Peacemaking Circles

What it is

A restorative practice with deep roots in Indigenous traditions, adapted into contemporary use in criminal justice, schools, families, and community contexts. Peacemaking circles bring together those affected by harm in a structured circle format with trained facilitators. Over multiple sessions, the group works toward shared understanding, accountability, repair, and reintegration.

The form has been carefully developed by First Nations practitioners and Indigenous knowledge keepers. Many contemporary practitioners (Kay Pranis, the late Howard Zehr, and others) have written extensively about it, always crediting the Indigenous lineage.

Why it works

The conventional justice system asks: *who did what, and what's the punishment*. Restorative practice asks different questions: *who was harmed, what do they need, who has obligations, and how do we move forward*.

Circles answer those questions through structure. The circle puts everyone in equal physical space. The talking piece ensures equal voice and deep listening. The multiple sessions allow time and trust to develop. The presence of community members alongside victim and person who caused harm distributes the work.

The outcomes consistently show lower recidivism and higher victim satisfaction than conventional punitive responses.

What you need

• Time: Multiple sessions. Pre-circles over 2 to 4 weeks. Main circle 2 to 4 hours. Follow-up circles ongoing.
• People: Trained facilitators (essential). 8 to 50+ participants depending on the case.
• Space: A quiet, safe space allowing a true circle. Often community centers, schools, faith spaces, or council chambers.
• Materials: A talking piece. Optionally candles, plants, opening and closing readings.
• Skills: Circle facilitation, trauma-informed practice, conflict resolution, community organizing.
• Energy level: Medium to high. Sustained commitment and emotional presence.

How to host it

This is a recipe that requires training to do well. The steps below describe the structure, not a substitute for facilitator training.

1. Get trained. Practitioner programs exist through restorative justice networks. Living Justice Press, Restorative Justice Council, Howard Zehr's work at Eastern Mennonite University, and Indigenous-led training programs are starting points.
2. Determine fit. Not every situation belongs in a circle. Cases involving ongoing power imbalance, current safety risk, or coercion need different responses. Skilled facilitators assess fit carefully.
3. Conduct pre-circles. Meet separately with each participant beforehand. Build trust. Prepare them for what the main circle will look like. Address fears. Ensure consent.
4. Set the container. Arrange chairs in a circle with a centerpiece (talking piece, often a feather, stone, or shell). Open with grounding: a moment of silence, a reading, an acknowledgment of the land if appropriate.
5. Establish agreements. Each circle starts with shared agreements: respect, confidentiality, speaking from the heart, listening with intention, non-interruption.
6. Open the conversation. The facilitator names what brought everyone together. The talking piece begins to move.
7. Each round serves a purpose. Common rounds:

• Introductions and intentions.
• The harm: what happened, who was affected.
• Impact: how each person was affected.
• Needs: what does each person need now.
• Accountability and repair: what the person who caused harm commits to.
• Community support: how the community will support both victim and person who caused harm.
• Closing.

1. Plan the follow-through. A circle alone does not produce repair. The plan that emerges from it does. Follow-up circles, check-ins, and continued support are part of the practice.

Variations

School circle. Used in schools for discipline, conflict resolution, and community building. Increasingly common as schools move away from suspension-based discipline.

Family circle. A family-level restorative process, often in cases of intergenerational conflict, divorce, or harm within a family.

Community-level circle. A circle convened by a community to address harm that affected the whole neighborhood. Often public-safety related.

Healing circle. A circle focused on collective healing rather than a specific harm. Used after community trauma (police violence, mass shootings, disasters).

Reintegration circle. A circle to support someone returning from incarceration, hospitalization, or another difficult separation.

Stories from neighborhoods

Peacemaking circles have been used by Indigenous communities for generations. Contemporary applications have spread widely:

Criminal justice. Many jurisdictions in the U.S. and Canada now have restorative justice diversion programs that include circles. Outcomes show reduced recidivism and higher victim satisfaction.

Schools. Hundreds of schools across the U.S. have implemented circle-based restorative practices. Schools that have done this carefully report reduced suspensions and improved climate.

Communities. Circles have been used to address racial harm, community-police tensions, gang conflict, and large-scale community grief. Each adaptation respects the form while shaping content to context.

