When a person thinks of a “gang,” Native Americans are often not the first group of people that come to mind. Throughout the past 20 years however, Native American gangs have begun to draw attention to themselves. Though they often contrast their urban counterparts, Native gangs are a difficult force to be addressed by tribal leaders and authorities, as well as parents, and educators. Understanding such gangs is a difficult concept, using Native history and culture; this essay will provide insight into the emergence of Native gangs, as well as some prevention strategies taken on by the tribal communities. In contrast with urban gangs, studies of Native Americans living on rural areas on reservations in 1998 indicate that only 15% of the youth …show more content…
Topics such as organizational factors, symbolic characteristics, and criminal behavior set these two gangs apart from one another. Organizational factors such as having a leader present and territory to protect are a relatively new concept to Native gangs (Major 2004). Because reservations are fairly spread out and there is little competition among the gangs, there isn’t a whole lot of fighting amongst one another for turf. Also, many members of the tribal gangs feel no need to hide their leaders from the authorities and will talk openly about them. An insight as to why they would discuss their involvement is because they simply haven’t been exposed to the criminal justice system to be silent when it comes to their involvement (Hailer 1999). Symbolic characteristics of these gangs actually are quite similar to the urban gangs. In fact, terms such as Crips, Bloods, and the Latin Kings are used as names for the Native gangs due in part by their perception of what they expect gang life to be (Theriot 2007). Criminal behavior is perhaps the biggest difference amongst the two lifestyles of these gangs. Whereas Urban gangs are driven by the economic aspect of gang life involving drugs and weapon trafficking, Native gangs are often seen acting out property crimes and misdemeanor offenses such as graffiti and theft, as well as alcohol offenses. Native gangs as a whole seem to be more on the pursuit …show more content…
"Native American Involvement in the Gang Subculture." Community Corrections. Community Corrections Institute, July 13. Web. 02 Apr. 14. Hailer, Julie A. A Loss of Traditions: The Emergence of American Indian Youth Gangs. Petaluma, CA: National Indian Justice Center, 1998. Print. Hazlehurst, Kayleen M., and Cameron Hazlehurst. Gangs and Youth Subcultures: International Explorations. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 1998. Print. Hernandez, Arturo. Can Education Play a Role in the Prevention of Youth Gangs in Indian Country?: One Tribe's Approach. Charleston, WV: ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools, AEL, 2002. Print. Indian Youth Gangs & Juvenile Justice: March 22-24, 2000, New Orleans, LA. Petaluma, CA: National Indian Justice Center, 2000. Print. Major, Aline K. Youth Gangs in Indian Country. Washington, DC: U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 2004. Print. Merton, R.K. (1938). Social structure and anomie. American Sociological Review, 3, 672-682. "Native American Youth 101." Aspen Institue. Aspen Institues, 24 July 11. Web. 8 Apr. 2014. "POOREST Place in AMERICA Pine Ridge Indian Reservation Native American YouTu." YouTube. YouTube, 11 Oct. 2012. Web. 08 Apr.
Inventing the Savage: The Social Construct of Native American Criminality. Luana Ross. Austin: University of Texas Press. 1998.
This book review covers Policing Gangs in America by Charles Katz and Vincent Webb. Charles Katz has a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice, while Vincent Webb has a Ph.D. in Sociology, making both qualified to conduct and discuss research on gangs. Research for Policing Gangs in America was gathered in four cities across the American Southwest; Inglewood, California, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Phoenix, Arizona. This review will summarize and discuss the main points of each chapter, then cover the relationship between the literature and class discussions in Introduction to Policing and finally it will note the strengths and weaknesses of book.
Schmidt, L. M., & O'Reilly, J. T. (2007). Gangs and Law Enforcement: A Guide for Dealing with Gang-Related Violence. Springfield: Charles C Thomas Publisher, LTD.
Mihailoff, Laura. "Youth Gangs." Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood: In History and Society. Ed. Paula S. Fass. Vol. 3. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2004. 916-917. Student Resources in Context. Web. 20 Jan. 2014.
