Research Reports
Reflections on Traditional American Indian Ways, 1998
Threats to Tribal Sovereignty, 1998
Traditional American Indian Leadership: A Comparison with U.S. Governance, 1997
Corrections
The corrections system is similar to county court sectors in claiming to have no influence over the number of offenders sent to their institutions. They frequently say, “a correctional institution is the end of the line; we simply have to take those offenders sent by the courts.” The corrections system exhibits cultural deprivation similar to other sectors of the criminal justice system as well as its own system-centric weaknesses. The training and experience of correctional practitioners and administrators lack cultural education and experience. Social workers, for example, play important roles in the criminal justice system and more than likely are the first in line to connect with young people experiencing some difficulty. Several participants though, note the lack of culturally appropriate training among social workers.
“… training in my field on any minority study is minimal. There might be one class that kinda groups all minority groups together and you spend a class on Latino and a class on … the class on Native American was they might not make eye contact, real kind of general, and it was really poorly done, so most of my learning has been through experience.”
“Licensure could be dependent on cultural competence – there should be question on the exam about the Indian Child Welfare Act. The ICWA at least provides some standards in that social workers have to justify their actions somehow.”
“The deficit model is still taught in schools today. In my life as a social worker I can list 5 or 8 non-Indians that became culturally competent to work with Indians. And there are a lot of white people out there. Strength has to come from within us to stand up and challenge.”
Similar to educational systems, age-old traditional and spiritual practices of American Indians are routinely placed under “religious” functions in a correctional institution. A chaplain or other representative of a Christian church makes decisions about American Indian cultural and spiritual matters in prisons. Throughout history Judeo-Christian beliefs never entertained diversity of belief systems, particularly American Indian spirituality that was considered savagism by these same Judeo-Christian faith-based organizations. Nothing in the training and experience prepares a minister to work effectively with American Indian culture and spirituality.
“They found out that the European system does not work for us. We have our own values and system. We have our own traditional values that the European society doesn’t understand. They have a lot of their rules, policies, regulations and we don’t abide by them, well then we’re unteachable.”
Even with adequate training, the comparative small number of American Indians in criminal justice professions, i.e., lawyer, judge, probation/parole agent, county attorney, county board member, prison warden, social worker and psychologist/psychiatrist are able to make only miniscule contributions to a system ill-equipped and unprepared to work with Indians.
The
Well-Being of American Indian Children in Minnesota: Economic Conditions,
1994
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Tuesday November 1, 2005