Where to learn more

• Foundational text: Kay Pranis, *The Little Book of Circle Processes*
• Foundational text: Howard Zehr, *The Little Book of Restorative Justice*
• Publisher: Living Justice Press
• A resource hub: Transform Harm
• Adjacent recipes: [Talking Circle](../04-gathering-design/talking-circle.md), [Creative Interventions](./creative-interventions.md), [Community Mediation](./community-mediation.md)

Details

• steps: **Get trained.** Practitioner programs exist through restorative justice networks. **Living Justice Press**, **Restorative Justice Council**, **Howard Zehr's** work at Eastern Mennonite University, and Indigenous-led training programs are starting points., **Determine fit.** Not every situation belongs in a circle. Cases involving ongoing power imbalance, current safety risk, or coercion need different responses. Skilled facilitators assess fit carefully., **Conduct pre-circles.** Meet separately with each participant beforehand. Build trust. Prepare them for what the main circle will look like. Address fears. Ensure consent., **Set the container.** Arrange chairs in a circle with a centerpiece (talking piece, often a feather, stone, or shell). Open with grounding: a moment of silence, a reading, an acknowledgment of the land if appropriate., **Establish agreements.** Each circle starts with shared agreements: respect, confidentiality, speaking from the heart, listening with intention, non-interruption., **Open the conversation.** The facilitator names what brought everyone together. The talking piece begins to move., **Each round serves a purpose.** Common rounds: - Introductions and intentions. - The harm: what happened, who was affected. - Impact: how each person was affected. - Needs: what does each person need now. - Accountability and repair: what the person who caused harm commits to. - Community support: how the community will support both victim and person who caused harm. - Closing., **Plan the follow-through.** A circle alone does not produce repair. The plan that emerges from it does. Follow-up circles, check-ins, and continued support are part of the practice.
• file path: recipes/08-healing-and-conflict/peacemaking-circles.md
• variations: **School circle.** Used in schools for discipline, conflict resolution, and community building. Increasingly common as schools move away from suspension-based discipline. **Family circle.** A family-level restorative process, often in cases of intergenerational conflict, divorce, or harm within a family. **Community-level circle.** A circle convened by a community to address harm that affected the whole neighborhood. Often public-safety related. **Healing circle.** A circle focused on collective healing rather than a specific harm. Used after community trauma (police violence, mass shootings, disasters). **Reintegration circle.** A circle to support someone returning from incarceration, hospitalization, or another difficult separation.
• ingredients: {"time":"Multiple sessions. Pre-circles over 2 to 4 weeks. Main circle 2 to 4 hours. Follow-up circles ongoing.","space":"A quiet, safe space allowing a true circle. Often community centers, schools, faith spaces, or council chambers.","people":"Trained facilitators (essential). 8 to 50+ participants depending on the case.","skills":"Circle facilitation, trauma-informed practice, conflict resolution, community organizing.","materials":"A talking piece. Optionally candles, plants, opening and closing readings.","energy_level":"Medium to high. Sustained commitment and emotional presence."}
• where to learn more: - Foundational text: Kay Pranis, *The Little Book of Circle Processes* - Foundational text: Howard Zehr, *The Little Book of Restorative Justice* - Publisher: [Living Justice Press](https://livingjusticepress.org/) - A resource hub: [Transform Harm](https://transformharm.org/) - Adjacent recipes: [Talking Circle](../04-gathering-design/talking-circle.md), [Creative Interventions](./creative-interventions.md), [Community Mediation](./community-mediation.md)
• stories from neighborhoods: Peacemaking circles have been used by Indigenous communities for generations. Contemporary applications have spread widely: **Criminal justice.** Many jurisdictions in the U.S. and Canada now have restorative justice diversion programs that include circles. Outcomes show reduced recidivism and higher victim satisfaction. **Schools.** Hundreds of schools across the U.S. have implemented circle-based restorative practices. Schools that have done this carefully report reduced suspensions and improved climate. **Communities.** Circles have been used to address racial harm, community-police tensions, gang conflict, and large-scale community grief. Each adaptation respects the form while shaping content to context.