Elders' sentences help keep youth in line

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When the youth of Wabasca-Demarais break the law, they get charged and appear in court just like anywhere else.

And just like anywhere else, if they plead guilty, they get what's coming to them. But for the past 15 months, it hasn't been a judge who metes out the punishment.

Five leaders of the largely Native community northeast of Slave Lake have been handling that job. And according to all reports, whatever they're doing is working.

"Everyone concerned believes that it's because of the Youth Justice Committee," said Raymond Yellowknee, an adviser to the elder's group.

The way for this type of community-based system of justice was paved by Provincial Court Judge Clayton Spence. Spence is committed to accepting the committee's sentencing recommendations, because he knows what came before wasn't working.

There was a serious lack of respect for decisions of the court among young offenders, much as there is in many communities. That trend seems to have been reversed with the elders now playing the role of judge.

Yellowknee said a key component of the program is reconnecting the youth with traditional Native practices and values. Respect for elders, especially grandparents, was

a cornerstone of traditional aboriginal society, he said. And he sees that dynamic coming into play in the relationship between the elders and offenders.

"My feeling is the youth never considered what they were doing was wrong. When they have to speak up to the elders, and justify their reasons, they can't do it."

Each youth and at least one of his or her parents attends an interview with the committee. The elders question the offender's motivation and also probe the relationship with his or her father and grandfather. The reason, said Yellowknee, is that many youths don't have one and the lack of connection to paternal authority is one of the main causes of bad behavior.

So they may sentence a youth to work for or with a grandparent chopping wood, hunting or repairing fences. Orders to apologize to the victims of assaults or property offences are also often handed down, said Yellowknee.

One youth was given an order to apologize and do so many hours of work for the same man.

"I saw him later and he came running up to me and told me, 'I apologized to that guy yesterday!' It seemed like one of the few positive things that had happened in his life."

Sentences to spend time with an older relative hunting or trapping are also popular.

"They're trying to give them a look at what life was like years ago. I believe we'll see more of that," said Yellowknee.

That may sound soft, but the committee is not afraid to recommend a youth be sent away for alcohol treatment, if they think other measures won't work. Judge Spence thinks the committee's recommendations are appropriate. And as he points out, crime

is down, and that's what counts.

The success of the program has not gone unnoticed. So far, five delegations from other Alberta communities have come to Wabasca for first-hand information. Two members of the Alexander reserve west of Edmonton came and sat in on one of the elders' offender interviews, "a big plus for them," Yellowknee said.

Groups from Morley, Hobbema, High Level and Lac La Biche are also considering following Wabasca's example. Spence has heard from judges in other communities, asking how the program works. Crime in Fort Chipewyan is "down across the board" in the year-and-a-half since a community group took over sentencing young offenders there. In Anzac, near Fort McMurray, a community-based sentencing group has been up and running for about four months now.

Yellowknee sees a trend developing in Native communities across the country, hand-in-hand with the movement toward Native self-government. Justice by elders' committee is the answer, he believes, not having more Native judges.

"I think if we keep going like this, the next step will be to handle all cases," he said.