Indigenous Incarceration

Research on the housing crisis in Aotearoa New Zealand largely overlooks mothers who have substance use disorders, and their experiences of housing. In a study on mothers' experiences of a residential parenting and drug rehabilitation programme, housing was consistently discussed as crucial to recovery in terms of the ability of wāhine (women) to envision a secure future. Individual and group interviews were conducted during six one-day wānanga (place of learning or gathering for discussion), where participants engaged in traditional Māori art while sharing experiences leading up to and in treatment. Dialogical Narrative Analysis was used to examine how societal and cultural narratives influenced their stories. Arthur Frank's 'wounded storyteller' narrative typologies-chaos, restitution, and quest-provided a foundation to analyse stories of struggle and recovery. Findings revealed that housing instability before entering treatment exacerbated substance use, and unsafe housing conditions increased the risk of relapse once a recovery journey was initiated. Housing and child protection services were viewed as punitive and neglectful. Findings evidence the complex relationship between motherhood, substance use and housing insecurity, which should be used to inform policies and practises aimed at increasing housing and supporting well-being for this demographic.

At present in Aotearoa New Zealand, young female prisoners aged 14-19 years are either mixed with adult prisoners, or segregated. Segregation is often in isolation, with few opportunities for participating in rehabilitative and therapeutic programs or education. Young male prisoners aged 14-19 years have the opportunity to reside in youth units in order to protect them from the perceived negative effects of mixing with adult offenders, and they are provided with age-appropriate services and interventions. This study explores the social context within women's prisons in order to consider what might be in young female prisoners' best interests with regards to mixing with adults in prison. Preliminary observations indicate that in Aotearoa New Zealand women's prisons, a culture of respect for older women exists amongst the young women prisoners. The implications of this, and other observations of the social context that may be relevant to the wellbeing of young female prisoners, are therefore explored. A qualitative Discourse Analysis approach is being used in this study to analyze texts emanating from the transcripts from semi-structured interviews with young women prisoners. The author's own social work practice and research background has contributed to this research being guided by a feminist and anticolonial agenda. Hence, the author seeks to advance the situation of this group of women, and consider what is in their best interests. Corrections is that only women under 18 will undergo the TBI, and have the opportunity to reside in a special facility, in keeping with UNCROC guidelines. Young women 18-19 years will automatically mix with adults. This does not appear to mirror the opportunities given to young male inmates however. It is possible that such a policy is based on small numbers of women in this age group. I contend that in not investigating what is in young female prisoners' best interests, on the basis of small numbers, policy makers are neglecting to consider the impact on future generations. Therefore, young women aged 14-19 are included in this study to be in keeping with the target group of young male prisoners who have been identified as potential residents of Young Offender Units. This introductory paper will explore relevant national and international literature around mixing female youth with adults in a prison environment. This includes information on role modelling, Maori values with respect to older persons, literature on bullying and its effects, and literature on constructions of femininity and female aggression in general. Extracts from interviews with young women held in Christchurch Women's Prison, and analysis of these will be included in this report. This group of participants comprises the first cohort to be interviewed in a study that will also involve interviewing groups in the other main urban centres in New Zealand. The paper will conclude with a discussion of issues that arise from ongoing analysis of the Christchurch data, and implications for further research. Tania Mataki, a counsellor and programme provider for women in prisons during the last 10 years, and currently manager of Te Puna Oranga Counselling service in Christchurch, will present a Maori perspective in this section, based on her involvement in this Christchurch part of the study.

