Healing Through Culture for Incarcerated Aboriginal People

Abstract

Statistically, Aboriginal people in Canada are over-represented in prisons throughout the country. While representatives from the Canadian government recognize that the Aboriginal incarceration rates are an issue, they have failed to find a solution. A link has been found to demonstrate how the erosion of Aboriginal culture through the legacy of residential schools has contributed to the current inflated Aboriginal incarceration statistics (Waldram, 1997). As such, cultural healing in prisons may be a crucial factor for Aboriginal inmates’ rehabilitation. Cultural healing can be implemented in prisons by: providing inmates with access to Elders, allowing Elders to perform ceremonies, providing inmates with access to sacred medicines, and increasing the number of healing lodges and sacred circles.