ABSTRACT
Constitutional recognition of an Indigenous right to culture and a right of self-determination provides fertile ground for the meaningful implementation of cultural concepts to address the over-representation of Indigenous peoples within the criminal justice system. The common denominator in the Ecuadorian Constitution is the idea of increased inclusion of people and nature in a participatory democratic project. The Constitution of Bolivia provides: Cultural diversity is an essential foundation of the Plurinational State Community. A review of existing judicial initiatives in comparative jurisdictions to address the over-representation of Indigenous peoples within respective criminal justice systems in the areas of criminal offending, women and parole provides a helpful indication for the validity of the research question. In Hollow Water 75 per cent of the residents were victims and 35 per cent were offenders. The model of a Navajo Court is amenable to a concept of an Indigenous court for Māori.
