Little Book of Circle Processes

A New/Old Approach To Peacemaking

Kay Pranis

• Publisher: Good Books
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781680990416
• Topic: Droit
• Subtopic: Règlement extrajudiciaire des litiges

Our ancestors gathered around a fire in a circle, families gather around their kitchen tables in circles, and now we are gathering in circles as communities to solve problems. The practice draws on the ancient Native American tradition of a talking piece. Peacemaking Circles are used in neighborhoods to provide support for those harmed by crime and to decide sentences for those who commit crime, in schools to create positive classroom climates and resolve behavior problems, in the workplace to deal with conflict, and in social services to develop more organic support systems for people struggling to get their lives together. A title in The Little Books of Justice and Peacebuilding Series.

1.

Introduction

“We’re all lovers and we’re all destroyers. We’re all frightened and at the same time we all want terribly to trust. This is part of our struggle. We have to help what is most beautiful to emerge in us and to divert the powers of darkness and violence. I learn to be able to say, ‘This is my fragility. I must learn about it and use it in a constructive way.’”

— Jean Vanier1

Old things made new

Our ancestors gathered around a fire in a circle. Families gather around the kitchen table in a circle. Now, we are learning to gather in a circle as a community to solve problems, support one another, and connect to one another.

A new way of bringing people together to understand one another, strengthen bonds, and solve community problems is blossoming in modern Western communities. But this new way is really very old. It draws on the ancient Native American tradition of using a talking piece, an object passed from person to person in a group and which grants the holder sole permission to speak. It combines this ancient tradition with contemporary concepts of democracy and inclusivity in a complex, multicultural society.

Peacemaking Circles are being used in a variety of contexts. In neighborhoods they provide support for those harmed by crime and help decide sentences for those who commit crime. In schools, they create a positive classroom climate and resolve behavior problems. In the workplace, they help address conflict, and in social services they develop more organic support systems for people struggling to get their lives together.

Circles are being used in:

• neighborhoods

• schools

• workplaces

• social services

• justice systems

The Circle Process is a storytelling process. Every person has a story, and every story has a lesson to offer. In the Circle, people touch one another’s lives by sharing stories that have meaning to them. As the following three vignettes suggest, stories unite people in their common humanity and help them appreciate the depth and beauty of the human experience.

• • •

A breathless first-grader runs up to the school administrator supervising the playground. “Mrs. Ticiu! Mrs. Ticiu!” he exclaims. “I need a talking piece!” Mrs. Ticiu reaches into her pocket, extracts a small plastic dinosaur, and offers it to the child. He grasps the dinosaur tightly in his fist and dashes off to join several other students who, moments earlier, were arguing. With the help of the talking piece, they discuss their disagreement and find a solution they all like.

• • •

Legislators, state policy analysts, state agency administrators, and youth workers sit at tables with adolescents who have gotten into trouble to discuss the state vision for delinquent youth in Minnesota. As a talking piece is passed around the table, each person gets an equal chance to hear and share perspectives. Everyone listens intently to each speaker. After thoughtful listening and discussion, each table reaches a consensus position regarding its assigned topic.

• • •

In an inner-city neighborhood, an adolescent and his mom sit in a Circle with nearly a dozen community members and justice system professionals, including a prosecutor and a public defender. The assembled group stands and joins hands to express gratitude for the opportunity to come together as a community to support this adolescent and his family. A talking piece is passed and introductions are made. Each welcomes the youth and his mother to the Circle.

As the talking pieces makes its second round, Circle participants ask the youth about his progress in school, his behavior at home, and his interests. Two members of the Circle have visited his school and offer to help him catch up with his schoolwork. The youth’s mother expresses grave concern that he is leaving the house without her permission. She talks about her fears for him when he is out on the street after dark.

As the talking piece circulates among those present, Circle participants share fears and anxieties from their own adolescence. In dialogue with the youth, they express care and concern but also clear expectations about school attendance, homework, and checking in with Mom before leaving the house.

Both the youth and his mother respond warmly to the overtures of support and concern from the Circle. Both are able to listen to one another better with the use of the talking piece, and they leave with a better understanding of each other’s concerns and frustrations.

The youth promises to comply with the agreement, and the group schedules another Circle meeting to check on his progress. The group stands and joins hands for a closing acknowledgment of the hard work done.

