 Return to American Indians in Jail main page
For more information see the DLN Coalition, "American Indians in Jail : Rights and Abuses" Working Group page. 
Incarcerated Indians
A continuing series revealing glaring disparities in the judicial systems for
American Indians
PART 1: A view of the distorted statistics from initial police contact to
denial of parole
By Ruth Steinbergerhttp://www.okit.com/Justice4parts/justice1.html
Problems of racial disparity throughout the entire judicial system raises
alarming questions regarding Native Americans in confinement.
In February, 2000, the number of people in state and federal prisons in the
US topped 2 million, leaving the US with one of the highest rates of
incarceration in the world, exceeded by China, Iraq and other countries with
notably poor human rights records.
Of the two million people in confinement in the US, a seriously
disproportionate number are people of racial and ethnic minorities. Issues of
racial, ethnic and economic disparity affecting those coming in contact with
both state and federal judicial systems are well documented. Statistics show
that from initial contact with police to length of sentence, the differences
disproportionately punish Native Americans, ultimately affecting families and
communities as well.
Organizations including the NAACP and the American Civil Liberties Union call
for urgent action to address these problems. Glaring disparities in access to
adequate legal representation for the poor has been publicly noted by the
American Bar Association.
Recognizing disparity as a fact of life, states are required to keep records
of the racial component of those who are incarcerated, as compared to the
racial make-up of the state or jurisdiction entitled Disproportionate Minority
Confinement (DMC). However, while discussion escalates over the causes of DMC,
the trend continues and the situation seems far from being addressed.
For Native Americans, problems including racial profiling, confessions
obtained under questionable circumstances, frequently inadequate legal
representation and processing through courts that have historically been
hostile toward Native Americans have marred access to equal processing through
the courts. While the origin of the problems are complex, and it is impossible
to highlight one particular fault, statistics reveal that the sum of those
problems places Indians into confinement far earlier, and for less serious
crimes than other Americans. Additionally, indications are that being denied
parole opportunities may increase the sentences served by Indians even further.
Currently there are over 26,000 Native Americans in adult correction
facilities including state and federal prisons, as well as jails both within
and outside of tribal jurisdiction. While Indians are roughly 1% of the US
population, Indians make up 1.6% of the population of prisoners in the Federal
Prison System and 1.3% of prisoners in state systems. Comprising roughly 10% of
the population of South Dakota, according to the most recent SD DOC statistics,
Native Americans comprise 21% of male prisoners and 34% of incarcerated women.
Numbers vary from state to state, with Minnesota's population 1.2% Native
American, yet Indians represent nearly 7% of prisoners in that state. Across
the board, the situation is alarming.
Nick Braune is a lobbyist and activist from Yankton, South Dakota who
recently ran for State Representative from District 18, SD. Braune said,
"Profiling brings individuals into the legal system who otherwise may not be
there. Obviously this is just the beginning. It's foolish to believe that once
within the system the racial targeting will diminish or disappear. At each
level of processing, Indians can be confronted by outright racism, as well as
often the problems traditionally faced by low-income individuals." Indeed, each
level of processing reflects disparities that account for the ultimately
alarming statistics relevant to Native Americans in confinement.
According to a 50-plus page report released by the South Dakota Advisory
Committee to the US Commission on Civil Rights in March, 2000, no Native
American Judges serve within the South Dakota State courts. While 80% of
individuals processed through the Federal Court in Rapid City are Native
American, only two Federal Public Defender positions serve Rapid City, leaving
low-income people processed through those courts seriously underrepresented.
The report cited numerous examples of whites in South Dakota given very
lenient sentences, or not being charged at all, for causing the deaths of
Native Americans, while Indians are incarcerated for theft and other relatively
petty offenses. Activist Ted Means commented on the 15 days in jail spent by
the white man who, while driving drunk, ran over and killed his 11 year old
daughter, Kimberly. Means said, "Had the situation been reversed and I ran over
and killed his daughter, I'd still be in prison today."
Recent national coverage of the death of "Boo" Robert Many Horses, 24, who
died after four white youth placed him head down in a garbage can after he
became unconscious, reveals little change in this area. The four youth were not
charged and the cause of death was listed as "asphyxiation".
In November, 2000, Attorney General Janet Reno said that an investigation
would not be opened into that report.
Tim Giago, author, publisher of Lakota Journal and founder of Native American
Journalists Association has worked in the field of Indian news reporting for
years. Reflecting on the endless number of lengthy reports that are
periodically compiled and then left to sit on desks in Washington, DC, Giago
said, "This is something we're used to. It seems it's done to appease people,
and make people think something will be done about the problems."
Jennifer Ring is the Director of the ACLU of the Dakotas. Ring receives
hundreds of pieces of mail each year from Indians in confinement throughout
North and South Dakota. Ring explains, "In terms of the disparity, a lot goes
into it. Up front, Indians are facing a lot of racial prejudice. While the
worst probably occurs before someone is actually in the courtroom, it is
detected at all levels. It begins when you look at what the police choose to do
with someone, their actions either mitigate or aggravate the persons
circumstances. The person will get their day in court, but in reality, they've
already had a trial by the law enforcement."
Ring explained her comments further, "This is as simple as the decision of
whether to arrest someone or give them a warning. This is further reflected in
the seriousness of the charges placed against the person." Ring says that the
explanation of poverty sounds simple, but is not. She says that those things
that produce mitigating factors are out of reach for many Native Americans
living in areas with high unemployment and high poverty rates. The courts will
be more lenient on a juvenile who is active in sports or other activities which
can be costly or simply unavailable within a reasonable distance.
