Native restorative justice issues differ from non-native issues in several ways. Native restorative justice issues are more political because they are inscribed explicitly or implicitly in a political agenda for native sovereignty. Native restorative justice issues also arise in the a context of social emergency; for example, when native communities have to deal with serious social problems, community balance is disrupted. Further, native restorative justice issues are associated with the quest for identity reconstruction, roots, and self-empowerment. The author believes that native communities in Canada have a considerable task in attempting to re-empower residents and reconstruct social control mechanisms, and that the main characteristic of restorative justice in native communities is the healing and holistic process. 30 references and 14 footnotes