Peacemaking Circles like those described above are bringing people together as equals to have honest exchanges about difficult issues and painful experiences in an atmosphere of respect and concern for everyone. In increasingly varied settings, Peacemaking Circles are providing a space in which people from widely divergent perspectives can come together to speak candidly about conflict, pain, and anger and leave those conversations feeling good about themselves and about others.

The philosophy of Circles acknowledges that we are all in need of help and that helping others helps us at the same time.

The underlying philosophy of Circles acknowledges that we are all in need of help and that helping others helps us at the same time. The participants of the Circle benefit from the collective wisdom of everyone in the Circle. Participants are not divided into givers and receivers: everyone is both a giver and a receiver. Circles draw on the life experience and wisdom of all participants to generate new understandings of the problem and new possibilities for solutions.

Peacemaking Circles bring together the ancient wisdom of community and the contemporary value of respect for individual gifts, needs, and differences in a process that:

• honors the presence and dignity of every participant

• values the contributions of every participant

• emphasizes the connectedness of all things

• supports emotional and spiritual expression

• gives equal voice to all

About this book

This book is an overview of Peacemaking Circles and is designed to familiarize readers with the general nature of the process, its underlying philosophy, and ways the Peacemaking Circle Process can be used. It is not a detailed description of the process nor does it explain how to conduct Circles in general.

The book will explain how to conduct a simple Talking Circle, but this is not adequate preparation for leading more complex Circles. Facilitating a Circle requires more than putting chairs in a circle. Training in Circle facilitation is recommended before attempting to conduct a Circle in circumstances involving conflict, strong emotions, or victimization.2

Historical context

Peacemaking Circles draw directly from the tradition of the Talking Circle, common among indigenous people of North America. Gathering in a Circle to discuss important community issues was likely a part of the tribal roots of most people. Such processes still exist among indigenous people around the world, and we are deeply indebted to those who have kept these practices alive as a source of wisdom and inspiration for modern Western cultures.

In contemporary society and largely outside the scope of mainstream awareness, Circles have been used by small groups of non-indigenous people for over 30 years. Women’s groups in particular have made extensive use of a formal Circle Process. Those Circles have primarily occurred in the contexts of individuals sharing their personal journeys in a supportive community. Some individuals have taken their experience with personal Circles into public settings, but a systemic effort to use Circles in mainstream public processes, such as criminal justice, is relatively new and grows out of work undertaken in Yukon, Canada, in the early 1990s.

An overview of Circles

A Peacemaking Circle is a way of bringing people together in which:

• everyone is respected

• everyone gets a chance to talk without interruption

• participants explain themselves by telling their stories

• everyone is equal—no person is more important than anyone else

• spiritual and emotional aspects of individual experience are welcomed

Peacemaking Circles are useful when two or more people:

• need to make decisions together

• have a disagreement

• need to address an experience that resulted in harm to someone

• want to work together as a team

• wish to celebrate

• wish to share difficulties

• want to learn from each other

The Peacemaking Circle is a container strong enough to hold:

• anger

• frustration

• joy

• pain

• truth

• conflict

• diverse world views

• intense feelings

• silence

• paradox

This book is about Circle work that originated in public settings—Circles used more in a context of community-building than in a context of personal development, though all effective Circles ultimately engage people on a personal level, connect people in deep and personal places, and therefore contribute to personal development. In the United States, Peacemaking Circles were introduced under the philosophy of restorative justice, which promotes including all those impacted by a crime in a process of understanding the harm of crime and devising strategies for repairing the harm.3

The Peacemaking Circle Process in the United States began in the Minnesota criminal justice system. Peacemaking Circles offered a way to include those harmed by crime, those who commit crime, and the community in a partnership with the justice system to determine the most effective response to a crime that would promote healing and safety for everyone. The goals of the Circle include developing support for those harmed by crime, deciding the sentence for those who commit crime and supporting them in fulfilling the obligations of the sentence, and strengthening the community to prevent crimes.

Rural, suburban, and urban communities are using the process for criminal cases involving both adult and juvenile crimes. Peacemaking Circles are active across a range of cultural communities including African American, Euro-American, Hmong, Latino, Cambodian, and Native American.

Though Circles began in the context of the sentencing process, corrections practitioners found other applications for this approach within the criminal justice system. Innovative professionals began using Circles to facilitate community reentry for people who have been incarcerated and to improve the effectiveness of community supervision for people on probation.

Circle Processes are part of the roots of most traditions.

Circles in Minnesota began as a part of the criminal justice process but soon found use ...