Gangs have been around for many years; the founders of some of the original gangs in the United States will be discussed. The statistics of youth gangs in Canada will be presented followed by an in depth discussion about why young adults can be persuade into joining a gang. Often females do not contribute that the youth gangs in society; a discussion about the increasing presence of females and their roles among male dominate gangs. Young adults from Surrey, British Columbia, speak up about youth gangs and the influence of their presents within their community in a documentary called Warrior Boyz.
Even though gang violence is not a new phenomenon there has been a noticeable lack of Canadian based research done on this topic (Gordon, 2000; Varma-Joshi, Baker, and Tanaka, 2004). Although there is limited knowledge about gang violence, research shows that males are more likely to engage in gang activities (Gordon, 2000; Jemmott, B., Jemmott, S., Hines, and Fong, 2001). There are several factors that contribute to why many youths become involved in gangs. One of the main reasons why visible minority youth become submerged in gangs is because they are searching for a sense of identity and belonging (Gordon, 2000; Meloff and Silverman, 1992; Nodwell and Guppy, 1992; Fantino and Colak, 2001). Gordon (2000) finds that, “they want to belong to a friendly, supportive group that include their friends or close relatives and this includes a desire to be with individuals from the same cultural and ethnic group; gang members felt ethnically marginalized” (pg. 51). The reason why minorities are attracted to gangs is because they create a family setting which embraces their differences as opposed to being judged on their differences by mainstream society.
Ralphs, R., Medina, J. and Aldridge, J. (2009) ‘Who needs enemies with friends like these? The importance of place for young people living in known gang areas’, Journal of Youth Studies, 12 (5), pp. 483-500.
Youth gangs are defined as any group of people who engage in socially disruptive or criminal behaviour, usually within a defined territory, and operate by creating an atmosphere of fear and intimidation in a community. Federally in Canada “…Bill C-95… says a gang must include five or more people involved in criminal activity.” Over the last ten or so years, youth gangs have become more violent and dangerous than ever before. They have more access to sophisticated knives and guns and use these weapons to gain power and fear. The problem of youth gangs is especially apparent in low-income neighbourhoods in Canadian cities. Low income neighbourhoods in the Greater Toronto Area are a...
Members in youth gangs come from a variety of backgrounds. They come from different geographic, ethnic, demographic, and socio-economic contexts (class notes). The majority of youth who are already part of a gang or at risk for being a part of a gang, usually come from groups that struggle with a high level of inequality and lack a lot of things socially. Youth who are of aboriginal descent are more likely to be recruited into a gang and involved in organized crime than youth who are non-aboriginal. 21 percent of all youth gang members in Canada are First Nations and the majority of them come from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. Youth who become involved in gangs are likely to be using drugs and already taking part of serious or violent crimes.
Pastor, James F. "Gangs in America – A Deadly Game." Gangs in America – A Deadly Game. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.
Our focus is to reintegrate Aboriginal Youth Gang members back into conventional society. Each youth will focus on themselves, regain values and become accustom to their culture, spirituality, and community. A large portion of youth gangs members in Canada are 22% Aboriginal. In addition, Aboriginal people are three times more likely to be been victimized. “Social interventions included counseling, crisis intervention, gang homicide intervention, job placement, and family, school, and special education, programs and services. There also was notable improvement in residents’ perceptions of gang crime and police effectiveness in dealing with that crime” (Howell & Wilson 2000). This existing program shows evidence and improvement in youth who
Gangs originated in the mid 1800’s in the cardinal direction using it as a method to defend themselves against outsiders.The idea of gangs became populous, powerful, and a broad influence. But like all powers, they tend to corrupt and recognizes violence as a way of getting what they want faster than other methods.They turn violence into fun, profit, and control.Creating a situation that affects youth in today’s society.
By drawing from works of scholars looking to define gangs, Papachristos and Kirk (2006) devote a great amount of attention to theories of social disorganization. In their research, a gang is broadly defined as “a geographically, temporally and socially “interstitial” group that forms in response to the disintegration of norms and customs and the consequent...
Many stereotypes of gangs have been fabricated. The problem is that a majority of gang members do not fit these stereotypes, which, in turn, makes it hard for the to be caught (Klein). Traditionally they organize their group around a specific neighborhood, school or housing projec...
Hallswort, S. And Young, T. (2004) Getting Real About Gang. Criminal Justice Matters [online]. 55. (1), pp 12-13 [Accessed 10 December 2013]