D$ning'l'raclitivnl I Iulittl
Traditional Healers say that much of what they do involves sorting out jumble of disorder that they find in and around the patient. The disorder many causes, but primarily it is caused by not living life in a good way, -job of the Healer, simply put, is to help reorder the elements of the per-
Defi ning Traditional Healing Gloria Lee
and ro explain why and how disorder occurred. The Healer then explains
to ensure that the illness does not return.
The Approach of
taditional
Iramilies turned to a Healer when they determined that an illness was an
Healingr
ian' illness:
The four elemenrs of the person are the spiritual, emotional, physical, arr.l mental. Disease or bodily ailment is traditionally viewed as the physical marr i , festation of a weakness-a symptom of something deeper. Th. *"rkr"..
When people discuss a particular case of illness, identifying the probable cause was often a central topic. Indeed, when the cause of a particular illness was not readily apparer't, individuals would
may come from the spiritual, emorional, or psychological aspects of a persorr. when a person is affiicted with a disease, the tradition al view is that rhc
commonly note that the illness'-just didnt occur for no reason." In
disease exists ro offer the individual a reaching. The teaching
conversations about serious or complex cases, several difi[erent expla-
will ultimatcly be about onesel{, but the person may choose to deal only with the physi.,,r manifestation of rhe v7s2kns55-ghe symprom-and not ad.dress its roor, ll
nations may be discussed.2
the person chooses to rrear only the symprom and ignores the teachi,g th:rr is being offered, then the disease will return. Physical manifestatiorls nr.r), conrinue ro appear until the individual acceprs rhe teaching.
L)nderstanding the cause of an illness or some observable behavior was
The weakness is caused by our being our of balance or out of cenrcr, ;r rr t I there can be many reasons for being out of balance. These reasons *ray irr
"
lndian" illnesses are those which can be explained by reference to
ir
potentially observable event. These include such things
volve,
for
example, working too much in one area, overworking
being too greedy, or wanting too
o,
thc-j.,1,,
much-in
other words, not rn r r,,, "tte.rding many parrs of ourselves, our lives, and our families in a balanced w:ry. I f' rv,, do not pay amention to all these aspects, then we will become unbalrrr,.,,,l,
That is when an illness may appear to remind us thar we areoverlo.kirrl, some area. we may also become out of balance when we do not reccivt. r lr, appropriare teachings from our Elders. This happens when a Firsr N;rri.rr':, culture has been hidden to prorecr it from total loss. There are traditional ways of dealing with illnesses. With thc sLr[)l)()r.r ( ]l Elders and rhe assisrance of Healers and Elder appre nticcs, wc c:ur lirr.l r1,,. right healing for an illness and an explanation for why ir h:rpl.rcnccl irr r lr.. lr r r.r If we ignore this explanation and contirrr-rc with thc s:rrrrc l.,clr:rvi,,r.,,, activity that is said to have causecl tl.rc illrrcss, thcrr rlrc illrrcss will 1cllr.rr 1,,, calrsc w" conrinu.c to bc our of b:rlarrcc, Ilcirrq otrt o['[r:rlryr..t. lr;r1r1rt.r11; \,11,.1s cvcr wc lr:rvc rrot livc.l :r'i-;rrtlirl" lile. place,
nt in finding the appropriate treatment:
I il,'t t,r I tt
colds,
posure to excessive cold, or to being overheated and catching a chill;
iurd stomach aches or diarrhea that come from overeatingl'3
A Healer can determine if these physical manifestations rr
are actually due
spirimal or emotional imbalance; this is part of the diagnosis.
