1st Edition

Native Americans and the Criminal Justice System Theoretical and Policy Directions

By Jeffrey Ian Ross, Larry Gould Copyright 2006
    290 Pages
    by Routledge

    290 Pages
    by Routledge

    'This collection presents significant summaries of past criminal behavior, and significant new cultural and political contextualizations that provide greater understanding of the complex effects of crime, sovereignty, culture, and colonization on crime and criminalization on Indian reservations.' Duane Champagne, UCLA (From the Foreword) Native Americans and the Criminal Justice System offers a comprehensive approach to explaining the causes, effects, and solutions for the presence and plight of Native Americans in the criminal justice system. Articles from scholars and experts in Native American issues examine the ways in which society's response to Native Americans is often socially constructed. The contributors work to dispel the myths surrounding the crimes committed by Native Americans and assertions about the role of criminal justice agencies that interact with Native Americans. In doing so, the contributors emphasize the historical, social, and cultural roots of Anglo European conflicts with Native peoples and how they are manifested in the criminal justice system. Selected chapters also consider the global and cross-national ramifications of Native Americans and crime. This book systematically analyzes the broad nature of the subject area, including unique and emerging problems, theoretical issues, and policy implications.

    Foreword Duane Champagne Preface and Acknowledgments PART I: Introduction Chapter 1: Native Americans, Criminal Justice, Criminological Theory, and Policy Development Jeffrey Ian Ross and Larry Gould PART II: Theoretical Issues in the Area of Native Americans and Criminal Justice Chapter 2: Navajo Criminal Justice: A Jungian Perspective Marilyn Holly Chapter 3: Criminalizing Culture: An Anthropologist Looks at Native Americans and the U.S. Legal System Dorothy H. Bracey Chapter 4: Justice as Phoenix: Traditional Indigenous Law, Restorative Justice, and the Collapse of the State James W. Zion Chapter 5: The Link between Environmental Policy and the Colonization Process and Its Effects on American Indian Involvement in Crime, Law, and Society Linda Robyn and Thom Alcoze PART III: Current Policy Issues Affecting Native Americans and Criminal Justice Chapter 6: Alcoholism, Colonialism, and Crime Larry Gould Chapter 7: Examining the Interpretation and Application of the Indiian Child Welfare Act of 1978 Tracey M. Bouvier Chapter 8: Law Enforcement and the American Indian: Challenges and Obstacles to Effective Law Enforcement Eileen Luna-Firebaugh and Samuel Walker Chapter 9: Policing Native Americans Off the Rez Jeffrey Ian Ross Chapter 10: Imprisonment and American Indian Medicine Ways: A Comparative Analysis of Conflicting Cultural Beliefs, Values, and Practices William G. Archambeault Chapter 11: Criminalization of the Treaty Right to Fish: Response of the Greak Lakes Chippewa Linda Robyn Chapter 12: Indian Gaming and the American Indian Criminal Justice-System Nicholas C. Peroff Chapter 13: Research on Juvenile Deliquency in Indian Communities: Resisting Generalization Lisa Bond-Maupin, Taka X. GoodTracks, and James R. Maupin Chapter 14: Recent Trends in Community-Based Strategies for Dealing with Juvenile Crime in the Navajo Nation Marianne O. Nielsen, Dorothy Fulton, and Ivan Tsosie Chapter 15: Scattered Like the Reindeer: Alaska Natives and the Loss of Autonomy Nella Lee PART IV: Conclusion Chapter 16: Integrating the Past, Present, and Future Larry Gould and Jeffrey Ian Ross Bibliography Index About the Editors and Contributors

    Biography

    Jeffrey Ian Ross, Larry Gould

    “This book provides invaluable insight and data, not only with regard to one of the least considered facets of the judicial and penal systems, but a little- discussed dimension of the U.S. relationship with Anerican Indians. Sure to become a standard reference in the years ahead, Native Americans and the Criminal Justice System is important reading for anyone, scholars and laypersons alike, concerned with the (dis)function of law in our society.”
    —Ward Churchill, author of Perversions of Justice: Indigenous Peoples and Anglo-American Law

    “This collection presents significant summaries of past criminal behavior, and significant new cultural and political contextualizations that provide greater understanding of the complex effects of crime, sovereignty, culture, and colonization on crime and criminalization on Indian reservations.”
    —Duane Champagne, UCLA (From the Foreword)

    “This interdisciplinary text should be required reading for anyone interested in justice and Native peoples in the United States. By including perspectives from a wide variety of disciplines, Native Americans and the Criminal Justice System provides a comprehensive introduction to issues of criminal justice and tribal sovereignty.

    Readers will come away with an appreciation for the historical, cultural, and legal issues facing practitioners and policymakers both inside and outside Indian country.”
    —Sarah Deer (Muscogee), Staff Attorney, Tribal Law and Policy Institute Co-author, Introduction to Tribal Legal Studies and Tribal Criminal Law and Procedure

    “High crime rates in 'Indian country' has long been recognized having a distinct form, sometimes similar, but often different from the crime problem in the rest of the United States. Finally, a collection of essays that broadly addresses crime in Indian America. Focusing on the major issues, and pulling no punches. These essays are powerfully analytical, well written, and ask the right questions.”
    —Sidney Harring, CUNY School of Law