This paper uses developmental and philosophical notions derived from the work of de Beauvior, Canguilhem, Foucault, Rose, Butler and others to build a theory of what happens to the sense of self of young men in prison, and establishes a connection between the experience of imprisonment and men's violence towards women. It is the second in a series exploring the development of a criminal indentity as a consequence of criminal justice systems, particularly imprisonment, which are designed to cope with the behaviour resulting from criminal identity, in an endless loop.

is a First Nations woman born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She is currently serving a life sentence. Sheri served approximately 17 years inside and has an incredible amount of lived experience under her belt. She has been free on full parole for over 10 years and is a great mother to a 9-year-old son. She is also a senior member of the Indigenous Support Workers Project (ISWP)-a grassroots organization based in Montré al, Qué bec. Sheri makes fried/baked bannock before her shifts and she shares this with her homeless Indigenous community members. ISWP provides street level assistance, mental health wellness through communication and acknowledgment. She is also newly employed with Canadian Associations of Elizabeth Fry Societies as their Advocacy Liaison and is continually working hard to move forward in her life in the best and most healthy way possible. Tracey McIntosh, MNZM, is Ngā i Tū hoe, mother and grandmother and a Professor of Indigenous Studies and Co-Head of Te Wā nanga o Waipapa (School of Mā ori Studies and Pacifi c Studies) at the University of Auckland. She was the former Co-Director of Ngā Pae o te Mā ramatanga New Zealand's Mā ori Centre of Research Excellence. Her recent research focused on incarceration (particularly of Mā ori and Indigenous peoples), along with issues pertaining to poverty, inequality and social justice. She recognizes the signifi cance of working with those that have lived experience of incarceration and marginalization, and acknowledges them as experts of their own condition. She has a strong interest in the interface between research and policy.

The high rate of Indigenous incarceration is a well-documented problem throughout Canada. Within mainstream discourses, this problem is often framed as the legacy or effects of colonialism, which has resulted in the systemic racism and cultural and socio-economic deprivation experienced by Indigenous people today. An increasing body of scholarly literature is challenging the assumption that colonialism is something of the past by looking at how its structures and logics persist today. Thus far, however, little consideration has been given to the colonial context and emergence of Indigenous incarceration in Canada. By tracing the historical links between modern colonialism and the emergence of the Canadian peniten tiary into the present, this research reveals some of the hidden connections that contribute to the current rates of Indigenous incarceration and the relationship that continues to exist between colonialism and the penal system today. Th ese fi ndings highlight a socio-politics of incarceration that go beyond a crime and justice framework.

At any given time, between 2,000-3,000 children are in custody, under sentence or on remand, in England and Wales. This study, which undertook a census of nearly 6,000 children imprisoned in the second half of 2008 asked: who are these children, and why and how do they come to be in custody? No survey on this scale has been conducted in the last 25 years. As such, this study is a significant addition to our understanding of youth custody.

Existing court data suggest that adult Indigenous offenders are more likely than non-Indigenous defendants to be sentenced to prison but once imprisoned generally receive shorter terms. Using findings from international and Australian multivariate statistical analyses, this paper reviews the three key hypotheses advanced as plausible explanations for these differences: 1) differential involvement, 2) negative discrimination, 3) positive discrimination. Overall, prior research shows strong support for the differential involvement thesis, some support for positive discrimination and little foundation for negative discrimination in the sentencing of Indigenous defendants. Where discrimination is found, we argue that this may be explained by the lack of a more complete set of control variables in researchers’ multivariate models.

Given the present pace of educational globalization, educators – especially in rural schools – will benefit from an awareness of traditional knowledge as a significant contributor to sustainability. Many countries operate through a system whereby major decision making, especially in such areas as education and health, emanate from state levels of governance; and these decisions are often uni-directional. In education this implies a ‘one size fits all’ philosophy that forces educator compliance with accountability driven pedagogy and curricula subjected to competitive standardized testing processes that are caught up in market driven values. Aims of a research pilot (Harris & Barter, 2011-2012) in one province in Canada, and through a critical pedagogy of place and participatory research, were to introduce students and community members in rural areas to issues of local relevance; to develop school curricula that call for students-as-researchers; and, as an example of local knowledge...

