Strengthening Indigenous Justice: One Life Story at a Time
Field Notes
Jane Dickson, Law and Legal Studies
Jane Dickson’s work focuses on strengthening Indigenous access to justice through the development, training, and evaluation of Gladue reports and culturally informed sentencing practices.
Can you offer a “lay” description of your research topic?
My research area is Indigenous access to justice, most notably in the criminal justice sphere and with a focus on what are called the ‘Gladue principles’ across the criminal justice system and increasingly, into other areas of law as well. These principles require the courts to consider the unique background and circumstances of an Indigenous person and any alternatives to incarceration that are reasonable given the offence and degree of culpability of the offender.
Ideally, this information is provided to the courts in the form of a Gladue report. I train people to write these reports and have completed several research projects on the impacts of those reports and the Gladue principles more generally; I have also evaluated some of the largest Gladue service providers in the country.
What piqued your interest in this topic?
My research originally focused on the reclamation of Indigenous law and legal structures through the revitalization and implementation of that law and structures within First Nations.
However, It quickly became apparent that outside governments were supportive of ‘restorative justice projects’ but much less so of the reinstitution of traditional law. This led to me shift my attention to addressing inequities in the colonial system and to focus on Gladue, sentencing and pushing back on the mass incarceration of Indigenous people in Canada.
What question were you hoping to answer in your research?
Broadly speaking, how can we better respect and support Indigenous justice systems within Indigenous nations and maximize access to justice for Indigenous citizens who become involved with the colonial justice system?
What is something people would be surprised to learn?
The Department of Law and Legal Studies houses the Ottawa Pro Bono Gladue Project, which I run with my former graduate student, Kerry MacDonell. We have a group of certified Gladue writers who volunteer to provide reports to Indigenous people in the Ottawa-Kingston area; we are now also supporting people across Canada, which is very exciting and keeps us very busy.
What’s the biggest misconception about your research area?
The biggest misconception is that Gladue considerations are a ‘get out of jail free card’ – since the advent of Gladue in 1999, rates of incarceration of Indigenous people have continued to climb. Since 2000/2001, the incarcerated Indigenous population has risen by 56.2%
Any new projects that you’re excited about?
I have a few very exciting projects on the horizon, but will just mention one, which is a research project to support the development of national standards for Gladue reports, Gladue writers and Gladue training. This is important to me as a Gladue writer, educator and ally of Indigenous people who understands the challenges of this work and the magnitude of task Gladue is intended to address.
What’s your favourite class to teach?
That’s a tough question! I like teaching first year very much but am presently also enjoying teaching my fourth-year seminar, which exposes students to the research on Gladue and to those working with Gladue in the system. I am fortunate to have a number of amazing guest speakers, including the Chief of the Ottawa Police Service, Indigenous and non-Indigenous senior Judges and Justices of the Peace of the Ontario Court of Justice, Crown and defence counsel, Gladue writers, and the Director of Special Projects at the Office of the Federal Correctional Investigator. It is a great blend of theory and practice. The course has also opened up employment opportunities for some of my students and helped others to locate mentors and resources to assist them with careers in the law and legal services.