Indigenous Court in Saskatchewan long overdue, experts say

A major new pilot project from the Provincial Court of Saskatchewan could change the way some Indigenous people are sentenced in the province.

An Indigenous Provincial Court is being developed by the province to address the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in the justice system ‘by providing a culturally grounded, restorative, and holistic approach to justice’, they said in a statement.

According to Statistics Canada, Indigenous adults are incarcerated at a rate 19.4 times higher than non-Indigenous individuals in Saskatchewan. Indigenous people represent approximately 78 percent of the total adult provincial custody population in the province. A report in 2021 showed that the incarceration rate for Indigenous men was 179.5 per 10,000.

The Provincial Court stated they are actively leading the development of an Indigenous Court in Saskatoon through an Elder-guided, co-design process. They are partnering with Indigenous communities, community resources, and victims supports.

They plan to launch the court in summer 2026, but declined to provide further detail on how the Indigenous court would work or what sort of offences would be handled at the court.

“It’s long, long overdue,” said Kim Beaudin, National Vice-Chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples of Canada.

“Indigenous people are over-charged and over-sentenced. There’s people in the system that should’ve never been in there.”

Beaudin said he participated in a couple preliminary meetings with the Saskatchewan courts on developing the Indigenous Court. He said he believes they are going to try to mirror the Calgary Indigenous Court (CIC), which was established in 2019.

The CIC is a culturally relevant and holistic system of justice for Indigenous individuals, seeking to address the over-representation of Indigenous people in the justice system. It deals primarily with bail and sentencing hearings, and is open to any offender who is Indigenous and chooses to have matters addressed with the CIC. Sentencing at the CIC includes a Healing Plan use Indigenous community supports and encourage offenders to learn and reconnect with their heritage.

“It’s like night and day how they treat people (at CIC). They treat people like a human being,” said Beaudin, who sat in on many hearings in Calgary.

Beaudin believes that offenders sentenced in an Indigenous court would feel more accountable to their people.

“You hear people in court calling them out. It has a massive impact, because those are your people. It’s not a police officer or social worker. Most people in the justice system know it’s stacked against them. But when it comes to being accountable to your own people – that works,” he said.

The interior of the CIC court is designed like a teepee and allows for smudging, and utilizes eagle feathers for oaths.

Beaudin said these courts are often characterized as having a ‘hug a thug’ mentality, but said that that isn’t true, and more accountability with one’s community doesn’t mean more lenience.

“When you dig down to it, we as Indigenous people are responsible for our own families. The government policies destroyed all that, they took our families from us and made us reliant on their system – which of course has been a huge failure,” said Beaudin.

Sherri Gordon is more than familiar with the complications of the justice system in Saskatchewan. Her husband, Bronson Gordon, was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 25 years.

“I think it could have a hugely positive impact if it involves the nation,” said Gordon, founder of Beyond Prison Walls Canada.

“A lot of (people in the justice system) are disconnected from their First Nations. I think it could bring people together – that’s the traditional way for Indigenous people, to sit and talk.”

In March 2018, Bronson, along with two other men, were convicted of killing Reno Lee in 2015. All three were sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 25 years. Gordon maintains her husband’s innocence, as he was not present at the time of the murder. Prosecutors argued that he orchestrated the killing in order to take out a rival drug dealer.

“Racism played a huge part (in his sentencing). I’m very open about that,” said Gordon. “He was a drug dealer. He was in a very weird situation, my husband admits that. But he never killed anyone.”

Gordon, who married her husband while he was in prison, is currently seeking a re-trail for her husband.

“You don’t really see anyone in Saskatchewan getting 25 years since then,” she said.

She said he is a model inmate, but still cannot get moved from a medium security to minimum security facility. She said non-Indigenous inmates will get moved to minimum despite having verbal or physical altercations with guards. Fair treatment for inmates is one of the many things she advocates for.

“A lot of prisoners don’t know their Charter of Rights and Freedoms. So I’ve educated my husband on those, and he educates those around him,” she said.

With Beyond Prison Walls Canada, Gordon and Bronson help inmates with human rights complaints, parole, support, and bail letters. Additionally, as a certified Gladue writer, Gordon will help Indigenous inmates when a Gladue report is needed – a specialized pre-sentencing document that details unique, systemic, and personal circumstances of an Indigenous person facing a criminal charge.

“I’ve always been the voice of the prisoners,” said Gordon.

“There’s a lack of services inside, They’re suffering from mental health. Prison isn’t a place where people are going to get help. I don’t think anyone comes out of prison better than when they went in.”

As such, Gordon said she is optimistic that the pilot project for the Indigenous Provincial Court could lead to reduced sentences, less time in prison, and more community and cultural involvement for those incarcerated. She believes it could operate like a traditional Indigenous sentencing circle.

But she has questions about its practicality that remain unanswered. She said she believes the court won’t consider serious offences.

“My problem is, what are we considering those sentences to be? Because where do you ever see an Indigenous person not get charged with a serious offence? They always over-sentence or over-charge to make sure it sticks.”

Gordon said she would love to see charges like domestic violence, drug-related charges, and even murder sentenced at the Indigenous Provincial Court, but fears it will be minor offences like shoplifting charges.

“It’s not the minor offences that need support. It’s the major offences that need support,” said Gordon.

“I would like to see this project take off because I think it’s important. I think the current systems are failing Indigenous people.”

The courts said they will release additional information to the public on the Indigenous Court in the months to come.