Trail of Tears

By: Daniel Thomas

Of the 7.3 million people currently under correctional oppression, only 1.6 million are in prison. The rez to prison pipeline depends primarily on the criminal record, not prison time. The pressure to plea-bargain and thereby “convict yourself” is not an accidental byproduct of the mandatory sentencing regime. What’s devastating is our future generation gets swept into this Trail of Tears and then ushered into an under-caste without voting rights, and everything else you lose with a felonious criminal record. Release from prison does not represent the beginning of freedom, but instead, a new level of social control effectively preventing a meaningful reintegration into the mainstream economy and society. While under government slavery, virtually every aspect of one’s life is regulated and monitored by the system and any form of disobedience, real or imagined, is subject to swift sanction. Failing to cope well with one’s exile status is a crime. If you fail to get a job against all odds, or miss an appointment with your parole officer, you can be sent right back to prison, where society apparently thinks millions of Americans belong. Far more needs to be said about each point made. This is meant to be the beginning of a conversation, not an end.

Stacy's Commentary:

It's estimated that Native American men and women are up to 30% more likely to be incarcerated than white people. However, while we have some idea of the statistics of Native incarceration rates, the prison system on both the state and federal level are notorious for excluding indigenous populations in their statistics. This makes comparisons based on ethnicity, sex, and population near impossible. Understandably, tribal government and law enforcement are also reluctant to share information with the Department of Justice to aid in the compilation of this data. Also, the DoJ moves slowly in complying with 2010's Tribal Law and Order Act retarding the process further. If you click HERE, you can read what statistics are available on the PrisonPolicy.org (PPI) website. Unfortunately, most data currently available (as of May 13, 2021) are results of the 2010 census and are thus woefully outdated. The website promises to update their data when the 2020 census information is released.

All of that being said, it is glaringly obvious from the statistics available that Native people are being pushed into a lifelong cycle of youth offending and recidivism due to lack of government support, poverty, drug and alcohol abuse, and numerous other factors.

The questions now are: What can we do to start breaking this cycle? What can we do to reduce recidivism? How can we support Native men and women being released from prison (or long term jail stays) reintegrate?