INDIGENOUS AMERICANS & THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

Read Southwest Center for Equal Justice Report on Policing Practices in Flagstaff, Arizona, a town that borders the Navajo Nation

Selective Enforcement and Stereotypes Drive Racial Disparities in the Arrests of Native Americans in Flagstaff Arizona

      "Coconino County Arizona has the second highest arrest rate of all Arizona counties, well above the rate of arrests in the major metropolitan areas of Phoenix and Tucson. In 2021, Arizona had the eighth highest incarceration rate in the United States and the United States had the highest incarceration rate in the world.

     It can be inferred from these facts that Coconino County has one of highest incarceration rates in the world. And the people who are incarcerated are primarily men and women who are members of the Navajo, Hopi and other Native American tribes. In the County seat of Flagstaff, the arrest rate of Native Americans has consistently been ten times or more than that of Whites for more than half a century. With this study the authors explore the legitimacy of the official explanations for the disparities in arrest rates and conclude that the major drivers of these disparities are policies, practices and beliefs based on ingrained racial stereotypes and the selective enforcement of minor offenses of “public disorder” against Native Americans."

Indigenous Americans Are Subject to Overpolicing and Overt Bias 

  In 2020, according to the United States Census Bureau, there are 6.79 million Native Americans in the United States representing 2.09% of the U.S. population. The States with the highest percentage of Native American residents are Alaska, New Mexico, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Oklahoma and Arizona.

  Although Native Americans make up only a small percentage of the population they are incarcerated at much higher rates that whites, are the victims of racial profiling and overt and covert racial bias. Although young black men are killed by police at the highest rate of any demographic group, Native Americans are overall, killed by police at the highest rate of any racial group.

• Native Americans are incarcerated at a rate 38% higher than the national average, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
• Native American youths are 30% more likely than whites to be referred to juvenile court than have charges dropped, according to National Council on Crime and Delinquency.
• Native Americans are more likely to be killed by police than any other racial group, according to the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice.
• Native American men are incarcerated at four times the rate of white men; Native American women are incarcerated at six times the rate of white women, according to a report compiled by the Lakota People’s Law Project.
• Native Americans fall victim to violent crime at more than double the rate of all other US citizens, according to BJS reports. 
• Eighty-eight percent of violent crime committed against Native American women is carried out by non-Native perpetrators.

"Native Americans are the unseen victims of a broken US justice system" (Quartz: J. Flanagin, 4/27/15)

In particular, Native Americans are victimized by police most prevalently in what are called "Border Towns." Border towns are towns located near or next to Reservations, such as Flagstaff, Arizona, Gallup, New Mexico, Rapid City, South Dakota, Cortez, Colorado, Fairbanks, Alaska and many other smaller communities across the west.

"Discrimination Against Native Americans in Border Towns, A Briefing Before the United States Commission on Civil Rights Held in Washington, D.C." 

HOW CAN POLICE MINIMIZE RACIAL PROFILING OF NATIVE AMERICANS, OTHERS?
JASON BUCH December 20, 2019 ( Investigate West)

Billings, Montana

Lieutenant Brandon Wooley with the Billings Police Department doesn't see it that way. "I won't sit here and tell you that officers don't get frustrated dealing with people that make bad decisions," Wooley said. "To say that they do it specifically to a racial group, I don't believe that that's occurring." 

Flagstaff, Arizona

Part of what makes Flagstaff’s crime problem unique is because it is a border town, Flagstaff Police Chief Musselman said. He asserted that officers are not taught to racially profile people. Musselman brought up the department’s arrest records that were cited by many protesters during allegations of racial bias. The information shows 52% of the department’s arrests being Native American, despite the ethnic group making up less than 10% of the overall population.

Navajo Nation

"Our people have the right to be free from unreasonable violence when they visit our neighboring communities, particularly from off-reservation law enforcement," Navajo President Russell Begaye said in a statement. "Navajo lives matter, and that needs to be acknowledged and protected by our bordering jurisdictions."

Indigenous Peoples' Day Presentation-October 12, 2020

by SWCEJ Executive Director, Wendy White ; Indigenous Circle of Flagstaff's Chair, Joe Washington and Indigenous Circle of Flagstaff's Treasurer, Travis Pinn

• Why Violence Persists in New Mexico's Indigenous Border Towns(September 9, 2019)

"Many of the state’s Indigenous residents live or depend upon its border towns where they have long come to work and trade. But they exist against a backdrop of racism, poverty, murder, police violence, and preventable deaths." Read...

• A Montana Family Speaks Out About Police Violence Against Indigenous People(February 2, 2021)

"We know that police enact disproportionate amounts of violence, including deadly force, on Black and Brown Americans. Accurate data on Indigenous people is difficult to come by. But even the incomplete data that's available is alarming, showing that Indigenous people are among the highest risk groups in the Mountain West for police violence."  Read...

• JULY 26, 2020

  NDN COLLECTIVE RESPONDS TO BRUTAL K9 ATTACK ON NATIVE MAN IN RAPID CITY

 On Friday, a Native man in Rapid City, South Dakota was attacked by a Highway Patrol officer and K9 unit who called to the scene after a minor altercation. In a video on social media, a witness filmed the K9 unit attacking the man for over 2 minutes even after the police officer shoots him with a stun gun. In response to the horrific incident, NDN Collective President and CEO Nick Tilsen released the following statement:

“This shows exactly how Native people in Rapid City are treated by police. Regardless of the situation before the video begins, the man was unarmed and posed no threat to the officer or the K9 unit. The officer was the one who made it violent.

• 27 Year Old Navajo Woman Shot and Killed by Police in Winslow Arizona (March 27, 2016)

  Officer Shipley fired fives times and killed Loreal Tsingine on Easter Sunday while responding to a report of a convenience-store theft. Tsingine was accused of shoplifting at a Circle K and had been brandishing a pair of scissors when confronted by Shipley, Winslow police said.