The Kainai Peacemaking Program (KPP) has been providing justice services to its community members since 2008. Along with its partners, the KPP focuses on restoring communal relationships by revitalizing traditional Blackfoot practices into justice processes. Their services are open to the Crown prosecutor, Alberta provincial courts (including youth and family courts), child welfare agencies, Blood Tribe schools, elder advisory groups and a variety of other community-services agencies.
The KPP Coordinator works with four advisors and 10 Peacekeepers to provide restorative justice for the Blood Tribe's members whether they live off reserve, or on reserve in one of its six communities. Through its strong network, the KPP ensures that clients have access to mental health services, individual and family counselling, stress/anger management, counselling for anxiety or depressive disorders, parenting-skills development, conflict resolution, traditional elder counselling, and a variety of traditionally based healing services to help offenders and victims seek resolution.
The peacemaking sessions facilitated by the KPP help offenders carry out restitution to the victims with peacemaker consent. By following traditional Blackfoot protocol, offenders can also help restore individual relationships and community harmony and develop an appreciation of Blackfoot values critical to spiritual healing.
In addition to services rooted in Blackfoot traditions, the KPP also has strong links to mainstream counselling and assessments to treat the diverse needs of its clients, both offenders and victims.
Through the Aboriginal Justice Strategy, the Government will provide the Kainai Peacemaking Program with $641,860; this includes $320,930 in fiscal year 2014-15 and $320,930 in fiscal year 2015-16.
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March 2015
Department of Justice Canada
