Public Safety committee  I don't know who you're addressing.

Public Safety committee  I think it's more difficult for places like.... I live on a reserve, so I have first-hand knowledge of what's happening in the communities. A lot of these young people don't learn their culture in prison, because many times they don't have access to programs. The only one they have is beadwork, and I disagree with that, because there needs to be programming for life skills and for getting them help in aftercare or getting them involved in planning their own job skills and things like that.

Public Safety committee  I believe you can. It's something you grow up with. That's the advantage that people on reserve have—they're connected to the traditions—but it's a source of trauma as well. I think that to separate urban and reserve Indians...they have the same problems. As was mentioned, sometimes they're transient.

Public Safety committee  Grandmothers don't banish; it was tribal societies like the Brave Dogs. We had societies who were protectors or police—

Public Safety committee  It was through restitution. There were ceremonies where people would be reintegrated back into the community.

Public Safety committee  Because there were so many different tribes in the Americas, there were different ways in which people did things. To institutionalize another problem, there's a danger in that. I believe the charter protects the tribes. People respect the justice system. I think things like Gladue courts could work, but there are only a few in this country, from what I understand.

Public Safety committee  Well, with Gladue reports, we've been given a guideline. Normally we look at the community history and at the individual's history and background. We look at things like mental health and physical health and all of that, and their community of origin, and residential schools. A lot of the people I interview are younger.

Public Safety committee  I apologize. I got caught up in your Ottawa traffic. I have 10 minutes, right?

Public Safety committee  I would like to talk about the work that I do. I have a presentation here, but I'll go through it quickly. My name is Lois Frank. I'm from the Blood Tribe in southern Alberta. I'm a person who has been working with justice. I also teach at the University of Lethbridge. At the college, my area is criminal justice.