NCJ Number
216944
Date Published
2005
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This chapter identifies the historical, familial, cultural, and personal factors that illustrate the influence of personal and social identity on American Indian and Alaska Native youth and the implications for the legal system.
Abstract
The chapter first reviews the perspectives on social and personal identity put forward by various scholars, notably the seminal work on social identity by psychoanalyst Erik Erikson and Maria P.P. Root's analysis of the struggle of American Indian and Alaska Native youth to define themselves. This is followed by a review of several historical influences that helped shape the lives of American Indian and Alaska Native people. One conclusion from this discussion is that various forms of Federal law have disrupted and continue to disrupt the right of American Indians and Alaska Natives to choose their own personal and social identities. Some of the laws led to the termination of once federally recognized tribes. This eliminated tribal identities along with their rights and privileges. This "formal" loss of tribal identities was accompanied by grief and struggles to remain connected to one's ancestors, lands, language, and traditions. The agonies caused by the efforts of the dominant invasive culture to define the personal and social identities of Native people with histories of chosen identities should be instructive for contemporary legislators and politicians. They should recognize and take responsibility for the social impact of their decisions. Native youth in particular must be encouraged to know about and embrace their ancestral history without shame and stereotypes fostered by their conquerors. It is the moral responsibility of our Nation's leaders to ensure the right of Native youth to choose who, how, and what it means to be Native. 67 references