Bella Pizzo - Color of Violence - Federal Indian Law and Violent Crime

Sarah Deer's "Federal Indian Law and Violent Crime" in The Color of Violence discusses Indigenous American folks and their relationship to the federal law system as well as their own jurisdiction and its effects on various Native communities. Deer asserts that although no criminal justice system is perfect, the justice system that was a part of the indigenous population was more victim-centered and emotionally affirming than our current U.S. system.

Deer describes the Native American justice systems, stating that there were various powerful social checks and balances, ensuring that the person who has been found guilty of a crime is held responsible for their actions while focusing on the healing of the victim. This is very much unlike the newer Anglo-American system that eventually took over these indigenous justice systems. Typically the American criminal justice is "hard on crime" and focuses on punishing the "criminal" by perpetuating systemic violence. There is a high recidivism rate in American crime because of the nature of the criminal justice system: continually perpetuating violence only creates an environment where violence is acceptable.

I really like this idea of restorative justice that stems from indigenous roots of Native American people, trusting victims, and treating people who commit crimes as human. We have talked a lot in class about the way people are treated as subhuman when they are the perpetrator of a crime, and how that ends up reinforcing the cycle of systemic violence that creates "criminals" and "bad guys" in America. People who have committed what a society enforces as a crime are still people, and it does not necessarily mean that something that is criminalized is actually a problem. Some societies criminalize different behaviors that are geared specifically towards people of color and gender nonconforming people.

In terms of this criminal justice system outside of the classroom, I immediately think of the documentary Girls on the Wall. This documentary is about young girls of color primarily and their experiences in a juvenile detention center. Instead of harsh punishments that are typically seen, these girls are encouraged to create a musical together, collaborating and working together to weave their unique stories and experiences together while using their energy productively to create something. Although these girls are still being criminalized and punished by being kept against their will in a prison facility, there are glimpses of restorative justice that aligns with this reading by focusing on the human experiences of people who are criminalized.

I would love to discuss other ways that communities of color have originated great successes in community enforcement of rules and regulations.