Police+Forces+on+Indian+Reservations

The Struggles of Police Forces on Indian Reservations Everyday there are numerous acts of violence on Indian reservations nationwide. Not only are the women of these tribes having higher rape rates than in any other areas of the nation, but innocent people are being harmed each day on these reservations with no law enforcement to protect them. So many families live in fear for their lives as well as their families not knowing who or when someone could come on to their land and harm them. Many reservations have their own police forces, but too often these police forces are drastically under-staffed. Crimes on reservations are repeatedly over-looked and gone without prosecution. This problem is faced by many tribes around the nation. There are 56 million acres of Indian country in the United States, all within 34 states, all of which have some form of policing. Countless cases happen where a woman is raped by a male, who is often a non-native, and the case is not looked in to. There are also many cases of drug abuse and the transportation of illegal drugs into the United States. There is also a larger amount of suicides and homicides within the Indian community compared to that of the general population or even other minorities. Various judges say that it is not that the court system is discriminating against the Indians and their cases, but that there is not enough evidence for these cases to be highly looked in to. So, who actually does the policing for these reservations? The police that serve reservations can be either federal, state, tribal, county, or municipal employees. A law known as the Public Law 93-638, or PL 638, allows tribes to contract with the Bureau of Indian Affairs to establish their own courts, police, legislatures, and other government functions. Often these contracts with the Bureau of Indian Affairs or BIA hire tribal employees for their law enforcement. While BIA employees are usually federally employed, under the Public Law 83-280 a number of tribes rely on state and local authorities for police services. Although police forces are provided for reservations federally and through the state, many Indians still rely on non-Indian policing services and community authorities. Although many Indian reservations and Indian lands are actually rural and urban areas, often times it is a very big land area with not very many people living there. Because the population on certain reservations is not very high they often only receive a few police officers, often with only one police officer working at one time. On average a department is given $1 million dollars a year, which is often much less than surrounding rural departments. There are multiple reasons for the under-reporting of crime on Indian Reservations. To begin with, there are many cultural and environmental causes that prohibit the tribal community of reaching the police forces. Then, with shortages within the police forces it is hard for any accurate documentation to reach the federal agencies along with competing priorities. Therefore, within this process of information transferring, data is lost and cases are then dropped with no further investigating. So what are some of the biggest problems tribal forces are faced with on reservations? The biggest and most well-known problem is the alcohol abuse within the youths and adults. On many surveys, tribal elders, the general tribe, as well as tribal officers have reported this as the biggest problem faced within the reservations. Another major problem is like stated before, the tribal forces that are usually employed under the Public Law 683 are at most composed of nine officers and they find it difficult to have workers available to the community 24-7, around the clock. So, although many of these tribes face multiple issues of policing their reservations, working to help reduce some of their own problems, such as alcoholism, is of the utmost importance. Many of the Indians are well aware of what they can do to help reduce the crime rates within their communities without increasing the number of police officers they have.

