NCJ Number
216845
Journal
International Criminal Justice Review Volume: 16 Issue: 3 Dated: December 2006 Pages: 157-178
Date Published
December 2006
Length
22 pages
Annotation
Drawing on case studies of two specialized legal service organizations in Canada and Australia designed to assist Indigenous people, this article analyzed the way in which environmental conditions have impacted their development and operation.
Abstract
It is recommended that the ALRM vary their role in the criminal justice arena in an effort to diversify their funding options. ALRM should also focus on supporting the development of Indigenous political organizations. The main finding indicated that legal services organizations founded to assist Indigenous people must continue to adapt and innovate through the construction of alternative realities if they are to provide effective services for disenfranchised people. The case study findings are discussed in terms of how the organizations adapted to the environmental, demographic, economic, cultural, legal, political, and technical circumstances in which they operated. The most important force impacting the development and operation of the legal service organizations in Canada and Australia occurred within the political realm. In Australia, the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement, Inc. (ALRM) was forced to be very politically active and critical of state and federal government because they worked within an environment in which the government espoused unsympathetic policies toward Indigenous people and within an environment that lacked effective Indigenous political organizations. The Native Counseling Services of Alberta (NCSA) in Canada, on the other hand, enjoyed greater government support and a wider range of funding sources, enabling them to focus on two approaches to overcoming the obstacles faced by Indigenous people: (1) the development of more services to meet client needs, and (2) the use of funding to balance the demands of the constituents. The case study approach focused on two legal service organizations in Canada and Australia--the NCSA and the ALRM--that have different structures, programs, histories, and clientele, among other differences. The analysis focused on describing the environmental, demographic, economic, cultural, legal, political, and technological conditions within which the two legal organizations operate to help Indigenous people. Tables, appendix, notes, references