L,lrrtlerstanding healing begins with the Elders and what they have to
which comes from the Creator. Because tradidonal healing is within us, we are all capable of healing ourselves. Sometimes, though, we rlrc hcll', and supporr of orhers, such as Elders, Healers, and helpers. lrcgir-rs with one's own center, For this reason, we are ultimately refor our own well-being.a
t,l
tr',rrlit iorr;rl :r[)[]11)'lch ro hc,rling is reflected in Aboriginal discussions I
lr,'
rr
r,':r rr irrq
ol' ju srii'c. Ilor cx:rrnlrlc, thc Reporf
rr/ A lrlttlo/rrl sl.rt t s: )l{
as
Itvers, and respiratory infections, like bronchitis, attributed to ex-
o-f
the
AboriginalJustice
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.oo
L)c.fining'litlitiott'tl I lL,tlttt.r'
Cloria Lee
cation to the Creator, or as some would call it, a faith or religion from which to follow. These various religions are considered gifts to mankind and are to be rreated with respect by all. Therefore, for one nation to denounce or show disrespect to another faith is, in essence, committing an act of disrespect to the Creato r, everr though it is done unintentionally. Once we, as a Nation of people, begin to
The dominant sociery rries to conrrol acrions it considers porenrially or actually harmful ro society as a whole, to individuals or to the wrongdoers themselves by interdiction, enforcement or apprehension. . . . The emphasis is on the punishment of rhe deviant as a means of making that person conform, or as a means of protecting other members of society. The purpose of a justice system in an Aboriginal society is to restore the peace and equilibrium within rhe community, andto rec-
acknowledge the existence of one Creator, a teaching of respect for
mankind emerges.
Ifone chooses to accept or acknowledge this concept, one can
oncile the accused with his or her own conscience and with the individual or family who has been wronged. This is a primary difference. It is a difference rhar significantly challenges the appropriateness of the present legal system for Aboriginal people in the resolurion of conflict, the reconciliation and the maintenance of community harmony and good orders.5
easily see that our culturg customs, and traditions were also pro-
vided to us by the Creator. We are told that our culture is based on the natural law and that the natural law is connected to the natural universe. Long ago our ancestors had a clear understanding of the
sible for all of Creation. Tl-ris of course includes all narions, regard-
natural law and they understood how all things were interconnected. It was understood by our ancestors that when one walked with disrespecr, their own spirit paid with retribution. Even by insulting the smallest child, one insulted their own spirit. Such acts were considered an abuse or violadon of the natural law and the individual was obligated to correct the wrongdoing through service to mankind. We have been told that such teachings have not been a part of our people, as a nation, for several hundred years. This is not to suggest rhat natural law has diminished, for the natural law is constant and does not change. Rather, our own understanding and practice of the natural 1aw as a whole nation has diminished. This is not intended to discourage First Nations people, as we are told thar we as a narion are entering a new cycle of life, which will bring increased harmony and balance. As we learn more about our tradirional past, we will be cl-rallenged to the degree that we will doubt our own ability to learn. We are to have faith in our Creator and the power of the Spirit and to continue no ma[ter how it is perceived. The natural law, as we know it, is connected to the natural universe, wlricl'r is comprised of positive and negative energy forces. Our white [rrorhcrs a.nd sisters nnderstand this concept to a certain degree; Irowcvcr, rlrcy l.rlvc ch.rsctr tct lcknowledge it in a different filanner, n,rnrcly, in scicnrihc rr:rtrrs. At tirlcs, rht'y h:tvc chosctt. to direct these crrclgit's in :r rtcg:ttivt' l,rslri.,rr, i.c,, slrlittilrg ol: rltc :ttotll, rhtrs lrllow-
lcss of r:r.:c, E,rch rrrtion was proviclcd
irrg tlrc tr-t':rtiott ol-.tlortti, w('.rl)()rls. W,'lt,tv..',,,tt
From the First Nations'understanding, rhe Euro-Canadian concept of justice is too narrow and confining. Ir doesnt appreciate all the elemenrs involved in a holistic perspecive ofjustice. The Euro-canadian justice model
