The Criminal Justice System as it Pertains to Native American Sovereignty

 

Written by: Nicholas Eltzroth


A Recent addition at the San Francisco Art Institute, featuring a Statue of Leonard Peltier (Photo Courtesy of Alex Peterson).


        In June of 1975, two FBI agents, Jack Coler and Ronald Williams were allegedly murdered at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota (fbi.gov). Leonard Peltier, notable for his activities as a Native American Rights activist was supposedly present on the Reservation at the time of the two FBI agents’ arrivals, and there was a warrant out for his arrest. The FBI has continuously claimed that Peltier’s car was found, and an investigation ensued which led to Peltier shooting the two FBI agents during a standoff, and later fleeing to Canada to evade capture (fbi.gov). Furtherly, and according to the FBI, Peltier was caught by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and admitted that he had fired at the two FBI agents. Peltier was convicted to two life terms in prison when he was found guilty in 1977 of the first degree killing of the two FBI agents and has been imprisoned for over 40 years (International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee).

            While the FBI continues to maintain their story surrounding the case of Leonard Peltier, several organizations claim his innocence and are calling for his immediate release from custody. Prior to the events of the summer of 1975, Peltier had been an active participant in activities including the 1972 Trail of Broken Treaties March in which he and other activists fought for a “20-point proposal (International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee)” geared towards improving relations between both the federal government and tribal Nations. The protest was chalked up to a riot, in which police retaliated with violence, and the government deemed organizations present at the protest to be extremist organizations (International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee). After the events of the protest and being classified as an extremist, Peltier was framed for the attempted murder of a police officer in Milwaukee, an accusation in which he spent 5 months in prison for (International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee). Peltier’s further actions as an activist led to the events of June in 1975, as he was asked by residents of the Pine Ridge Reservation to aid in the protection of the reservation from an increase in violent attacks coming from people outside of the reservation (FreeLeonard.org). The two agents who later died at Pine Ridge during an ensuing shootout between traditional peoples of the reservation and more than 150 FBI agents, who arrived in unmarked cars which caused unease in the population of the reservation. While it is described that over 40 Native Americans participated in the shootout, only activist leaders such as Peltier were arrested in connection to the deaths of the FBI agents (FreeLeonard.org). The people of the Pine Ridge Reservation feared violence from outsiders, and the FBI appearing undercover led to a circumstance in which Native Americans felt that it was appropriate and necessary to defend themselves.

            The events leading to the arrest of Peltier paint the picture that is mass incarceration within the United States. The problem surrounding the case of Peltier holds in regard his actions as an activist leader, seeking equitable treatment for himself and other Native Americans. Peltier’s political activity led to the government classifying him as an extremist and showed the broader Native American nations and communities that it is not acceptable to call for the injustices pushed onto Native Americans to end.

            While data has been described as scarce surrounding Native Americans who have been and are currently incarcerated within the United States, in 2010, 37,854 Native Americans and Alaskan Natives were being held in prisons around the nation (Daniel). Furtherly, the number of incarcerated Native Americans is devastating considering that they are incarcerated at over double the rate white Americans are at 1,291 per 100,000 people (Daniel). Over the last ten years, the number of incarcerated Native Americans dropped to 22,744 in 2016 but rose by nearly 1,000 the next year (Daniel). More specifically, individuals below the age of 21 account for 42 percent of incarcerated Native Americans, which means that Native American youth are “3 times more likely to be incarcerated than white youth (Daniel)”.

            Data surrounding the incarceration rates of Native Americans may already seem overwhelming, but it is questionable whether the full picture of incarceration is being seen. Most data are based off of the FBI’s system of Uniform Crime Reporting, but this system is voluntary, as some tribes do not report their statistics to the database (Daniel). There is a further multitude of issues that arise due to “cultural and socioeconomic barriers (Daniel)” leading to undercounting the demographics of the Native American population. Considering these factors, the actual rates of incarceration pertaining to the Native American Demographic could be much higher than the statistics show.

            In 2015, a federal panel began to explore the idea that Native Americans living on reservations could be affected disproportionately or harshly by the U.S. criminal justice system when compared to other demographics of Americans (Flanigan, 2015). Studies focusing on the experience of Native Americans and the criminal justice system found that they are affected disproportionately. Native American youth are 30 percent less likely to have their cases dropped when compared to white youth, Native American women are incarcerated six times more than white women, and “Native Americans are more likely to be killed by police than any other racial group (Flanigan, 2015)”.

            Exemplified in the case of Leonard Peltier, systematic racism that is relevant within the criminal justice system of the United States, led to Peltier being criminalized for his ties to activism surrounding Native American rights and sovereignty. Anecdotes such as Peltier’s, and the statistics addressing incarcerated Native Americans show us one of the avenues in which the government has taken in order to maintain centuries of white supremacy and colonialism. This major, and modern system of white supremacy is maintained through the criminal justice system, and it is imperative that mass incarceration is ended in order to move towards more equitable relations with the traditional peoples of the Americas.



 Sources:

Flanigan, Jake. 2015. Native Americans are the Unseen Victims of a Broken US Justice System. QUARTZ. https://qz.com/392342/native-americans-are-the-unseen-victims-of-a-broken-us-justice-system/

FreeLeonard.org. N.d. Quick Facts: Case of Leonard Peltier. https://freeleonard.org/case/

International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee. N.d. The Man: The Activist. https://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/home/about-peltier/activist/

FBI. N.d. RESMURS Case (Reservation Murders). https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/resmurs-case-reservation-murders

Peterson, Alex. 2020. Statue of Leonard Peltier at the San Francisco Art Institute [Photo] https://hyperallergic.com/600831/a-statue-of-leonard-peltier-leader-of-1970s-american-indian-movement-is-overlooking-alcatraz/

Daniel, Roxanne. 2020. Since You Asked: What Data Exists About Native American People in the Criminal Justice System? Prison Policy Initiative. https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2020/04/22/native/



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