Placed within the context of rural teaching and learning and the use of new technologies, this paper presents a comparative study of three technological approaches to the presentation of curriculum in schools. Supported by three different research projects in one Canadian province, it highlights three areas of e-learning: the use of video conferencing to deliver curriculum to children in five rural schools (Barter, 2004), web-based distance education implemented by the Ministry of Education to deliver academic courses to students in rural and remote areas (Barter, 2011), and a lap top computer-based project with a class of intermediate students (Barter, Murphy, Hardy, Norman & Pack, 2004). Including a literature review, the paper provides a brief background of each project, outlines the results, and then discusses the impact such projects can have on education. Two projects (video conferencing and Ministry of Education delivered distance education) are described and then discussed t...

Existing court data suggest that adult Indigenous offenders are more likely than non-Indigenous defendants to be sentenced to prison but once imprisoned generally receive shorter terms. Using findings from international and Australian multivariate statistical analyses, this paper reviews the three key hypotheses advanced as plausible explanations for these differences: 1) differential involvement, 2) negative discrimination, 3) positive discrimination. Overall, prior research shows strong support for the differential involvement thesis, some support for positive discrimination and little foundation for negative discrimination in the sentencing of Indigenous defendants. Where discrimination is found, we argue that this may be explained by the lack of a more complete set of control variables in researchers' multivariate models.

Penal trends in New Zealand place this country firmly in the camp of those modern societies that punish their offenders considerably more than others. From the earliest days of its colonisation in 1840, New Zealand has always had a relatively high imprisonment rate compared to similar societies. Despite its reputation for friendliness and informality, its remoteness, its strictly controlled immigration, and its desire to distinguish itself from the Australian "convict taint", made it intolerant of those who threatened this "perfect society" that was being built in the South Pacific (Pratt 2006). However, it has experienced a particularly dramatic growth in its rate of imprisonment from the 1970s to the present: from 72 per 100,000 of the population in 1970 to 194 per 100,000 in 2014. These increases far exceed rates of the countries that New Zealand is most closely associated with, Australia and the UK, as reflected in Fig. 23.1.

A number of scholars acknowledge the rich resources contained within the wisdom, traditions and knowledge of Indigenous peoples for therapeutic healing. Repositories of collective ancient wisdom may well represent an underutilised resource for coping with challenges and trauma at the levels of both the individual and community. This article argues that the Bible is such a source as it contains a number of trauma narratives which can help in working with clients dealing with trauma. This article explores the Tutu te Puehu model proposed by Ngati Pāoa leader Glen Tupuhi. This Indigenous model that draws on the story of Joseph (Gen. 37–50), a biblical narrative that offers insights in terms of dealing with trauma and reconciliation, centred on the seven occasions that Joseph is said to weep. The model draws on the insights and the convergence of three distinct strands of Glen Tupuhi’s training and experience: his knowledge of te ao Māori, his Christian spirituality and worldview, and h...

Evidence suggests that increasingly young adolescents are finishing school with poor literacy skills limiting their access to further education, training and employment. This has lifelong effects in terms of their economic participation and health and wellbeing. This paper examines the spatial practices of one school’s approach to improving literacy outcomes for its Years 8 and 9 students, in order to increase positive pathways after school. It shows how staff at this school have begun to work collaboratively with each other and community members in trying to address the reading needs of their students. Using the conceptual frameworks of spatial theory and reflection the paper will share the conceived and perceived spatial practices of staff identified in interview data. We argue that when ongoing reflective practice occurs potential transformative or ‘third space’, practices result; ensuring positive literacy learning outcomes for all students.

