Many Aboriginal communities in Canada have developed restorative justice programs designed to address the needs of the offender, crime victims, and the community. Community-based, restorative justice programs provide a forum for sanctioning offenders while beginning the healing process for victims, offenders, and the community. Restorative justice programs adopt a holistic framework that expands the focus and response beyond the offense to include the offender's life situation, the needs of crime victims, the families of victims and offenders, and the larger community context. A review of several restorative justice programs that are operating in reserve settings and in an urban context highlights the success of these initiatives, as well as the factors that may undermine the efficacy of the programs. Critical to the design and implementation of these programs is the need to staff programs with emotionally healthy residents, give attention to the protection of vulnerable persons, provide for political intervention by power hierarchies, acknowledge that some offenders are too serious to be dealt with by restorative programs, consider the definition and role of elders, and encourage wide community consultation and participation. 21 references