A critique of Canada’s justice system by Indigenous youth

Front cover of Feathers of Hope, Justice and Juries: A First Nations Youth Action Plan for Justice. The book sits on a red background.

Feathers of Hope: Justice & Juries: A First Nations Youth Action Plan for Justice, a report co-designed and co-written with youth across Ontario, was released in March 2016. It addresses the ways in which the justice system fails First Nations people, in particular young people and makes policy recommendations to support justice, safety, and healing for First Nations youth. The report was presented as evidence in the inquest into the deaths of seven First Nations students who left their communities to attend school in Thunder Bay.

A full spread of the Table of Contents, featuring a full bleed image of a room full of people raising their hands.

A full spread: The page on the right is an image of the backlit stencil illustration of stylized figures holding a drum. The page on the right is titled Policing

A spread of pages 66 and 67. Page 66 is titled Courts. The pull quote reads "You can't fix the system without mending the relationships that make the system". Page 67 features an image of 2 people soaking hide in water

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Partners

Offerings

Location

BACKGROUND

Four Youth Amplifiers and one Youth Advisor who worked on the Justice and Juries report. The youth on the far right hand side is at a podium speaking into a microphone while the other four youth stand behind the podium.

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Feathers of Hope (FOH) is a youth-led initiative to facilitate dialogue between indigenous youth, First Nations leadership, and government. At the first FOH forum, Indigenous youth spoke to issues they were experiencing within their communities. The second FOH forum told of the injustices, failures, and legacies of the justice system in the lives of Indigenous people in Ontario, and heard youth asking for a justice system that heals rather than punishes and incriminates.

The Co-Design Process

Photograph of 3 people working on 2 sheets of white butcher paper on the wall. The sheet on the left says "Rights When Stopped by Police" and there are yellow post-its underneath. The sheet on the right says "Police" and there are notes underneath.

Photograph of many colored post-its on a board. The board is labeled on

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And Also Too worked with a team from the Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth in Ontario, along with Anishinaabe artist and storyteller Nyle Johnston and a team of 18 indigenous youth who participated in the writing, editing, and design of Justice & Juries. Through a process of dialogue, design thinking, storytelling, and play, the team co-created artwork and infographics that tell a complex story about justice and community healing.

Photograph of artist Nyle Johnston in a corner, drawing on white walls with a black marker.

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Each Feathers of Hope report tells a story in both the text and the artwork. Feathers of Hope: Justice and Juries — A First Nations Youth Action Plan for Justice tells the story of young Aboriginal people uncovering the colonial roots of the systemic discrimination their communities face in Canada’s justice system.

Using the hand drum as a metaphor for community, artist Nyle Johnston and designer Una Lee worked collaboratively with the Feathers of Hope Justice & Juries Youth Advisory to tell the story of how the young people who participated in the forum found reconnection in learning about what justice meant to them.