• Index of Digital Reading Room
• Search

1. Home
2. INST
3. INST 348: Aboriginal Justice (Rev. C2 & C3)

INST 348: Aboriginal Justice (Rev. C2 & C3) Report a Broken Link

It has long been recognized that Indigenous people make up a disproportionately large segment of the prison population in Canada. In this course, we discuss the reasons for this over-representation and some of the strategies Indigenous nations and communities are developing to address it.

Unit 1: Aboriginal Peoples’ Over-representation in the Criminal Justice System

Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. (1996). Bridging the cultural divide: A report on Aboriginal people and criminal justice in Canada.    Read Introduction (pp. 1–11) Chapter 1, Aboriginal Concepts of Law and Justice—The Historical Realities (pp. 12–25) Chapter 2, Current Realities (pp. 26–81) ​Note that this document may be slow downloading.

Frideres, J., & Gadacz, R. (2001).  Aboriginal people and the Canadian justice system. In Aboriginal peoples in Canada: Contemporary conflicts (6th ed.) (pp. 125–144). Toronto ON: Prentice Hall.

Unit 2: Canadian Justice

Mandamin, L., Callihoo, D., Angus, A., & Buller, M. (1992). The criminal code and Aboriginal people. University of British Columbia Law Review, Special Edition, 5–39.  Read pages 5–39 of the Special Edition. As of June 2025, we are experiencing access issues with the HeinOnline database. While we work on resolving this issue, a temporary username and password have been provided for use by staff and students. For now, please follow the login and password instructions here to access HeinOnline. With this, you can search the database for your source.

Zimmerman, S. (1992). The revolving door of despair: Aboriginal involvement in the Canadian justice system. University of British Columbia Law Review, Special Edition, 367–426.   Read pages 367–426 of the Special Edition.

Unit 3: Aboriginal People and the Police

Sarich, A. (1993). Report on the Cariboo-Chilcotin Justice Inquiry (pp. 12–41, 44). Victoria BC: Province of British Columbia.  Reproduced with permission.

Unit 4: Gendered Differences

Hamilton, A.C., & Sinclair, C.M. (1999). Aboriginal women [Chapter 13]. In Report of the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry of Manitoba. Volume 1: The justice system and Aboriginal people . Winnipeg MB: Government of Manitoba.  Read pages 475–509. Aboriginal Justice Implementation Commission Website: http://www.ajic.mb.ca/

McGillivray, A., & Comaskey, B. (2000). “Everybody had black eyes”: Intimate violence, Aboriginals and the justice system [Chapter 3]. In Proulx, J., & Perrault, S. (Eds.), No place for violence: Canadian aboriginal alternatives. Halifax NS: Fernwood Publising and RESOLVE (Research and Education for Solutions to Violence and Abuse).  Read pages  39–57.

Unit 5: Racism and the Criminal Justice System

Goulding, W. (2001). Did anybody notice? In Just another Indian: A serial killer and Canada's indifference (pp. 209–219). Calgary AB: Fifth House.

Unit 6: The Sentencing of Aboriginal People

Hamilton, A.C., & Sinclair, C.M. (1999). Alternatives to incarceration [Chapter 10]. In Report of the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry of Manitoba. Volume 1: The justice system and Aboriginal people. Winnipeg MB: Government of Manitoba. Read pages 389–430. Aboriginal Justice Implementation Commission Website: http://www.ajic.mb.ca/

Unit 8: Improving the Canadian Criminal Justice System

Mallet, K., Bent, K., & Josephson, W. (2000). Aboriginal Ganootamaage Justice Services of Winnipeg (AGJSW) [Chapter 4]. In Proulx, J., & Perrault, S. (Eds.), No place for violence: Canadian aboriginal alternatives. Halifax: Fernwood Publising and RESOLVE (Research and Education for Solutions to Violence and Abuse).  Read pages  58–77.

Hamilton, A.C. (2001). Healing lodges. In A feather, not a gavel: Working towards Aboriginal justice (pp. 301–312). Winnipeg MB: Great Plains Publications.

Unit 9: Justice as Self-determination

Warry, W. (1998). Visions of community healing [Chapter 6]. In Unfinished dreams: Community healing and the reality of Aboriginal self-government. Toronto ON: University of Toronto Press.  Read pages 205–242, 274–275. (If using the search box at the top the aligning page numbers are: 218-255, 287-288.)

Hamilton, A.C. (2001). Parallel justice system [Chapter 10]. In A feather, not a gavel: Working towards Aboriginal justice (pp. 189–197). Winnipeg MB: Great Plains Publications.

Hamilton, A.C. (2001). Jurisdiction [Chapter 11]. In A feather, not a gavel: Working towards Aboriginal justice (pp. 198–205). Winnipeg MB: Great Plains Publications.