primarily delivers punishment for wrongdoing. Justice is understood
as
maintaining or administering what is righteous by determining rewards or punishments.Justice is also discussed as having the quality of being just, impartial, or fat. The First Nations'philosophy ofjustice offers a vasdy expanded understanding ofjustice, so much so rhar what is meanr does not evenmeanjustice anymore. There is no English word for rhe First Nations'holistic understanding ofjustice. Aboriginal people inherently have a higher standard and fuller concept of what is required to make things right. This understanding is guided by the spiritual realm and the teachings of rhe Creator. These teachings are sometimes refened ro as narural laws. The following excerpt from a report by the Federarion of Saskatchewan Indian Nations'Justice Unit entitled Hlsf orical/ Customary First Nations Law Practices-The Natural Law reflecrs rhis understanding:
The teachings of our culture tell us thar we as Aboriginal people were placed here by our Creator, the same Creator who is respon-
with
u rrrc:rrrs o[:corrrrrrtrrri-
llt.'tttlrt'r'lt:ttttl,
lr )t
oL
DeJiningTraditiondl
Oktriq Lct:
l{tdiry
with our traditions, for even the negative energy that is present in
spiritual, the mental, and the emotional elements. For CHCH, the act ofsexual abuse clearly indicates a lack ofbalance in all aspects of
the universe can show us the beauty oflove. The negative energy is
a person's
used as a balance to maintain harmony
within and, by doing so, can provide a greater understanding of love. We are told that as humans,
Because the spiritual being is integrally interwoven into the relationship with the Creator, a lack of balance in the spiritual being has
we have to maintain that balance.6
an impact on the reladonship with the Creator. While it can perhaps be over-simplifying a very comPlex Process, it can be said thatjustice for CHCH is restoring the balance.
chosen to acknowledge and respect these energy forces in accordance
This brief introduction to natural law is not a complete explanation.
It
does, howeve r, give a sense that natural law encompasses the workings of the
universe (physics) and emotions, such as love, all of which are guided by the power of the Creator. The Euro-Canadian understanding ofjustice does not consider either physics or love-
The Cultural and Religious Contexts The way individuals choose to relate to the Creator and to all of Creation determines how they perceivejustice and view restorativejustice. The natural laws of Aboriginal Peoples and the state laws of non-Aboriginal people are inherently different, based on fundamentally different beliefs and values. As a result, they are in ongoing confict. In a position paper, the Hollow Water Community Holistic Circle Healing discusses the meaning ofjustice, how different cultural perspectives definejustice, the cultural orientation of their First Nationt perspective onjustice, and how this orientation is radically different from rhe Euro-Canadian model, which is based on Christian ideas. As they explain, culrure and values are central in determining the concept ofjustice that a society or communiry
will accept and develop:
being.
This implies, for the'justice process" of CHCH, not only a consideration of the imbalance that led to the wrongful act, but also the external forces that caused the imbalance, as well as the consequences of the act, One would be foolish to think, for example, that an act of sexual abuse would not affect the spiritual balance of the victim.Justice then would include righting that imbalance as well. One can easily see the role of Christianity in the concepts of the Canadian justice system. Christianity is a"top down'system with God at the top. In the Old Testament at least, God smote those who offended him. Christians Pay for their sins with God doling out the punishment.
In our [criminal] justice system, the role of God is played by the judge. Christianity is founded on the notion of ftee will. People choose to sin and are held accountable for that choice. Sinners are
punished.
This context, translated into the Canadian system, makes justice focus on very simple issues. Free will in thejustice system is translated into mens red (guilty mind). It forms the most important concept in our justice system.
It allows
us to focus our attention
on a single act.