At present in Aotearoa New Zealand, young female prisoners aged 14-19 years are either mixed with adult prisoners, or segregated. Segregation is often in isolation, with few opportunities for participating in rehabilitative and therapeutic programs or education. Young male prisoners aged 14-19 years have the opportunity to reside in youth units in order to protect them from the perceived negative effects of mixing with adult offenders, and they are provided with age-appropriate services and interventions. This study explores the social context within women's prisons in order to consider what might be in young female prisoners' best interests with regards to mixing with adults in prison. Preliminary observations indicate that in Aotearoa New Zealand women's prisons, a culture of respect for older women exists amongst the young women prisoners. The implications of this, and other observations of the social context that may be relevant to the wellbeing of young female prisoners, are therefore explored. A qualitative Discourse Analysis approach is being used in this study to analyze texts emanating from the transcripts from semi-structured interviews with young women prisoners. The author's own social work practice and research background has contributed to this research being guided by a feminist and anticolonial agenda. Hence, the author seeks to advance the situation of this group of women, and consider what is in their best interests. Corrections is that only women under 18 will undergo the TBI, and have the opportunity to reside in a special facility, in keeping with UNCROC guidelines. Young women 18-19 years will automatically mix with adults. This does not appear to mirror the opportunities given to young male inmates however. It is possible that such a policy is based on small numbers of women in this age group. I contend that in not investigating what is in young female prisoners' best interests, on the basis of small numbers, policy makers are neglecting to consider the impact on future generations. Therefore, young women aged 14-19 are included in this study to be in keeping with the target group of young male prisoners who have been identified as potential residents of Young Offender Units. This introductory paper will explore relevant national and international literature around mixing female youth with adults in a prison environment. This includes information on role modelling, Maori values with respect to older persons, literature on bullying and its effects, and literature on constructions of femininity and female aggression in general. Extracts from interviews with young women held in Christchurch Women's Prison, and analysis of these will be included in this report. This group of participants comprises the first cohort to be interviewed in a study that will also involve interviewing groups in the other main urban centres in New Zealand. The paper will conclude with a discussion of issues that arise from ongoing analysis of the Christchurch data, and implications for further research. Tania Mataki, a counsellor and programme provider for women in prisons during the last 10 years, and currently manager of Te Puna Oranga Counselling service in Christchurch, will present a Maori perspective in this section, based on her involvement in this Christchurch part of the study.

This article explores the development of Mäori and Indigenous frameworks of resilience, considering the impact of engaging with largely Stateled notions of resilience on Mäori development. We highlight the closely linked notion of resistance, asserting the necessity of a fi rm political analysis from Indigenous researchers engaged in this discourse. One of the Indigenous criticisms of resilience theories is that by defi nition they assume an acceptance of responsibility for our position as disadvantaged individuals. That is, by examining and developing theories and models of resilience we buy into the idea that this is the way it is and we need simply to get better at bouncing back and being resilient. Resistance, however, represents an approach of collective fi ghtback, exposing the inequitable distribution of power, and actively opposing negative social, political and economic infl uences. This article represents a Mäori Indigenous political response to the resilience discourse. *...

Existing court data suggest that adult Indigenous offenders are more likely than non-Indigenous defendants to be sentenced to prison but once imprisoned generally receive shorter terms. Using findings from international and Australian multivariate statistical analyses, this paper reviews the three key hypotheses advanced as plausible explanations for these differences: 1) differential involvement, 2) negative discrimination, 3) positive discrimination. Overall, prior research shows strong support for the differential involvement thesis, some support for positive discrimination and little foundation for negative discrimination in the sentencing of Indigenous defendants. Where discrimination is found, we argue that this may be explained by the lack of a more complete set of control variables in researchers' multivariate models.

There are many known factors that can help or hinder Indigenous students undertaking tertiary study, but little is known about how Māori students experience Māori studies courses specifically. Against the backdrop of low Māori student retention in universities and the short history of Māori studies as a field of study, this article shares findings from a thematic analysis of interviews with Māori students in Māori studies. It proposes a framework, Te Ara Mātauranga, which organises new findings about Māori cultural enclaves, aspirations, engagement, learning opportunities, and support. Ultimately, this article distinguishes the experiences of Māori students in Māori studies from previous generic research about Māori students in tertiary education and identifies a set of consequential challenges and opportunities.

