The book attempts to find alternatives to current sentencing practices both inside and outside Canada’s courts. It is a response to current concerns about the high level of incarceration of Aboriginal people tried in courts designed by the prevailing white justice system. Allowing local communities to become more actively involved in the sentencing and supervision of offenders introduces a wider range of sentencing alternatives. The book focuses on three major issues: (1) the often tenuous relationship between Aboriginal communities and the conventional Canadian criminal justice system; (2) new approaches to dealing with Aboriginal offenders that have been tried over the past few years, including discussion of the advantages and dangers of enhanced participation by offenders, victims and local community members in sentencing and mediation; and (3) the development and progress of the new approaches and initiatives and their implications for reform of the justice system. Notes, index