There are over 250 Navajo peacemakers in the Navajo Nation's 110 chapters. In 1982, the judges wanted to return responsibility to the people to handle their own problems. When we returned peacemaking to the people in 1982, many communities accepted it with enthusiasm. The peacemakers gave us a few surprises. For example, several say they had to look at their own behavior because they were community leaders who are expected to lead by example.
Some peacemakers are very traditional, and others are modern.
Ruthie Alexius of Fort Defiance combines her skills as an alcohol counselor with her traditional knowledge and blends the two very well. Traditionally, when someone committed an offense, that person's family took responsibility for the act. When a family paid compensation to a victim of the offense, that family watched over the offender to make certain there would not be another offense. We have a chief probation officer and twenty-four probation officers in our seven judicial districts. They get training in the latest techniques of modern probation and work closely with state probation programs.