This Community of Practice session is part of a series, please see About Section below for details. Corrections work has become increasingly challenging. This series of Communities of Practice (CoP’s) is designed to provide information on issues and best practices in corrections (specifically probation and reentry professionals) working in tribal communities. Please join us to learn and share over the next several months.
Become more mindful of the need to implement and sustain tribal sovereignty, unique to your nation, into all aspects of your tribal justice system. During the webinar series, you will learn more about tribal sovereignty, how it might be exercised or how it is exercised in your own community, and what to consider as you begin your tribal justice system planning process. You will also learn a process to take steps to identify opportunities for the inclusion of customs, traditions, and values into your tribal justice systems.
Become more mindful of the need to implement and sustain tribal sovereignty, unique to your nation, into all aspects of your tribal justice system. During the webinar series, you will learn more about tribal sovereignty, how it might be exercised or how it is exercised in your own community, and what to consider as you begin your tribal justice system planning process. You will also learn a process to take steps to identify opportunities for the inclusion of customs, traditions, and values into your tribal justice systems.
This first session was a listening session to kick off a Community of Practice (CoP) series. Future topics will be developed from this session.
This foundational session explores how cultural identity, traditions, and community belonging serve as powerful protective factors in tribal probation and reentry work. Participants will examine strategies for integrating tribal customs, ceremonies, elders, language, and storytelling into supervision and case planning. The session will also address the impact of historical trauma—including colonization, forced removal, and systemic marginalization—on justice-involved tribal individuals and communities. Emphasis will be placed on culturally grounded, strengths-based approaches that honor Indigenous knowledge systems while supporting healing, accountability, and reintegration.
This session emphasizes the importance of collective reintegration in tribal communities. Participants will explore the roles of family, clan, and tribal systems of support in probation and reentry work. The session will focus on how to coordinate effectively with tribal courts, behavioral health, housing, education, spiritual leaders, and culture keepers. Emphasis will be placed on incorporating culturally grounded practices like Talking Circles, Peacemaking, and restorative approaches that reflect community values and shared responsibility.
This session focuses on how to integrate modern evidence-based practices (EBPs) with Indigenous knowledge systems in tribal justice settings. Participants will examine how to adapt risk/need assessments, cognitive-behavioral interventions, Motivational Interviewing, and trauma-informed supervision to align with traditional practices and cultural contexts. The session encourages co-design with community members and emphasizes strengths-based, land-based, and ceremonial healing approaches.
Learn strategies to enhance collaborative efforts for justice system planning. Identify stakeholders and advisory board members needed in the planning process. Define community quality of life and create vision/mission statements for your justice system.
Understand how to conduct focus groups, stakeholder interviews, community meetings, and needs assessments. Create a strategic plan by performing a needs assessment to identify justice system strengths and gaps. Utilize customized technical assistance to analyze your needs assessment results.
Compose effective goals and feasible action steps based on emerging themes from your needs assessment. Prepare an evaluation and performance metrics to measure the success of your justice system strategic plan.
