Circle Justice: A Path to Healing and Redemption
Introduction
Circle Justice: A Path to Healing and Redemption is a novel that explores the transformative power of Circle Justice, a Native American restorative justice practice. The story follows Cole Matthews, a troubled fifteen-year-old who is banished to a remote Alaskan island as an alternative to prison.
Cole’s Journey
Cole arrives on the island filled with anger and bitterness. He is determined to escape, but his attempts are thwarted by the rising tide. In his first few days on the island, he encounters a majestic white bear, which he tries to kill out of anger. However, the bear is unfazed and attacks Cole, breaking his hip and arm.
Left to die, Cole realizes his own vulnerability and need to change. He is rescued by Edwin, a Tlingit elder, and Garvey, the corrections officer who offered him Circle Justice. They take him to Drake, where he is nursed back to health.
Healing and Forgiveness
Upon recovering, Cole finds that his mother has opened up to him and agreed to press charges against his abusive father. Cole is anxious to begin his healing process through Circle Justice, but the members of the circle disagree, saying that he already gave up his chance.
Edwin comes from Alaska to defend Cole and insist that he should be given a second chance to live on the island. Edwin’s pleas are successful, and Cole returns to the island.
Back on the island, Cole is forced to build his own shelter and learns a series of rituals that will sustain his healing and forgiveness process. He is instructed to take a soak in a freezing pond every morning, carry a large rock up a hill and roll it back down, and do a dance imitating an animal if he sees one.
Cole eagerly follows these steps, even doing a wolf dance, eagle dance, and beaver dance, among others. However, he is plagued by the fact that he has not yet seen the Spirit Bear again.
Peter’s Arrival
Just as Cole is growing in his own process of healing, Edwin tells him that Peter Driscal, the boy he had attacked, is not doing well. Cole insists that the best way to heal Peter is to have him come to the island and see how Cole has changed.
Peter’s desperate parents agree on the condition that Garvey stays with them on the island. Cole initially frightens Peter, but later Peter is emboldened by Cole’s passivity, even punching and shoving Cole on several occasions.
Cole shows Peter the natural wonders of the island and his own healing process, which allow Peter to understand how to forgive Cole and accept that his life has worth as well.
Conclusion
As the two forgive each other, they see the Spirit Bear one last time, peaceful as it watches the two former enemies now reconcile. The novel ends with Peter and Cole carving a circle into the last empty space on Cole’s totem pole, symbolizing the unity and peace that they have found on the island.