NCJ Number
199304
Journal
Prison Journal Volume: 83 Issue: 1 Dated: March 2003 Pages: 90-104
Date Published
March 2003
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This study examined relationships between where Alaska Native inmates had been raised and the crimes they committed as adults, along with whether the effects and occurrence of cultural conflict varied according to the rural or urban nature of their upbringing.
Abstract
The assumption that Alaska Natives are experiencing cultural conflict is supported by the fact that Alaska Natives are overrepresented in the Alaska State correctional system. Data for this study were collected from presentence investigation (PSI) reports and interviews with the inmates. Data on female inmates were collected during the winter of 1998 at the Hyland Mountain Correctional Center. Of 29 female inmates identified as Alaska Natives at the facility, 19 volunteered to be interviewed. PSI data for male inmates were collected from two institutions. A total of 50 Alaska Native male inmates were included in the study. The PSI reports were used as the primary source of information on the inmates' adult and juvenile criminal histories as well as their demographic histories. The interviews were used to fill gaps in the inmates' demographic histories. The study findings suggest that cultural conflict and disorganization are greater for Alaska Natives in the villages compared with urban settings. This conclusion was based on the fact that the most frequently occurring model was that of an inmate raised in a village and also committing his/her crime in a village. Furthermore, for the males, the crimes committed by those raised in a village accounted for the majority of the most serious offenses. This is not unexpected under a cultural conflict and personal disorganization theory, given that the village setting provides little opportunity to achieve the goals promoted by western Euro-American culture. These goals are made known in villages through modern media and education. Traditionally the male role for the Alaska Native has been that of hunting and fishing; however, with the availability of nonsubsistence provisions provided by Western merchandizing systems and the curtailment of fishing and hunting opportunities by State regulations, the village males may experience a greater degree of anomie than the females. Although urban locations might inherently increase the risk of criminality for Alaska Native females raised in a village, the data for both males and females suggest that once Alaska Native families make the transition to living in urban locations, their incidence of criminality decreases with successive generations. 8 tables, 3 notes, and 17 references