Central America

Mayan/Aboriginal Traditional Justice Knowledge Exchange

Guatemala

Project News

Winter 2010
February will see the final phase of the Society's Traditional Justice Knowledge Exchange project come to fruition, with a delegation of Canadian Aboriginal and community restorative justice experts traveling to Guatemala for a seminar with leaders in the Mayan community. The purpose of this seminar is to exchange ideas on youth leadership and models of restorative justice tools based on shared indigenous justice practices for youth.

This activity has been undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada provided through the Canadian International Development Agency.

Fall 2009
The Justice Education Society and La Defensoria Maya (DEMA) have embarked on a knowledge exchange project that aims to increase awareness and understanding of indigenous justice practices and in doing so strengthen relationships between Aboriginal communities in Canada and Mayan communities in Guatemala. This is the first time JES has worked with indigenous partners on an international program. In September, four Mayan delegates from Guatemala spent eight days developing connections with Aboriginal communities in BC, marking the third phase of this exchange. This communication of ideas will culminate in the development and sharing of tools and resources based on indigenous justice practices that will be used for public legal education programs to benefit Aboriginal and Mayan youth.

The first of the four stages of this exchange began in February 2009 when a group of Canadian First Nations traveled to Guatemala to learn from meetings with local Mayan Authorities about the justice issues and the realities faced by Mayan communities. The highlight for the delegation was meeting Rigoberta Menchu, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, at her home where they discussed the challenges and opportunities present in indigenous communities. A reciprocal trip followed in May/June 2009, where a delegation of Mayans visited different Aboriginal communities throughout BC and were presented with the culture, traditions, and justice practices of Canadian Aboriginal communities.

This most recent trip in September deepened the relationships between Mayan and Aboriginal communities where there is the most potential for sustainable future partnerships, and will be followed by a final phase to the project exploring the sharing of educational tools on indigenous justice practices. The project direction comes from JES’s Northern Native Public Legal Education (NNPLE) subcommittee which includes Cindy Charleyboy (Williams Lake); Brent Adams, Faith Tait, and Shirley Morven (Nisga’a); Sandra Staats, and James Woods (Prince George); Margaret Snow (Vernon); Sherry Small (Vancouver); Glenn Patterson (Lower Mainland); Annette Russell (JES Staff, Aboriginal Programs Manager), and Joan Brett (JES Staff, Acting Aboriginal Programs Manager).

A short documentary film is being created documenting the exchange of traditional justice practices between Canadian Aboriginal peoples and Mayan peoples from Guatemala. Footage, including the Mayan delegation visit to BC last May/June, is in the process of being edited into a 5-10 minute film about the project. Hopefully this short film will lead to the opportunity to create a larger documentary. Dylan Mazur, Lara Mazur, and Harvey LaRocque have generously donated their time, and Paperny Films and UBC donated equipment to help create this testament to the powerful results of this exchange.


Canadian Aboriginal Delegation, and DEMA Staff meet Rigoberta Menchu, Nobel Peace Prize winner, in her home. (l-r: Glenn Patterson, Garfield Staats, Rigoberta Menchu, Sandra Staats, Ricardo Sulugüí, Antonia Buch, and James Woods).


The Mayan Delegation meets with a Nisga'a Village Government Councillor inside the legislature building of the Nisga’a Lisims Government. (l-r: Herlinda Guarcax, Nancy Bac, Ancelmo Rompich, Ricardo Sulugüí, and Brent Adams)