Weaving our Narratives: Amplifying the Social Echo of Restorative Justice through the Arts

Abstract

The achilleas heel of restorative justice rests on a dominant narrative: “What’s said in Circle, stays in Circle”. While there is good reason for this mantra, at the same time, it limits the potential for restorative justice to create a social echo. This paper will draw on Indigenous practices in Canada and Australia that are creating new forms of restorative justice that deepen the praxis through arts and other cultural practices that resonate and amplify affective processes that restore individuals to themselves, their communities and their culture and their traditional lands. This understanding of restorative justice embodies a holistic orientation to the idea of belonging: to self, commu..