Mandate | True Dialogue Centre

Welcome to the True Dialogue Restorative Justice Centre

Reclaiming
Healthy
Relationships

Mission Statement

To build capacity for Indigenous and racialized people to access culturally relevant restorative justice facilitation services anywhere in Alberta.

Core Values

Respect for Indigenous Cultures: Understand how culture and traditional ways of knowing inform restorative justice practices.

Collaboration and Partnership: Work collaboratively in a spirit of true partnership to achieve our objectives.

Equity and Inclusion: Strive to create an inclusive environment where all voices are heard and respected and where systemic barriers to justice are addressed.

Accountability: Maintain transparency and relational accountability.

Innovation: Embrace innovative approaches that are respectful of the different Indigenous Nations.

Objectives

Objective #1

Create a medium for practitioners and partners to connect, collaborate, and network. This will enable us to benefit from one another's experience and insight by forming collegial friendships, offering mentorship opportunities, and attending to practitioner wellness, continual learning, and growth.

Objective #2

Provide a platform for the Alberta Indigenous Restorative Justice in Action (AIRJA) Stakeholders to action theme areas from the "Nothing About Us Without Us, What We Heard Report". (Link to be added)

Objective #3

Engage Indigenous practitioners and allies to support the creation of culturally relevant facilitation competencies, training curricula, and core modules.

Identified Needs

Relationship Building: We will maintain our focus on relationship building to strengthen the Indigenous Justice practitioner network that fosters mutual respect and intercultural understanding. Equally, we will foster partnerships and collaborations with non-Indigenous allies.

Experiential Wisdom and Elder Guidance: Meaningfully incorporate on-the-ground practitioner knowledge and Elder guidance from the different Indigenous Nations in Alberta to develop and continually refine a provincial Indigenous RJ strategy and program.

Capacity Building for Practitioners: Build capacity for Indigenous practitioners and open opportunities for racialized and non-Indigenous professionals (allies) dedicated to addressing the disproportionate representation of Indigenous people in the criminal justice and child and family services system.

Deliverables

Networking Platform

Provide a platform to strengthen relationships where practitioners feel culturally safe sharing their knowledge, experiences, stories, and insights.

Empower First Nations, Metis, and Inuit RJ Service Providers to have a voice and agency working with mainstream entities to advance culturally relevant practices and inform Alberta's Indigenous RJ Stream.

"What We Heard Report":

Design culturally relevant RJ Peacemaking Certificate Training targeted at addressing the cycle of violence (self-harm/harming other behaviour) connected to unresolved intergenerational trauma.

Training Curriculum:

Strategies

Training Programs: Develop and deliver facilitation skills training program informed by Indigenous knowledge distinctive of the First Nations, Metis, and Inuit ways of knowing to ensure culturally relevant practice.

Resource Development: Create and disseminate resources, toolkits, and guidelines to support the delivery of restorative justice services.

Research and Evaluation: Conduct research to identify best practices and evaluate the impact of restorative justice programs on Indigenous communities.

Policy Advocacy: Engage with policymakers to advocate for the inclusion of restorative justice practices in the provincial justice system.

Community Outreach: Implement outreach initiatives to engage with Indigenous communities, raise awareness about restorative justice, and gather feedback to inform program development.