Māori women play a vital role in enabling our children and grandchildren to live secure, positive cultural identities “as Māori”. In utero we surround our children in a protective kahu (the term for both cloak and amniotic sac) and, after they enter the world, we continue to cloak them in tangible and abstract ways with our values, beliefs, and aspirations. Of the multiple aspirations that Māori women hold for ourselves and our whānau (families) to be healthy, happy, and whole, this research concerns itself with Māori women’s aspirations to “live as Māori” – understood as living a full and holistically well life, connected to people and places, and able to participate confidently in both the Māori and the global world.  A qualitative project grounded in Kaupapa Māori and Mana Wāhine theory, this study explores the stories of eight Māori women, including myself as a researcher. As I taught the women to weave traditionally made Māori cloaks, they told stories of reclaiming, restoring,...

Evidence suggests that increasingly young adolescents are finishing school with poor literacy skills limiting their access to further education, training and employment. This has lifelong effects in terms of their economic participation and health and wellbeing. This paper examines the spatial practices of one school’s approach to improving literacy outcomes for its Years 8 and 9 students, in order to increase positive pathways after school. It shows how staff at this school have begun to work collaboratively with each other and community members in trying to address the reading needs of their students. Using the conceptual frameworks of spatial theory and reflection the paper will share the conceived and perceived spatial practices of staff identified in interview data. We argue that when ongoing reflective practice occurs potential transformative or ‘third space’, practices result; ensuring positive literacy learning outcomes for all students.

The Australian government is not listening something, a memory. History, in my blood it runs. Archival megaphony throws back political fire, grassroots history echoing into its own future and setting the baseline and patterning claims of the film: We want our ceremonies. We want our language. We want our stories told to our children. In My Blood It Runs is an urgent observational essay, at once intimate and far-reaching in its social change aspirations. It's about how the NT mainstream education system fails to meet the needs, desires and priorities of Aboriginal kids and their families. The film is consonant with other central Australian 'survivance' (Vizenor 2008) media made over the past four decades by the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA), Pintubi Anmatjere Warlpiri (PAW) Media and other regional/remote production groups. This new community-driven film asks audiences to look closely, and in the words of Arrernte elder Kathleen Kemarre Turner, to 'listen deeply' (2009) to stories of contemporary cultural lives, lived between town and bush. By putting Indigenous experience, knowledge and strategies for survival front and centre, it de-objectifies the so-called Indigenous education 'gaps' that whitefella politics measure in terms of attendance and completion and thence construe as intractable so-called 'wicked problems'. In this way it lays bare the high stakes of policy failure, and of successive governments not supporting community visions for safe lives and strong futures as a lived reality. It shares the spirit of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, produced in the same period, and the responsive 'Imagination Declaration of the Youth Forum' that appeared at Garma 2019. Notably, the film was a well-supported independent production, drawing together Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal knowledges, skills, and social capital to advance anti-racism, decolonising and sovereignty aspirations. Dujuan's story was developed, and is largely set, in Mparntwe (Alice Springs), Central Arrernte country-in a town camp, at Yipirinya School and a mainstream public school, on the streets, and out bush. In its final act it moves to the Borroloola region, 1000km to the northeast. This entire northern Australian 'frontier' zone is chiselled equally by colonial dispossessions, stolen generations and other 'wild policy' (Lea 2020) violences. Histories of Aboriginal resistance, including over 40 years of self-determination work by Aboriginal-controlled land rights, media, health, housing, arts, culture and social support organisations asserting sovereignty have also shaped the cultural landscape and set priorities for its futures. The Arrernte families at the centre of the film were, for many years, centrally involved in the independent community-controlled Catholic

The Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act (1989) heralded family group conferences as an innovative mechanism to reinforce the role of family in child welfare decision-making. While many have regarded family group conferences as a culturally appropriate response, continued managerialism reflected a guise of cultural responsiveness and family involvement that has actively disempowered whānau and the young person in decision-making processes. Similar to concerns that led to the formation of the 1989 Act, institutional racism inspired Rangitāne o Wairarapa (Rangitāne) to reclaim the family group conference process, and child welfare decision-making, as an iwi function. The current study reports on the development of a family group conference practice model of one iwi (Rangitāne) as a case study of cultural reclamation. The success of the approach is juxtaposed against the iwi practice model, critical success factors and opportunities for the development of such practice models...

