In Indigenous America, human rights and justice take on added significance. The special legal status of Native Americans and the highly complex jurisdictional issues resulting from colonial ideologies have become deeply embedded into federal law and policy. Nevertheless, Indigenous people in the United States are often invisible in discussions of criminal and social justice. Crime and Social Justice in Indian Country calls to attention the need for culturally appropriate research protocols and critical discussions of social and criminal justice in Indian Country. The contributors come from the growing wave of Native American as well as non-Indigenous scholars who employ these methods. They reflect on issues in three key areas: crime, social justice, and community responses to crime and justice issues. Topics include stalking, involuntary sterilization of Indigenous women, border-town violence, Indian gaming, child welfare, and juvenile justice. These issues are all rooted in colonization; however, the contributors demonstrate how Indigenous communities are finding their own solutions for social justice, sovereignty, and self-determination. Thanks to its focus on community responses that exemplify Indigenous resilience, persistence, and innovation, this volume will be valuable to those on the ground working with Indigenous communities in public and legal arenas, as well as scholars and students. Crime and Social Justice in Indian Country shows the way forward for meaningful inclusions of Indigenous peoples in their own justice initiatives. Contributors Alisse Ali-Joseph William G. Archambeault Cheryl Redhorse Bennett Danielle V. Hiraldo Lomayumptewa K. Ishii Karen Jarratt-Snider Eileen Luna-Firebaugh Anne Luna-Gordinier Marianne O. Nielsen Linda M. Robyn

Native Americans are disproportionately represented as offenders in the U.S. criminal justice system. However, until recently there was little investigation into the reasons. Furthermore, there has been little acknowledgment of the positive contributions of Native Americans to the criminal justice system- in rehabilitating offenders, aiding victims, and supporting service providers. This book offers a valuable and contemporary overview of how the American criminal justice system impacts Native Americans on both sides of the law. Contributors- many of whom are Native Americans- rank among the top scholars in their fields. Some of the chapters treat broad subjects, including crime, police, courts, victimization, corrections, and jurisdiction. Others delve into more specific topics, including hate crimes against Native Americans, state-corporate crimes against Native Americans, tribal peacemaking, and cultural stresses of police officers. Separate chapters are devoted to women and juveniles.

This eye-opening report is the product of a year-long investigation into how the legal system in Indian country fails some of America's most vulnerable citizens—and what is being done to begin to rectify an ongoing tragedy. Sari Horwitz, recipient of the ASNE Award for Distinguished Writing on Diversity, traveled to an Indian reservation in Minnesota to interview a Native American woman who had been sexually assaulted, as had her mother and daughter. In each case, the assailants, who were not Native American, were not prosecuted due to loopholes in the laws on jurisdiction of criminal prosecution on Indian reservations. This story set her off on a journey across the country, into remote villages and tribal lands where Horwitz uncovered the widespread failures of the American legal system and its inability to protect Native American women and children. This powerful call-to-action gives a view that is charged and insightful, exploring the deeply human consequences of a bureaucracy that has often done more harm than good. As President Obama's administration sets out to close the loopholes and bring justice to survivors, Horwitz speaks to the people these new laws will impact, describes their hopes for the future and gives voice to those who have been silent for too long.

What does it mean to be a tribal police officer? What are the complexities of that role? And how do tribal communities, tribal police departments, and other law enforcement agencies collaborate to address the alarmingly high rate of violent crime in Indian country? Author Eileen Luna-Firebaugh answers these and other questions in this well-documented text about tribal government and law enforcement in America. Based on extensive research with tribal police departments conducted over a period of eight years, Tribal Policing reveals the complicated role of police officials in Indian country and the innovative methods they are developing to address crime within their borders and to advance tribal sovereignty in the United States. Tribal police departments face many challenges, such as heightened crime rates, a lack of resources (working patrol vehicles, 911 systems, access to police radios), and vast patrol areas. Luna-Firebaugh demonstrates that tribal officers see themselves as members of the tribal community and that tribal law enforcement is a complex balance of tribal position and authority within the community. Among other topics, Luna-Firebaugh analyzes the structure of tribal law enforcement and the ways it differs from mainstream policing; the role of women, tribal members, and others who comprise tribal law enforcement personnel; tribal jails and corrections; police training; and the legal, political, cultural, and historical issues that affect American Indian tribal policing. This informative text addresses the scarcity of published material regarding tribal law enforcement and will be a welcome addition to courses in criminal justice, the administration of justice, law enforcement, and Native American studies.

The policy of forced assimilation, called "termination," that Congress pressed upon Native Americans in the 1950s brought state criminal jurisdiction to more than half of all Indian reservations for the first time in American history. The law that accomplished most of this shift from a combination of tribal and federal control to state control is widely known as Public Law 280. Tribes did not consent to the new and alien forms of criminal justice, and the federal government provided no funding to state or local governments to ease the new burdens thrust upon them. Present-day concerns about community safety in Indian country raise questions about the appropriate strategy for achieving that end. Is expanded state criminal jurisdiction an appropriate response, or should that option be off the table? Does the experience with Public Law 280 suggest conditions under which state jurisdiction is more or less successful? Captured Justice is the first systematic investigation of the success or failure of the Public Law 280 program substituting state for tribal and federal criminal justice in Indian country. The authors first identify a set of six conditions that are necessary for criminal justice to succeed in Indian country. They then present the results of hundreds of interviews and surveys at sixteen reservations across the United States, tapping reservation residents, tribal officials and staff, and state and federal law enforcement officers and criminal justice personnel, to find out how the state jurisdiction regime is faring and to compare experiences on Public Law 280 reservations with those on non-Public Law 280 reservations. Before-and-after case studies of tribes that were able to remove state jurisdiction from their reservations complete the book. Captured Justice is both an important assessment of an historic federal Indian policy that remains with us today, and a guide to future criminal justice policy for Indian country. "The authors carefully and clearly explain the interaction of a complex overlay of cultures and legal systems. They also clearly explain their methodologies and interview individuals about their experiences in the legal system. This book would be appropriate for anyone interested in American Indian law, or those interested in related topics such as contemporary Native American studies or sociology." -- Book News Inc. (October 2012)

Tribal Criminal Law and Procedure examines complex Indian nations’ tribal justice systems, analyzing tribal statutory law, tribal case law, and the cultural values of Native peoples. Using tribal court opinions and tribal codes, it reveals how tribal governments use a combination of oral and written law to dispense justice and strengthen their nations and people. Carrie E. Garrow and Sarah Deer discuss the histories, structures, and practices of tribal justice systems, comparisons of traditional tribal justice with American law and jurisdictions, elements of criminal law and procedure, and alternative sentencing and traditional sanctions. New features of the second edition include new chapters on: · The Tribal Law and Order Act's Enhanced Sentencing Provisions · The Violence Against Women Act's Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction · Tribal-State Collaboration Tribal Criminal Law and Procedure is an invaluable resource for legal scholars and students. The book is published in cooperation with the Tribal Law and Policy Institute (visit them at www.tlpi.org).