Ring said, "The worst factor of all with law enforcement is that profiling
creates a self fulfilling prophecy. If profiling goes unchecked, of course
arrests will be made, then they see Indians as criminals, and use that as the
the basis for stopping more Indians, etc. They are then less likely to give a
break that they would choose to give to non-Indians. A prime example of racism
is the war on drugs. Most cocaine users are white, and they typically buy from
other whites. The myth that drugs are a minority issue is what places the focus
on minority communities. If police were at the suburban shopping mall, they'd
find some soccer moms in tennis shoes doing cocaine and buying it from other
soccer moms. That is just not where they focus, so it is not where arrests
occur."
Minority women sentenced for drug crimes continue to be the fastest growing
segment of the US prison population.
For adults, there are a number of components to statistics on racial
disparities facing Native Americans throughout the judicial system. Mike
Guilfoyle, Seneca , of the consulting firm Johnson, Basset and Shaw, serves as
a consultant to tribal governments, and to state and federal programs
throughout Indian Country. Guilfoyle explained that the disparities absolutely
cannot be dismissed. The median of a prisoner in the US is 34 years, yet the
median age of an American Indian prisoner is slightly under 20 years of age.
Guilfoyle serves on the Advisory Board of the Youth Law Center, an organization
that achieved a recent settlement on behalf of youth held in a correctional
facility in Plankinton, South Dakota.
Mike Guilfoyle cites that philosophical issues, as well as concrete ones, are
relevant to Indians being processed through courts which are often the judicial
arm of a state government that may have been hostile toward tribal sovereignty
as a whole, and toward Indians directly. In an earlier interview, Mike
Guilfoyle explained that, "In a government to government relationship, one
nation does not send law enforcement to arrest, try and then incarcerate
members of another nation." He explained that without using traditional tribal
methods of conflict resolution including mediation, appropriate victim
compensation, and most importantly with the involvement of extended family,
Indians are denied access to a justice system that is operating within the
context of traditional heritage. Guilfoyle said, "Traditionally, the most
severe sanction was banishment, which of course in earlier times meant severe
hardship." He added, "Indians did not incarcerate as a punishment. We did not
have jails and prisons."
Ironically, due to federal sentencing guidelines, Indians get the least
access to sentencing alternatives or leniency in length of incarceration. This
problem was highlighted in the Civil Rights Commission Report released earlier
this year.
Statistics regarding Native Americans and parole that do exist , and the many
statistics that are conveniently "not being kept" reveal other issue facing
Native Americans. According to US Department of Justice statistics, American
Indians had a per capita rate of prison incarceration about 38% higher than the
national rate. At the same time, the per capita rate of Native Americans on
parole is about the same as that of the general population. Federal sentencing
guidelines eliminating parole accounts for only a portion of this alarming
figure.
Roughly 14-20% of prisoners who apply for parole each month in the state of
South Dakota are approved for release. However, according to Mike Winder,
spokesperson for the SD DOC, the state of South Dakota keeps no breakdown by
race of those who are released on parole. There is no way to tell during any
month if even one of the 14-20% who are released are Native American.
Some Native American families trying to assist loved ones in creating
appropriate release plans, with housing and job offers, report that parole is
repeatedly denied. Fear of reprisal against the prisoner keeps some families
from speaking out, however, with documentation in hand on the opportunities
offered to the prisoner, many believe that parole is denied based on race.
Attorney Mark Solar, of the Youth Law Center, filed the suit on behalf of
youth at the DOC facility at Plankinton, SD, that was settled on December 11,
2000. In a Lakota Journal interview Solar said, "Investigating the training
school in South Dakota, while Native Americans make up roughly 10% of the
population of the state, Native American youth made up at least 40% of those
who were incarcerated. Many of those had problems which required treatment that
they were not getting. There is not a lot of data on Native Americans in
institutions." He added that the lack of data creates a lack of assistance for
Native American youth.
Solar explained that, "Often facing similar circumstances, there is very
little data separating Latino youth who are incarcerated. However, the few
studies that do exist reveal that Latino youth are treated much more severely
than others." Commenting on solutions to the problem of disparity for
incarcerated Native Americans, Solar said that the problems will not be
addressed until the states begin to collect the information. Solar said, "Most
of the information is anecdotal. It's people's experiences and certainly it's
important...the lack of data and record keeping are really a big problem-it
makes it difficult to highlight the problem and so it gets denied by those in a
position to offer solutions. Public officials want to see proof, which is data,
and then other public officials fail to keep track of that data."
Perhaps Belva Black Lance of Mission, SD, explained it best. Speaking of the
difficulty in maintaining a family while one member is incarcerated over 350
miles from home Ms. Black Lance said, "What this problem is doing is destroying
our families. Children are the ones who loose the most."
This article, Part 1 of a continual series was originally published in the
Lakota Journal, Rapid City, South Dakota Graphic by Jason
Ruth Steinberger is the first journalist to collect the data necessary for
her continuing series on Incarcerated Indians.
home : mission statement : contact : site map : search : store : links
DLN coalition : DLN issues : DLN nation : related issues Any reprints are under the Fair Use doctrine of international copyright law : See http://www.dlncoalition.org/fair_use.htm.
|
