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Fighting crime on reservations is good, but missing the cause
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By JON M. HUNTER, Publisher
| 08/06/2008 |
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Senators and representatives from South Dakota and other states with American Indian reservations are advancing legislation to fight high crime levels.
The bill would encourage more aggressive federal prosecution of reservation crimes, boost tribal law enforcement, and improve coordination between federal and local authorities. In addition, it would enhance the sentencing authority of tribal courts and boost resources for investigating and prosecuting crimes of sexual violence.
All these steps are desperately needed. Crime levels on reservations are extremely high, with violent crime leading the way.
Federal statistics have shown that American Indians are the victims of violent crime at 2.5 times the national rate, and rates of homicide and domestic abuse are much higher than national averages. An Amnesty International report in 2007 said American Indian women are more than twice as likely to be raped as other U.S. women.
So while these steps to improve law enforcement are correct and important, it still doesn't address the fundamental problem: The reservation system as a whole is an unqualified failure.
From every human standpoint, the reservation system is broken. There is extreme poverty, rampant alcoholism, high infant mortality rates, terrible joblessness and lawlessness. FBI reports show that rates of all of violent crime doubled between 2005 and 2006, partly fueled by a raging methamphetamine epidemic on reservations and high rates of alcohol use.
So while increased law enforcement is the right thing to do, what's really needed is to eliminate the reservation system and replace it with a new model. The reservation system cannot be "improved" or "reformed," because the problems are so vast.
Yes, we recognize that treaties signed in the 1800s were bad. Yes, we realize that federal government officials and tribal officials made many mistakes over the past 150 years. This is not a time for finger-pointing, but developing a new system that allows human beings to live with life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Developing a new system and way of life is one of the hardest jobs imaginable for federal and tribal leaders. But they shouldn't be afraid of the difficulty, because the terrible problems on the reservation must be solved.
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©Madison Daily Leader 2010
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