Indigenous Peoples in the Canadian Correctional System: Critical Issues and the Prospects for ‘Localized’ Corrections

Research Findings have revealed that Canada's indigenous peoples are incarcerated in federal and provincial/territorial correctional facilities in numbers far in excess of their representation in the general population. Only recently, however, has attention been given to the development of policies and programmes to address the special needs of incarcerated indigenous offenders during confinement and upon release. Concurrent with this has been an increasing involvement by indigenous communities, bands and organizations to develop alternative correctional strategies which are community-based and designed to better address the needs of offenders, victims and communities.