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
Other Contributing Factors
Participants note several other factors that contribute to disparities in the criminal justice system. Included are racism and stereotypes that police, courts, and corrections have about American Indians. In addition, participants note that the expectation of many in the community is that their youth will encounter the criminal justice system, either through involvement with the police or being sentenced to a federal or state correctional facility.
“ It’s not unusual to see a bunch of Native juveniles together walking down the street and they’re automatically thought of as gang members.”
“I think a lot of it has to do with a lot of racial misconceptions such as all Natives are alcoholics.
Participants most often point to multiple factors that place American Indian youth and adults at risk to enter the criminal justice system. They believe that factors that place Indian people at risk happen well before any criminal act or involvement with criminal justice personnel. In essence, broad and repetitive system factors such as environment, racism, and poverty, merge with systemic criminal justice factors. These factors have an exasperating effect on American Indians once they commit a criminal or delinquency act and face a culturally insensitive process of profiling and sentencing disparities.
The
Well-Being of American Indian Children in Minnesota: Economic Conditions,
1994
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