Tribal Strategies Against Violence: Chickasaw Nation Case Study

• NCJ Number: 206037
• Author(s): V. Richard Nichols; Anne Litchfield; Ted Holappa; Kit Van Stelle
• Date Published: January 2002
• Length: 37 pages
• Grant Number(s): 97-DD-BX-0031
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Justice (NIJ)
• Corporate Author: ORBIS Associates
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/NCJRS; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Dataset may be archived by the NIJ Data Resources Program at the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data

Annotation

This report documents the activities implemented by the Chickasaw Nation, along with their impact, under two grant periods of the U.S. Justice Department's initiative of Tribal Strategies Against Violence (TSAV), which is a Federal-tribal partnership intended to reduce crime, violence, and drug demand in seven selected American Indian Tribes.

Abstract

This is the evaluation report for TSAV-related activities by the Chickasaw Nation. The evaluation's goals were to document how TSAV strategies had evolved and how comprehensive strategies had been implemented. Another evaluation goal was to analyze how differences in local cultures, physical environments, or government structures at the tribal site may have affected program implementation. Evaluation findings were to be framed to guide tribal and Justice Department decisionmakers as well as other criminal justice stakeholders. The evaluation covered the grant periods from October 1, 1996, through December 31, 1999. The case study methodology was used by the evaluators, which included on-site interviews with affiliated program staff of the Chickasaw Nation, TSAV core team members, key municipal and Bureau of Indian Affairs law enforcement personnel, TSAV program partners, Chickasaw Nation executive-branch and legislative-branch leaders, and other community service providers who are participating in the local TSAV's planning and implementation. There was also a review of program documents in grant files, along with tribal and project documents maintained on site. There was a survey of local TSAV stakeholders and an analysis of data from Chickasaw Nation police and State law enforcement agencies. The assessment of program structure and chronology focused on program organization and structure; the planning process; goals and strategies; budget; and site monitoring, reporting, and local evaluation. The evaluation of local TSAV strategies focused on the following initiatives: alcohol abuse prevention for youth in Tishomingo, violence reduction in schools, a reduction in gang-related criminal activities, a reduction in the criminal victimization of senior citizens, and the extent to which grant objectives for TSAV were addressed. The evaluation found that the TSAV initiative has laid a good foundation for building an informal coalition of individuals from various Chickasaw Nation programs and local municipal agencies. By the end of the TSAV grant, many partner entities had realized the value of continuing numerous activities begun under the TSAV grant. There was no indication, however, that TSAV activities had reduced drunk driving, drug use, and gang activity, or improved community policing. Lessons are drawn for crime-reduction strategies in American Indian Tribes, and future directions and the degree of institutionalization of TSAV as a tribal problem solving process are discussed. 2 tables