Baltimore IMC : http://www.baltimoreimc.org
Commentary :: Civil & Human Rights : Culture : Race and Ethnicity
MOVING BEYOND THE FRY BREAD AND NATIVE REGALIA
Another November has passed and most American probably forgot that this month among all the others is congressionally mandated as American Indian Heritage Month. While some communities celebrate American Indian Heritage Month by displaying Native American costumes, hosting traditional American Indian dances, and sampling Native food, most Americans have never given much thought to the difficulties of Native Americans.
MOVING BEYOND THE FRY BREAD AND NATIVE REGALIA
By Jeffrey Ian Ross, Ph.D.
Another November has passed and most American probably forgot that this month among all the others is congressionally mandated as American Indian Heritage Month. True, the recent elections probably had something to do with clouding our perceptions. But underlying it all is a deeper pathology.
While some communities celebrate American Indian Heritage Month by displaying Native American costumes, hosting traditional American Indian dances, and sampling Native food, most Americans have never given much thought to the difficulties of Native Americans.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are approximately three million American Indians living among the 50 states. Most experts, however, acknowledge that this figure is probably an underestimate, especially since the definition of what exactly constitutes an American Indian is constantly debated.
Regardless, nowhere is ignorance about American Indians more prevalent than it is within the criminal justice system, particularly as it involves the relationship between this culture and crime. And for good reason; many believe that the issues of American Indians are the same as those of any minority caught up in the justice system. The truth is that, although Native Americans share many similarities with other minority groups, mainstream criminal justice programs and polices directed towards Native Americans are often poorly thought out, while reservation criminal justice systems are diverse and complicated
Most Americans have never been to “Indian Country,” or more specifically, to a reservation. About a third of American Indians live in the states of California, Arizona, and Oklahoma—far removed from the mid-Atlantic region.
Per 100,000 U.S. citizens, Native Americans are the victims of criminal acts at almost twice the levels of non-natives. But this statistic fails to provide a truly accurate portrait of crime among Native Americans, as the United States typically measures crime rates through the Uniform Crime Reports. These reports, which primarily reflect police decision-making, however, do not capture crime rates on reserves. Moreover, there are very specific things that Indian people are typically arrested for off reservation and most of their victimization off reservation is at the hands of nonnatives.
Another reason for our collective naiveté about the role of Native Americans in the criminal justice system is the abundance of myths that exist regarding the types of crimes attributed to this culture. Crimes such as illegal immigration, fishing and hunting over the legal limits, and public drunkenness and vagrancy are complicated offenses, yet the casual observer interprets these crimes through their ignorance of the law, and lack of knowledge concerning the rights accorded to Native Americans.
The criminal justice arena as it relates to American Indians is further complicated by the fact that there are approximately 563 federally recognized tribal governments; this translates into almost into 563 different criminal justice systems. This does not, however, count the number of tribes that aren’t recognized by the federal government, but are recognized by the states in which they live. Moreover, about half of all Native tribes are designated as “PL 280,” which means that their criminal justice systems are, for better or worse, administered by the states in which the reserves are located. Which brings in another level of complexity with respect to different rules and regulations.
Undoubtedly, things are changing. There appears to be a greater appreciation by the U.S. Department of Justice and by the Bureau of Indian Affairs of the role of Native Americans in bringing fair and equitable justice to their communities. This effort has been aided through conferences, research, and grants for specialized programs.
This acceptance of unique nature of Native American justice, started during the Clinton Administration, also means that more specialized knowledge must be acquired by the public and criminal justice administrators operating in Indian Country and communities that have a high concentration of American Indians living there. Hopefully this will lead to criminal justice practitioners and the public acquiring a more thorough and accurate understanding of Native Americans’ unique culture and criminal justice practices and policies.
Jeffrey Ian Ross, Ph.D., is a criminologist at the University of Baltimore. He is the author, co-author, editor, or co-editor of 11 books, the most recent of which is NATIVE AMERICANS AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM. His Web site may be found at www.jeffreyianross.com.
By Jeffrey Ian Ross, Ph.D.
Another November has passed and most American probably forgot that this month among all the others is congressionally mandated as American Indian Heritage Month. True, the recent elections probably had something to do with clouding our perceptions. But underlying it all is a deeper pathology.
While some communities celebrate American Indian Heritage Month by displaying Native American costumes, hosting traditional American Indian dances, and sampling Native food, most Americans have never given much thought to the difficulties of Native Americans.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are approximately three million American Indians living among the 50 states. Most experts, however, acknowledge that this figure is probably an underestimate, especially since the definition of what exactly constitutes an American Indian is constantly debated.
Regardless, nowhere is ignorance about American Indians more prevalent than it is within the criminal justice system, particularly as it involves the relationship between this culture and crime. And for good reason; many believe that the issues of American Indians are the same as those of any minority caught up in the justice system. The truth is that, although Native Americans share many similarities with other minority groups, mainstream criminal justice programs and polices directed towards Native Americans are often poorly thought out, while reservation criminal justice systems are diverse and complicated
Most Americans have never been to “Indian Country,” or more specifically, to a reservation. About a third of American Indians live in the states of California, Arizona, and Oklahoma—far removed from the mid-Atlantic region.
Per 100,000 U.S. citizens, Native Americans are the victims of criminal acts at almost twice the levels of non-natives. But this statistic fails to provide a truly accurate portrait of crime among Native Americans, as the United States typically measures crime rates through the Uniform Crime Reports. These reports, which primarily reflect police decision-making, however, do not capture crime rates on reserves. Moreover, there are very specific things that Indian people are typically arrested for off reservation and most of their victimization off reservation is at the hands of nonnatives.
Another reason for our collective naiveté about the role of Native Americans in the criminal justice system is the abundance of myths that exist regarding the types of crimes attributed to this culture. Crimes such as illegal immigration, fishing and hunting over the legal limits, and public drunkenness and vagrancy are complicated offenses, yet the casual observer interprets these crimes through their ignorance of the law, and lack of knowledge concerning the rights accorded to Native Americans.
The criminal justice arena as it relates to American Indians is further complicated by the fact that there are approximately 563 federally recognized tribal governments; this translates into almost into 563 different criminal justice systems. This does not, however, count the number of tribes that aren’t recognized by the federal government, but are recognized by the states in which they live. Moreover, about half of all Native tribes are designated as “PL 280,” which means that their criminal justice systems are, for better or worse, administered by the states in which the reserves are located. Which brings in another level of complexity with respect to different rules and regulations.
Undoubtedly, things are changing. There appears to be a greater appreciation by the U.S. Department of Justice and by the Bureau of Indian Affairs of the role of Native Americans in bringing fair and equitable justice to their communities. This effort has been aided through conferences, research, and grants for specialized programs.
This acceptance of unique nature of Native American justice, started during the Clinton Administration, also means that more specialized knowledge must be acquired by the public and criminal justice administrators operating in Indian Country and communities that have a high concentration of American Indians living there. Hopefully this will lead to criminal justice practitioners and the public acquiring a more thorough and accurate understanding of Native Americans’ unique culture and criminal justice practices and policies.
Jeffrey Ian Ross, Ph.D., is a criminologist at the University of Baltimore. He is the author, co-author, editor, or co-editor of 11 books, the most recent of which is NATIVE AMERICANS AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM. His Web site may be found at www.jeffreyianross.com.
Views
Information
Search
This site made manifest by dadaIMC software