A community'sjustice system reflects its culture and values, which are often entrenched in its religion. In comparing the Hollow Water notions ofjustice with those of the Euro-Canadian system, it is easy
We never need to ask"Whyi" because that answer is always supplied to us through the precepts. The presence of mens rea l1eans the accused chose to commit the act,and thatt all we need to know. The
to perceive rhe religious roots,
portance of healing, which has an important spiritual signi{icance due
offcnder is tl-ren l-reld blameworthy, ready to be punished. The result of the fact-frnding approach in ajustice system which st:clcs tt'r lay blanrc on an individual is to pit the offender and the victinr ;rg:rinst ouc rttrothcr, tl.rus furtlrcr exacerbating the harm that
to the need ro unite all aspects of a persont being: the physical, the
Ir;rs ,'ortrc [re twecrt tltcttt,
The overriding rationale for the use of traditional teachings for Community Holistic Circle Healing (CHCH) is found in the irn-
lo.i
l()/l-
(l/r,rirr l,cc
DefningTraditionl I lL,lrtrr,
Having established guilr, we then invoke the wisdom of experts' i.e., complete strangers to the Protagoniscs, to advise us as to the
impli-
cations of rhe wrongdoing. The only time we look beyond rhe offender is in the punishment stage. But this is only to determine what caused the offender to go
wrong. (We already know this because of our free will concept') It arises in a concept called general dererrence' Simply Put, this amounrs to punishing the offender for an offence someone else might commir in the future. No doubt the rarionale for this can be traced back to the concept of 'briginal sin'which in essence makes us responsible for the sins of others.
In Christianity, the ulrimate punishment is Hell' In our justice system, it is jail, a place similar to Hell where we otganized the gathering of wrongdoers to cohabit with one another' It is not a place designed to make the offender a better Person, but simply to punish
hirn for his wrongful acts,just like Hell. It is not far removed from the eyefor an eye concePt ofjustice' about which Gandhi once said, if we practice an eye for an eye as justice, soon we will all end up blind. Recent trends would lead one to the conclusion that popular norions ofjustice are nor moving away from the view that offenders deserve to have great amounts of suffering inflicted uPon them in the name ofjustice. When one considers the two systems from this PersPective, it is easier to understand the undedying causes ofthe tensions between them. If one accePts that the resPective views ofjustice-and the sysrems that have evolved around those views-are founded on the
underlying belief srucrure of the culrure, then it follows that each culture will have dilficulty perceiving the merits of the othert approach to jusrice. It is difficulr ro accepr as valid that which does not .orrfo.n.I to one's fundamental beliefs. Even more problematic is the effort to inllict on one cukure the justice system, and thus the underlying belief s trr,ctuLre, of the other culture. Where the underlying belief structures are fundamentally inconsistent, tlle justicc systcrlr of tl-re one cannor work for tl-re othcr, for ilt rhcif cycs, wh:rt is bcirrg
dclivcre.l is not -justictr."7
The Relationship between HealingJusrice and canadianJustice In his articie Justice and Aboriginal people,James Dumonr d.escribes original concepr ofjustice:
rl-rc
Al>.
The Anishinabe way of expressing the concept ofjustice is gwaik/ minodjiwi/dibaakonagwi n (Literally,"right and respecful judgment"). On the one side hovers rhe forever, unchanging, and always_ truth of the creator, governed by the guardian of the creatort law,
