But after the initial shock wore off, "Judge Abby" - as she's affectionately known - felt a deep connection with the spirit of the award, bestowed by Simon Fraser University's Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue.
"It's one of those times where you go this could not be more perfect' because it's so on message for me," says Abinanti. "We, humans, need dialogue with each other and we need to learn to dialogue with the environment that we're in. That's what makes the award really meaningful to me, it is one of my primary responsibilities."
With the presentation of the Jack P. Blaney Award for Dialogue, Simon Fraser University honours Judge Abby Abinanti's transformative approaches in providing a model for criminal-justice reform, and recognized her unparalleled dedication to reinstating Indigenous and Yurok cultural values of respect, community support and responsibility, and collective healing for victims, perpetrators and the circle of lives they touch.
The first woman from a California tribe to be admitted to the State Bar of California and then the first to serve as a judicial officer in the state, Abinanti has been at the forefront of tribal justice practices for decades.
As the Chief Judge of the Yurok Tribe since 2007, she has presided over several firsts, including agreements with the tribe's neighbouring counties to divert its residents from their criminal courts to the tribe's own, where systemic issues that disproportionally affect Indigenous communities could be better addressed in an environment where Indigenous values and practices are part of the justice system.
"We have to look after our members," she says. "One of the things that I appreciate is when we create these models and it goes well, then the state starts following what we're doing and develop pilot projects that mirror us. It means, first of all, listening and secondly reflecting back and supporting the person."
Abinanti's work has made a lasting impact on both her community and the broader justice system.
Aftab Erfan, the executive director of the Centre for Dialogue, says that Abinanti's work has many parallels with British Columbia, which grapples with many of the same issues in its own justice system.
That connection is reflected in Abinanti's plans in B.C. while she visits to accept the award Nov. 19.
An eventful schedule includes participating a National Restorative Justice Week gathering of practitioners, attending the Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week's Red Dress event, meeting with the Indian Residential School Survivors Society and visiting the Kwìkwèxwelhp Healing Village - a minimal security facility for Indigenous men grounded in traditional teachings.
She will also visit SFU to meet with the community's Indigenous students, Elders, faculty and staff.
"I think the amazing thing is that Judge Abby's visit is getting us to look at ourselves with fresh eyes. We're finding people whose work is similar and it's really a bringing together of people who are inspired but also supported by each other," says Erfan. "What most excites me about Judge Abby's work is that it illuminates the possibilities of dialogue as a fully relational activity, where the end goal is the increased growth, well-being and connectedness of individuals in the context of families and communities."
About Judge Abby Abinanti
Judge Abby earned her Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of New Mexico School of Law, and she has served as a judge on the Yurok Tribal Court since 1997. She became the Chief Tribal Court Judge in 2007, a position she held in conjunction with her Superior Court assignment until 2015. Throughout her tenure as Chief Tribal Court Judge, Judge Abby worked to build a judicial system based on the Yurok cultural value system of "responsibility to and responsibility for."
The Yurok Tribal Court, well known to be very highly effective, is specifically designed to serve Native Americans by prioritizing cultural practices and healing. Judge Abby worked in collaboration with and supported by her colleagues and the Tribe to build the Tribal Court as part of a larger judicial system, which has grown to include Yurok-centered environmental, fishing, family law, civil law and protective orders. The Wellness Court, the most expansive judicial program in this system, includes California's first tribal child support program as well as family, adult and juvenile wellness courts. The Yurok Court has also developed the first California Batterer Intervention Program, which is state certified, allowing State Courts to order defendants to a culturally appropriate rehabilitation program.
Judge Abby has also focused her work in the Murdered & Missing Indigenous People (MMIP) crisis, which has disproportionately impacted women in the Yurok Tribe. Through her innovative and holistic approaches to criminal justice, she has led the way to significantly expanding services and programs available to combat the MMIP crisis.
With the presentation of the Jack P. Blaney Award for Dialogue, Simon Fraser University honours Judge Abby Abinanti's transformative approaches in providing a model for criminal-justice reform, and recognized her unparalleled dedication to reinstating Indigenous and Yurok cultural values of respect, community support and responsibility, and collective healing for victims, perpetrators and the circle of lives they touch.
About the Jack P. Blaney Award for Dialogue
The Jack P. Blaney Award for Dialogue is presented every two years to an individual who has demonstrated international excellence in the use of dialogue as a way of increasing mutual understanding and advancing complex public issues. Nominations are encouraged from around the world and the recipient is chosen through a robust selection process led by a distinguished committee of dialogue practitioners, community leaders and scholars. The 2024 award programming is supported by SFU Public Square.
