Major Issues in Native American Involvement in the Criminal Justice System (From Native Americans, Crime, and Justice, P 293-302, 1996, Marianne O Nielsen and Robert A Silverman, eds. -- See NCJ-168132)

• NCJ Number: 168167
• Author(s): M O Nielsen
• Date Published: 1996
• Length: 10 pages
• Sale Source: Westview Press, Inc
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

This chapter highlights six main issues related to criminal justice services for and by Native peoples in Canada and the United States: sovereignty, cultural revitalization, urbanization, developmental needs, and two related underlying themes -- lack of political power and lack of legitimacy -- that emerge from the discussion of the other issues.

Abstract

Sovereignty is the "inherent right or power to govern," meaning that tribal governments may govern their internal affairs except where restricted from doing so by the Federal Government; therefore, the drive toward increased "sovereignty," as the term is used in the Native political arena, is aimed at removing Federal restrictions and regaining a greater degree of legal, political, and economic independence. Cultural revitalization is aimed at counteracting the negative stereotypes of Native people held by the dominant culture and at replacing indigenized services with more appropriate culturally based services. The wide range of Native cultures means that a wide range of criminal justice solutions are needed. In the United States more than in Canada, Native people in urban areas are a forgotten minority group. There are few Native-specific criminal justice-related services in operation. Thought must be given to adapting reservation-based initiatives so that they can operate effectively in urban environments. "Developmental needs" refers to the lack of resources in Native communities, which hinders the development of criminal justice services. Underlying the aforementioned factors are two important themes: lack of political power and lack of legitimacy. Boldt (1993) argues that Native peoples do not have the political or economic power to overcome the interests of more influential segments of society, especially major corporations. Legitimacy involves establishing with both Native and non-Native constituencies the belief that Native leadership can develop and operate those criminal justice institutions necessary to meet the aspirations for culturally based social order in Native communities.