This paper discusses an indigenous Māori approach, named Thought Space Wānanga, for sharing knowledge and accelerating the translation of research into practical outcomes through transformational practices, policies, and theory development. In contexts such as New Zealand, there is an increasing demand on all publicly funded researchers to demonstrate the impact of their research and to show pathways for achieving social and economic outcomes from single, focused projects. Knowledge translation is the most common term used to describe the link between research and impact and the process of turning research into results. While it is highly debatable whether planning for this at the front end of research will necessarily lead to such high-level outcomes being achieved, many indigenous researchers aim for their research to be translated into real world positive outcomes for indigenous communities. Thought Space Wānanga is a facilitated process framed within Māori cultural protocols, designed to help indigenous Māori researchers meet that aspiration.

Galambany Court is a specialised court for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander offenders, within the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Magistrates Court. The purpose of Galambany circle sentencing court is to provide a culturally appropriate ACT Magistrates Court sentencing option for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander offenders. Circle Sentencing is a partnership between the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and the ACT criminal justice system to address ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander over representation issues and offending behaviour.

Galambany Court has strengthened the justice system’s connection with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander offenders, while reducing demands on government agencies (such as police, courts, hospitals, foster care, emergency housing, etc.). Galambany Court has improved the life of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander offenders and thereby the wider ACT community.

This Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) finds that Galambany Court delivers a substantial positive net economic benefit to the ACT. Galambany Court returns economic benefits that far exceed its economic costs. Sensitivity analysis shows this is a particularly robust conclusion.

This CBA has taken a rigorous approach to identifying and assigning values to costs and benefits arising from Galambany Court. Conservative values have been used to derive Galambany Court’s net present value (NPV) and Benefit/Cost Ratio. The relevant costs and benefits have been identified and valued using standard economic methodologies. These valuation and other techniques reveal the substantial economic merit of Galambany Court.

This CBA values the social impacts (ie impact on society’s wellbeing) of Galambany Court in economic terms. These values are aggregated over time (10 years) using a discount rate (2%) measuring society’s trade-off between current and future consumption. The discounted impacts are compared, using the decision criteria Net Present Value (NPV) and Benefit/Cost Ratio to measure the extent to which the economic benefit to the ACT, of Galambany Court, exceed its costs.

Galambany Court provides a substantial net benefit to the ACT economy. For the ten years from 2017, the NPV of Galambany Court is measured at $7.4 million in 2017 dollars. The benefit cost ratio of over 3 to 1 is high compared with other investments. The result validates the economic rationale for government funding for Galambany Court and its continuation.

Galambany Court plays a key role in reducing some of the negative impacts Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people may experience from the ACT’s justice system. Galambany Court improves the quality of life and output of the ACT community and is an excellent use of ACT resources.

There are many known factors that can help or hinder Indigenous students undertaking tertiary study, but little is known about how Māori students experience Māori studies courses specifically. Against the backdrop of low Māori student retention in universities and the short history of Māori studies as a field of study, this article shares findings from a thematic analysis of interviews with Māori students in Māori studies. It proposes a framework, Te Ara Mātauranga, which organises new findings about Māori cultural enclaves, aspirations, engagement, learning opportunities, and support. Ultimately, this article distinguishes the experiences of Māori students in Māori studies from previous generic research about Māori students in tertiary education and identifies a set of consequential challenges and opportunities.