who is strict and unbending. on the other side is the ever-ch anging, moving, and unfolding trurh of the human reality wirhin rhe Creation, which is governed 6y a gaardian who is kind, compassionare, and forgiving. In between these rwo is the law of balance and harmony toward which humankind musr scrive: rhis quest is governed by inregrity, humiliry, and respecr.Jusrice is the pursuit of a true judgement required to re-establish equilibrium and harmony in re_ lationship, family, and society-ajudgemenr which is gwaik: straight and honest, while at the same dme being minidjiwinr respectful of the integrity of all persons, borh the wronged and the wrongdoer-S The quality ofjustice rhat Dumonr expresses sets a high srandard., primarily because Aboriginal justice is guided by rhe crearort narural law. Hrmans must abide by the order of things as it was originally laid out. In many First Nations, the Elders speak of rhe retriburion thar che spirit pays in drc spirit world and the retribution that the human musr pay in this physical world. The concept of punishment or retribution is presenr; the differe,ct: between Aboriginal justice and Euro-canadian justice is thar in the Aboriginal view, punishmenr is determined by narural law and the creator, ,ot by
human beings. Dumont goes on to state that: The Anishinabe justice sysrem is one rhat leans toward wise counsel, compensation, restitution, rehabilitation, reconciliation, and balance, rather than obligatory correction, retribution, punishrncnt, penance, and conGlrcmc,r, As :r pcoprle whose spirir:rnd psychc revolvc around a c.rc .f visir)n :lr)(l whrllcncss th;rr is govcr:r-rcc-l by r(:spcct, ir is n:rrtrrrrl rlr;rt :r sysrcrrr o1'.jrr.sticc cv.rtvc,tl rhlrt, irr rlcsirirrg ft) [rr'1r111111.':rrr.l ellcct riglrt lr..lr,rvi,rr., rrot orrly:rilcn(ls to [r;rl:rrrcc lrrtl
tl,r
Io6
Gloria Lee
D$ning'1'rili
reconciliation of the whole, but does so by honoring and respecting the inherent dignity of the individual.e
view and how these influence the meaning of words and phrases, I recommend Judge Murray Sinclair's article'Aboriginal Peoples, Justice and the Law" in ContinuingPoundmaker's and Riel's Quest.lo The process of traditional healing is similar to the process called restorative justice. They share some common goals, such as to reconcile parties in
conflict and to restore balance and harmony through understandingtradrtional teachings and ceremonies. Because of these similarities, it is important ro learn more about traditional healing. Yet traditional healing and Canadian justice remain estranged. The great hope is that these two ways of understanding and doing things might be reconciled, or at the very Least, might 6nd a way to acknowledge some common goals. As with any reconciliation that brings understanding, respect, and acceptance, we will continue to look for common ground as we explore these two paradigms from a First Nations'perspective.
Nofes r. The
information in this section was obtained through the oral tradition given
by Elders MaryLee, Danny Musqua, Henry Ross, and others, except where otherwise noted, z. Linda C. Garro, "Ways of Thlking about Illness in a Manitoba Anishinabe
(Ojibway) Communityi'in Circumpolar Heahh no. go,226.
3.Ibid., zz6. 4. These concepts and others are discussed further by Edward A. Connors, Registered Mohawk Psychologist, in "How Well We Can See the Whole Will Determine How Well We Are and How Well We Can Becomei'in Sue Deranger, Cultur-
ally Specifc Helping witb First Nations People, ryg6. 5. A. C. Hamilton and C. M. Sinclair, Report oJ tbe Manitoba Justice Tnquiry (Winnipeg, Manitobar Queent Printer, rygo), zz. 6. FSIN-Justice Unit, Historical/Customary Law, First Nations Law Practices: Tbe Natural Law (December ryg5),1-+. This text is respectfLrlly inclucled with
permission. -I1ris
scction is rcspcctfr-rlly inclu.lc.l witl-r pcrnrission fronr tl'rc Hollow Watcr ()orrurrrrrity I lolistic (lirclc I lc;rlirrg(ll l(ll I [)iscussiorr I):rpcr. 7.
iot
t,l I t,l I
r
t
+
8'James Dumont,'Justice and Aboriginar peopre'in the Royar courr.rrissiorr ,rrr
Aboriginal Peoples, Bridging the Curturar Divide: the CriminalJustice System
For a better understanding of the First Nations'value system and world-
r
q.Ibid., oq.
A Re1tort on Aboriginar pc<tprct ,rrt,r in Canada (Ottawa: eueen,s printer, rylq, as,
ro'Judge M. Sinclair,'Aboriginar peopres,Justice and the Law" in R. (i.s.sc,
J.Youngblood Henderson, and R. Carter, ed,s,, Continuing poundmaker and llicl,s Quest: Presentations Made at a Conference on Aboriginar peoprrs and Justice (sasr<:rtoon: Purich, ryg4), ry3-84.
Published inJuxice as Healing eg96) t:a, this article is an excerptfro^ Ms. Lee's academic paper preparedfor a Native Studies research course witb the tJniuersity of sask'atchewan under tbe aduisement of patricia Monture-Angus. 'Ihc editor k grateful to Ms. Lee for permission to reprint ber work,