Circle Peacemaking is a style of dispute resolution that brings together wrongdoers, families, victims, leaders, community members, and service providers to discuss the situation and to decide as a group what an appropriate sentence should be. It is a very therapeutic and restorative approach to justice. It is especially well-suited in addressing substance abuse associated crimes.
Circle Peacemaking
3 Types of Circles:
This manual describes the history of the Kake Circle Peacemaking and provides step-by step guidance for determining whether this approach is right for your community and the practical steps necessary to make it happen. The appendices include forms and the more routine documents necessary for success.
The purpose of this Code is to provide policies and guidance for the KK Government to an active role in providing for the health, safety, and welfare of the Kake people, to preserve and strengthen family ties whenever possible, to protect and preserve tribal heritage and cultural identity of the persons within the Tribe’s jurisdiction, and to promote cooperation with the Tribe by other courts and agencies in fulfilling the purposes of this Code.
Circle Peacemaking
The Circle is administered at the Tribal Courthouse in Old Town Kenai and serves different purposes, but most simply is a place where people come to have important or difficult discussions in a good way. The tribe has operated the program since the mid-2000s.
This handbook serves as a general guide to the process followed for Tribal Circles conducted by the Kenaitze Indian Tribe, Kenai, Alaska. Some of the policies and procedures will be changed or modified as we strive to serve the needs of everyone involved in the process.
Learn the Kenaitze Tribal Court Procedures regarding the Traditional Conflict Resolution Program (TCRP) also known as Ts’iłq’u Circle.
Native American Rights Fund
We can provide technical assistance with designing peacemaking courts, developing culturally specific frameworks, and drafting peacemaking laws.
View and access full resources relating to:
Learn the steps of how to refer a case to the Restorative Justice Program.
A comprehensive list of all Tribal Justice Systems in Alaska.
Circle Sentencing, Circle Peacemaking, Restorative Justice Circles:
Restorative justice circles, circle peacemaking, or circle sentencing as it might be called, is a restorative justice initiative that includes community members in designing fair and appropriate sentences.
This is a RurAL CAP affiliated program.
The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, which also includes: The Bureau of Justice Statistics, The National Institute of Justice, The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, The Office for Victims of Crime, and the SMART Office.
Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
