A woman of the Bear clan, a great leader of a nation of the west coast, who is also a college professor, knew that I talked to women about what white people called restorative justice. She asked me if I wanted to know what used to happen to men who raped a child in her community, before the culture was disrupted by the European invasion. I said I did, and she told me.
The man who harmed the child would go to an island or other isolated place with elders, who would keep him up day and night for two or three days, to re-establish wisdom and humanity in him. And then they would leave him alone there, to sojourn, reorient and reflect. When he was ready he could rejoin the community, and would be accepted.
And if he did it again?
He would be tied to a rock at low tide, and the whole community would stand on the shore and watch as the tide came in.
Photo: Christian Ronnell
As a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, I think this might be the perfect balance of mercy and precision.