How We Go Home is about stories of return, belonging, and justice. The project gathers the voices and experiences of people impacted by incarceration and colonial displacement, sharing how they find ways back—back to family, to land, to community, and to themselves. These stories teach us about struggle and survival, but also about healing, creativity, and the many paths people are making toward home.
The year 2025 marks 50 years since the National Conference on Native Peoples and the Criminal Justice System, held in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1975. Despite this passage of time, Indigenous peoples continue to be overrepresented in the criminal justice system, comprising 32% of the federal prison population, with Indigenous women making up 50%. This stark reality highlights the need to gather, reflect, share, and advance Indigenous-led justice practices.
To launch and ground this conversation, we’re sharing a video featuring Clifford J. Summers, Oneida of the Thames, who draws on his long-standing involvement in Indigenous justice work. Cliff looks back at the history of Indigenous peoples’ relationship with the criminal justice system and what has unfolded over the decades since the 1975 conference. He reminds us that the community-based solutions being discussed now have been envisioned, practiced, and defended by Indigenous communities for generations.