Roundtable: A Research Agenda for Addressing Criminal Legal Involvement Among Alaska Native and American Indian Populations

Session Submission Type: Roundtable Session

Abstract/Description

American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) people are disproportionately represented within the U.S. criminal legal system (CLS). AI/AN individuals are incarcerated at rates more than double that of White individuals, rising 85% since 2000. CLS involvement of AI/AN people has been associated with compounded trauma, family disruption, poor health/socioeconomic outcomes, and cultural estrangement. This roundtable will explore overincarceration of AI/AN people, examine needs and knowledge gaps, and identify research agendas and strategies to address the inequities and harms caused by involvement in the CLS. Presenters will describe the prevalence and disproportionality of AI/AN people involved in the U.S. CLS, intersecting conditions and systemic factors contributing to elevated rates, and the current knowledge base related to associated consequences of CLS contact for AI/AN people. Next, we will provide a brief overview of research, theories, and models related to CLS involvement among this population and discuss the need for community and tribally-driven inquiries to understand legal involvement of AI/AN people and inform initiatives that inform culturally responsive solutions. Finally, we will offer discussion questions to prompt collective commitment, coordinated priorities, and identify potential collaborations for forwarding research agendas to better understand systemic causes of CLS involvement and empirically supported, culturally-grounded solutions.

Sub Unit

• Area XIV. Roundtables

Chair

• Katie Schultz, University of Michigan

Discussants

• Kathi Trawver, University of Alaska Anchorage School of Social Work

• Tanya Renn, Florida State University