Works Cited 1.Admin. "Medical Problems Running Rampant on American Indians Reservations." __Floridians for Patient Protection__. 27 Oct. 2010. 14 Apr. 2011 . This talks about the major medical problems faced by Indians on the reservations. It talks about the people themselves saying a little about their own medical and health related issues, also drug issues. 2.Berry, Mary Frances. "A Quiet Crisis." __U.S. Commission on Civil Right__. July 2003. 14 Apr. 2011 . This is a document from the U.s. Commission on Civil Rights. It has a ton of documented information on current Indian policies and policing information. 3.Claiborne, William. "Indian Reservation Police - Indian Reservation Police Outgunned, Outmanned - Los Angeles Times." __Featured Articles From The Los Angeles Times__. 01 Nov. 1998. 14 Apr. 2011 . This is a Los Angeles Times newspaper article that talks about police officers being outmanned on Indian reservations. It tells a story about Oliver Homer a man who was beaten by young Indians who attacked him at the Grand Canyon. 4.Dorward, Lisa. "Types of Law Enforcement Officers | eHow.com." __EHow | How to Videos, Articles & More - Trusted Advice for the Curious Life | eHow.com__. 29 Nov. 2010. 14 Apr. 2011 . This talks about more of the current policing issues and basic different types of police officers on different places including Indian Reservations. It tells just a brief description of Indian policing today. 5.Eid, Troy A. "Colorado’s Indian reservations in need of more policing, judges." __Index page 1 of main web page to RLNN.COM__. 2003. 14 Apr. 2011 . This is an article of the Towaoc village with only 2,000 tribal members they have had six deaths this year, five of which were murders. It talks about the major need for more officers and law enforcement. 6.Garrigan, Mary. "BIA SENDS MORE POLICE OFFICERS TO PINE RIDGE | Sicangu Sun Times." __Sicangu Sun Times | HONOR - PRIDE - RESPECT__. 3 Sept. 2008. 14 Apr. 2011 . This articles talks about the Bureau of Indian Affairs sending more officers to Pine Ridge Reservation. This has some of the details about financing for this employment and budgeting done by the BIA for this. 7.Gerard, Susan. "Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse in Native American Communities." __Arizona Department of Health Services__. 16 July 2005. 14 Apr. 2011 . This has a lot of information about the drug abuse on reservations. It talks a lot about alcoholism and what is being done to help that along with other health issues. 8.Grand-Jean, Laura. "ON THE RESERVATION." __American Studies @ The University of Virginia__. Mar. 2001. 14 Apr. 2011 . This resource talked about the Dawes Severalty Act in 1887 and more about the land and actual reservation itself. It talked about how the land came to be and what it still means to the Indians. 9.Leco, Mike. "Indian Reservations - Life in the USA." __USATourist Community__. 11 Jan. 2008. 14 Apr. 2011 . This article describes the issues of people wanting to visit Indian Reservations and problem of this. It describes what an Indian Reservation is like today and what it used to be like long ago, before colonists from other countries drove the Indians off their land. It talks about their culture as well as some of the political, current issues. 10.M, Ruth. "Youth Problems on Indian Reservations." __ERIC – World’s largest digital library of education literature__. 03 June 1970. 14 Apr. 2011 . This talks primarily about juvenile delinquency within the reservations and it being the leading cause of youth problems on the reservations. It goes into further depth of what are some of the problems and why they are occuring. 11.Mendez, Blanca. "Crime and punishment: Law enforcement issues on Indian reservations." __Medill Reports__. 18 Mar. 2009. 14 Apr. 2011 . This is a report from Blanca Mendez about the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota. She interviews Lt. Chad Olson of the tribe and he tells of the troubles he faces an officer for the tribe. It also describes recent issues and what they are doing for money and other resources for officers. 12.Nieves, Evelyn. "Indian Reservation Reeling in Wave of Youth Suicides and Attempts." __The New York Times__. 9 June 2007. 14 Apr. 2011 . This is a news article about the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in Rosebud, South Dakota. They have had drastic amounts of suicides within their reservation and the amount of youth suicide attempts. The officers had to a call an emergency call for more officers needed to help with these problems. 13.Robertson, Tom. "Alcohol exposure affects generations on Indian reservations | Minnesota Public Radio News." __Minnesota Public Radio__. 22 Oct. 2007. 14 Apr. 2011 . This article focuses mainly on current health issues on Indian reservations. It talks about the different forms of alcohol abuse and different effects from this alcohol abuse within the Indian community. It has a personal story of a family who adopted three children who suffered from fetal alcohol syndrome and problems they now face. 14.Sifuentes, Edward. "Meth use a growing concern on Indian reservations." __North County Times - Californian__. 4 Sept. 2007. 14 Apr. 2011 . This article talks about the drug abuse on reservations as of 2007. It talks mainly about the increasing use of meth and what some of the tribal officers say about this drug abuse. 15.US Department of Justice. "Civil Rights and Native Americans." __Almanac of Policy Issues__. 14 Apr. 2011 . This article had tons of information of the history of Indians. It talks about how the Indians came to be, as well as how many and where Indians are today. It describes cultural issues, the Department of Justice, tribal courts, and police forces on the reservations. 16. Wakeling, Stuart, Miriam Jorgensen, Susan Michaelson, Manley Begay, Francis X. Hartmann, and Joseph P. Kait. "Policing on American Indian Reservations." __A Report to the National Institute of Justice__. 3 Jan. 2000. 12 Apr. 2011 . This is a report from the U.S. Department of Justice. It is a very well documented source of Indian policies and how each works. It describes laws that Indians today have and how each of them work and what they can do for their police forces. 17.Wells, L. Edward, and David N. Falcone. "Tribal policing on American Indian Reservations." __Emerald__. 1997. 14 Apr. 2011 <http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1753885&show=html>. This gives a brief description of the history of tribal policing, forms of Indian country policing, and much more on Indian policing. It gives in-depth descriptions of different types of police officers and how each work. 18. NiiSka, Clara. "Police brutality in Minneapolis." __Maquah.net - homepage__. 31 Jan. 2003. 17 Apr. 2011 <http://www.maquah.net/clara/Press-ON/03-01-31.html>. This is an article from South Minneapolis about police brutality against American Indians. It describes the beating of two Little Earth people and them being beaten and dumped in the parking lot of Little Earth. This goes into more detail about the police officers and follow-up of this incident 19. Berong, Christine. "The Influence of Police Brutality on the American Indian Movement's Establishment in Minneapolis, 1968-1969 | American Indian Studies." __American Indian Studies | First In Native Knowledge__. 2009. 17 Apr. 2011 <http://www.ais.arizona.edu/thesis/influence-police-brutality-american-indian-movements-establishment-minneapolis-1968-1969>. This has a brief description of the American Indian Movement, or MIA. It talks about the examination and analysis of police brutality and what can be done on this issue 20. Rickert, Levi. "Freedom to Protest Blocked by LA Police - Native Challenges -Native News Network." __Native News Network-Native American News, Analysis & Opinion by American Indians__. 2011. 17 Apr. 2011 <http://www.nativenewsnetwork.com/freedom-to-protest-blocked-by-la-police-american-indian-protesters-moved-from-site.html>. This is an article about American Indians in Los Angeles who were protesting the opening of a museum. The protesters were moved by the Los Angeles police and ended up protesting anyways a block away. This article shows some of the controversial issues along with police forces today.

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