Poverty, addiction, and hopelessness know no jurisdictional boundaries. All systems struggle to improve outcomes for families, have fewer children in out-of-home placement, decrease incarceration and recidivism rates, and reverse the tide of disproportionate minority contact. But in this era of evaporating resources, no system has proved completely successful on its own. Rather than building on the strengths and capabilities of offenders and their families, state courts have simply dealt with their deficiencies and preached virtue at them, rarely dealing with the problems that undercut their chances of success.
Minnesota is one of eight states with the greatest disparities between white and minority youth in custody. In 2007, 13% of juveniles in secure detention, 7% of probation placements and 18% of youth confined in juvenile correctional facilities were American Indian. This is especially disturbing since Minnesota’s American Indian population is only 1.1%. In 2006, Cass County ranked seventh on Minnesota’s “13 Deadliest Impaired Driving Counties” list. From 2001 to 2005, Cass County experienced thirty-two alcohol-related fatalities; while Cass County’s population of 28,843 represents only a fraction of all other counties, its death rate was the sixth highest in Minnesota.
Statistics for Itasca County are just as grim. In July 2005, 94% of all people who came into the Itasca County Jail had methamphetamine in their possession or in their system, and meth resulted in a 33% increase in jail costs in 2004. In 2008, Itasca County was added to the list of the “13 Deadliest Counties for Impaired Driving” in Minnesota. Between 2004 and 2007, 37% of traffic fatalities were alcohol related, compared to 34% statewide; and there was a 46% increase in impaired driving incident arrests.
Located in rural north-central Minnesota, 235 miles north of Minneapolis/St. Paul and 100 miles south of the Canadian border, the Leech Lake Reservation covers over 1050 square miles within its boundaries, and consists of forests, lakes, and wetlands with small Indian and rural residential communities separated by distances of twenty to eighty miles. The rural location and size of the reservation presents serious challenges for delivery of services to residents. The Reservation encompasses sections of four counties: Beltrami, Cass, Hubbard, and Itasca, all of which are located within Minnesota’s Ninth Judicial District. The Native American unemployment rate on the Reservation is nearly 26%, reflecting that poverty is a serious problem. Statistics from the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Addictions and Dependency (A&D) Program show that drug and alcohol abuse is epidemic on the Leech Lake reservation, with 60% of the residents having serious drug or alcohol problems, and 95% of the residents being directly affected by alcoholism or drug abuse by a family member.” While the Leech Lake Band has a Human Services Division with Mental Health, Addictions and Dependency, Opioid Treatment, and Child Welfare Programs, all are seriously under-staffed and under-funded and struggle to deal with the needs of the reservation’s population. Additionally, the Tribal Court was created relatively recently and historically was not seen by other jurisdictions as being legitimate or effective.
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