In any community, these topics are difficult to discuss openly. In a community as close-knit as Huslia (the town’s population was 275 as of the 2010 Census), it can be particularly difficult to speak out given the fact the friends and family of those responsible for issues are often friends, neighbors and even family members.

The culmination of the two nights of meetings was the banishment of multiple Huslia residents who the village felt were responsible for many of the village’s negative issues — in the words of the tribe’s release, “putting our foot down so that we may once again have a community that is safe and a better place to live.”

Banishment isn’t a perfect solution. It performs some of the functions of the state justice system — removing those responsible for societal problems from the community and forcing them to reflect on their actions that caused their friends and neighbors to vote for their expulsion.

A clear issue is banishment sometimes just exports the problem to a different community if the banished don’t change their behavior. But that’s also a problem with prison, an option not available to community members in villages.

It’s good to see communities — of which Huslia is the most recent example — resolving among themselves to take what action they can to make their villages stronger and safer.