to the most successful outcome;
• This province locks up too many children and youth and another model that does not use corrections to control children and youth is needed;
• The issue of economics/poverty needs to be dealt with. Food and shelter need to be available before a family can look to the future. If it isn’t, people will look at alternative ways of getting the basic survival necessities, usually through crime;
• Obviously the justice system is experienced differently by Inuit, Métis, and First Nation people across Canada than it is by the rest of the population;
• The system of justice has ignored that every Indian, Métis or Inuit that comes before the court has constitutional rights that need to be vigorously enforced;
• Once a person has done their time in jail, and turned their life around, gone back to school, and now want to work in the institutional setting, they are unable to do so. Criminal record checks keep many Aboriginal people from working at jobs in which they have experience, due to a criminal record;

• Before you can call a program a success you need to clearly define what the goals of the program are; what are the measures of effectiveness; how do we know that things are working; what are you trying to achieve in the program;
• A combination of conventional psychotherapeutic approaches and traditional approaches seems to be the best model;
• North Dakota has a program that avoids "institutionalizing" youth, rather they put them into "schools" giving them a community;
• Decent apprenticeship programs, mentorship;
• Supporting families within communities;
• Programs with stable funding that revolve around repairing relationships, addressing harms, and fostering healthy, safe, respectful sort of interactions;
• Use volunteers from the communities in a responsible, respectful manner, do not burn them out. Value their skills, background and experience they bring to programs;
• Successful programs in communities are where outside resources listen to the communities and help them achieve what they need;
• Tu Tangata program in New Zealand that works within the education system reacts to juvenile crime and drug use and is extremely effective in reducing juvenile crime.

• Better follow-up services with respect to traditional healing once a person leaves the controlled setting of an institution. We need to go back to the values and principles of our cultures and listen to the elders;
• Through bringing to the attention of those providing correctional interventions, a greater sensitivity about the individual differences and backgrounds of the participants in programs;
• Education and health need to become integrated with the justice system as a lot of the trouble that kids get into start in schools; their inability, or the school’s inability, to adjust to them plus the epidemic of ill health in young people;
• Through empowering community; by using the healing projects that are out there – use a holistic perspective;
• Involving Elders in the schools, institutions, community centres to help heal families;
• By providing support to sustain mentorship programs, provide training for support workers who face the challenges in the communities;
• By creating partnerships between the provincial & federal governments, along with First Nations & Métis governments. Using this partnership to build relationships to strengthen supports within the community;
• To move forward in the justice system, if you want to get someplace in 25 or 30 years, you need to know the places that we would like to be in two years, in four years, etc. There needs to be short term steps in order to achieve long term goals;
• Aboriginal Attorney General to direct the defense of the constitutional rights of Aboriginal Peoples;
• Communities should be viewed on a needs-based assessment remembering to incorporate a holistic approach;
• Build on the success already out in the Communities like Hollow Water, Manitoba;
• Educate – through education people can learn about the different ways and values and develop respect for each other. "Change the thinking"

• Traditional teachings in institutions are key in changing behaviour;
• Youth need to feel a part of society, they need a positive self-image and a sense of belonging that positive role models such as elders can give them;
• In the traditional system of the Church there is a rigid role model that doesn’t tolerate deviance and this structure helps turn kids around;
• In the Muslim tradition it brings in the strength of the family, religious adherence, and values.

• The Commission needs to look at their focus as being on the achievable versus the ideal;
• The Commission needs to be conscious of the roadblocks when dealing with the bureaucracy as well as in the political system. These people are going to be responsible for implementing the recommendations of this Commission. The Commission cannot be seen as working in isolation, it needs the support of its partners;
• Research needs to take an interdisciplinary approach for it to be meaningful to the Commission’s work;
• The Commission should look at having a peer review panel for potential research projects and another peer review panel of the results. A process should be put into place where several experts in the field look over the proposed research you are doing and make sure it matches the standards that should be there;
• To attempt to match a program with the needs of a Community, you should in collaboration with the community, look at a bottom up approach based on the needs, the culture, the resources and the goals;
• The Commission needs to put forward successes and how they can be incorporated into Saskatchewan by using various methodologies available to each specific community. An example of this is the Won Ska Cultural School in Battleford;
• The Commission needs to demonstrate to the people who want to build more jails how positive change can be made and still create a safer, better society and reduce the need for incarceration;
• You need to find political "Champions" who feel the recommendations of this Commission are worthwhile and will push to get them done.