Circle Process
We follow a Restorative Justice Circle process model that is said to have been brought to the criminal justice system in the Boston area by people from the Tlingit and Tageesh nations in the 1970's.
The Circle Process is a model that is grounded in the traditional medicine wheel, which works with the four elements and the ancestors of the seven directions.
We have been trained as circle keepers in this model by the Suffolk University Center for Restorative Justice.
Some elements of what makes this ancient process so powerful are:
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The talking pieces is held as sacred, so that only the the person holding the talking pieces is invited to speak, while everyone else is invited to listen. This moves circle into an ancient, slow, and patient sense of time, as there can be no 'facilitator', and each share takes as long as it takes. There is a circle keeper, but the keeper, like everyone else, only speaks when holding the talking piece. This also gives everyone an equal voice, removing ways of thinking that are connected to hierarchy, as the circle as a whole is in charge of the process, not any individual.
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Individual agency is held as sacred. Only people who truly wish to participate will be in circle together. Nobody can be coerced. This also means that people are free to share, or not share whatever they feel to be important, regardless of what has been planned. This also means that people are prepared to do real emotional and spiritual work together.
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Communal decision making is held as sacred. It is said that, when people in circle truly listen, then a wisdom arises that is greater than any individual. Each circle member begins to experience speaking the voice of the circle, rather than the voice of an individual.
When combined, these three elements of circle bring us back into an ancient relationship with the world, where our sense of self extends beyond a single heart, mind, or body. Rather we are part of a great family of all beings. This is a wisdom that is held in sacred trust by all indigenous and dharma traditions.
“The Circle has healing power. In the Circle, we are all equal. When in the Circle, no one is in front of you. No one is behind you. No one is above you. No one is below you. The Sacred Circle is designed to create unity. The Hoop of Life is also a circle. On this hoop there is a place for every species, every race, every tree and every plant. It is this completeness of Life that must be respected in order to bring about health on this planet.”
~Dave Chief, Oglala Lakota~