These podcasts are fantastic. The content is interesting; they feature Indigenous musicians; and the speakers are brilliant.
I was searching for some more information on Nikki Iyolo and Nancy Turner and both were interviewed for the Raven (De)Briefs podcast. It’s a really fascinating mix of law, the environment, contemporary issues, and Indigenous perspectives. In the Season 2, episode 7 podcast, they speak with Judge John Reilly, an Alberta judge who advocates for Indigenous legal frameworks and restorative justice circles. He’s the author of Bad Law: Rethinking Justice for a Postcolonial Canada, and in the podcast they talk about criminalized Indigenous peoples and the Indigenous populations in Canadian prisons. According to the Podcast, Indigenous peoples represent 5% of the overall population in Canada but 30% of the incarcerated peoples in Canada. Reilly talks about the deep flaws of the Canadian legal system, systemic discrimination, and the value of restorative circles. He committed to learning about the community with whom he worked, and engaging with his local Indigenous community (Treaty 7, Canmore), changed his perception of the Canadian legal system. He talks about how the legal system ignores emotions and systematically discriminates against Indigenous people and resolutions that might be more effective. One quote that really stuck out to me was: “we sacrifice human lives on the alter of deterrence,” (Reilly, 19:07).
In some ways, I think Western education has many of the same problems. Curriculum often values the colonialist worldview and we push punishment over restorative practices. We penalize people for not following the rules or laws, and don’t often offer opportunities to demonstrate learning afterwards (e.g., hand in a paper for a MET class and that’s it– no chances to revise and resubmit). I’ve been wondering lately how many adult learners leave my institution because they don’t get those opportunities. That practice doesn’t reflect our realities. If I make a mistake or miss something at work, that’s a learning opportunity. Shouldn’t education operate the same way?
Reilly, J. (2019). Bad Law: Rethinking Justice for a Postcolonial Canada. Rocky Mountain Books Ltd.