Aboriginal Law Time
Indigenous customary law has evolved over time from the moral and social norms accepted within indigenous societies. They regulate human behavior, impose specific sanctions for non-compliance, and connect people through a system of relations with the country and with each other. [3] The local person has an intuitive, personal and flexible concept of time. It may have originated at a time when Indigenous activities were regulated by the seasons by the sun, the migratory patterns of birds and animals, and the evolution of the food supply. Today, the native concept of time seems to be less a principle for living with nature than a manifestation of the need for harmonious interpersonal relationships. For example, Tom, Dick and Harry can`t make it to a 8 p.m. meeting because they have other responsibilities that they can`t leave because the time hasn`t come. If they have a particular interest in the issue under discussion, the meeting will not start until they arrive or until a message is received stating that they are not coming. Without starting them, these esteemed members of the community could offend.
In a different, more social context, it may be rude and reckless to start a dance at a wedding celebration without all the siblings of the bride and groom being able to participate in the first waltz.29 Aboriginal people have developed their own views, customs or rules of conduct that are sometimes at odds with those of mainstream society. For example, Aboriginal people have a very different view of time than most other Canadians. The Aborigines jokingly call it “Indian time” or “mestizo time”. But it is simply a recognition that events will take place at the right time, after following the required social protocols or as long as they do not interfere with other tasks or activities. Indigenous cultures and the values they represent have not disappeared. Instead, they adapted to new times and situations. They are still alive and dynamic today. The rules of conduct and cultural imperatives of Indigenous society continue to determine how an Indigenous person perceives the surrounding world, and they influence that person`s actions and reactions toward others and to society as a whole.
Many general psychiatrists see Indigenous children and adolescents in journals and often find them passive, difficult to judge, and undesirable. This behaviour, which affects the attitude and performance of the individual Aboriginal child in an assessment situation, is understandable given the child`s cultural context. The psychiatrist may sometimes misinterpret the behavior as resistance, passive aggression, opposition, depression, or withdrawal. The inability of the general psychiatrist to recognize derivatives of the individual child`s cultural heritage, as they affect his behavior in a clinical situation, can lead to unnoticed errors in diagnosis, formulation and treatment. For example, there may be excessive use of antidepressants and too frequent diagnosis of personality disorders. This can make what is supposed to be a useful encounter that is not helpful to the patient or even traumatic. Such encounters will undoubtedly also be frustrating for the clinician.19 Reimbursement is a form of primarily physical and sometimes fatal punishment inflicted by elders or victims on members of their group who have broken the law. Reimbursement is an important part of Aboriginal law; “Where there are grievances, depreciation is expected.” [1] From his arrest to his conviction, the “truth” as revealed by the Aboriginal person will relate to his perception of the situation. This could very well mean many different versions of the “truth”: one during a police interrogation, one in conversation with lawyers or lawyers, the one widely known in the Indigenous community and finally the one given to the court during cross-examination.
From an Indian point of view, he would never be accused of lying. All versions would be considered reasonable given what might have happened, and no one would deem it necessary to judge one version more correctly than the others. The detention of an offender prohibits properly controlled and sanctioned reprisals, and the unresolved incident continues to simmer in the community, sometimes resulting in a cycle of violence within the community. Notwithstanding the fact that Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people are all subject to the same law, Australian courts have from time to time recognised certain aspects of Aboriginal customary law. Most of the recognition was related to criminal law, but there was significant recognition in some aspects of civil law. Some of the recognized aspects of indigenous customary law are under review. Judges and jurors can hardly be impartial when misinterpreting individuals` words, behaviour and body language. Witnesses who refuse to testify, and people accused of crimes, who refuse to plead and show no emotion, are judged differently from those who respond in a way expected by the system. Their culturally conditioned reactions are misunderstood, sometimes as contempt, and can lead to unfair or inappropriate hearing and sentencing. Requiring people to act in a way that contradicts their most basic beliefs and deep-rooted rules of conduct is not only a violation of their rights, but also a profoundly discriminatory act.
TOP Now, the weather in the Mi`kmaq world is usually divided according to the position of the sun. Now, if you`re a micmace person questioned or cross-examined on the witness stand, the lawyer might say, well, did you see that at seven in the morning? And the local person would say: Yes, no, he said, Wej kwap niaq, which means that the sun has just risen. And so I turned around and gave this statement to everyone who asked the questions. And then the prosecutor, who is not satisfied with this answer, would say, yes, but.
