The Native American Story: Native Americans and the Fight for Civil Rights
Other Civil Rights priorities held by Native Americans include:
- ongoing battles for voting rights
- elimination of mascots by schools and professional sports teams considered offensive, as they reflect outdated stereotypes and perpetuate racism against Native Americans
- absence of civil rights organizations to address grievances involving police misconduct and other criminal justice discrimination
- under-representation in the employment at all levels of all institutions involved in the administration of justice, at the federal, state, and local levels in some states
- lack of participation in local, state, and federal elections, which results in a lack of political representation at all levels of government, and ensures the continued neglect and inattention to issues of disparity and inequality in the Native American community
- insufficient training, technical assistance and funding for tribal court systems and tribal law enforcement agencies
- limited legal resources; Native American victims of discrimination often find it difficult to secure legal representation, and public defender programs are felt to be inadequate due to inexperience, lack of funding, and conflicts of interest
- inadequate hate crime legislation prevents adequate response to crimes involving racial bigotry; tribal governments have not established civil rights offices to assist their constituents in seeking redress
The Native American Story: South Dakota
Many Native Americans in South Dakota have little or no confidence in the criminal justice system and believe that the justice system at both federal and state levels is permeated by racism. There is a strong belief that the justice system is biased, and that race is a critical factor in determining how law enforcement and justice functions are carried out. Native American advocates cite huge disparities in the numbers of unsolved murders as well as those reported by the FBI. This perception of injustice includes a belief that violent crimes involving Native Americans are handled differently from those involving whites. Crimes perpetrated by whites against Indians are investigated and prosecuted with seemingly less vigor than those committed by Indians against whites. This suspicion, it turns out may be rather accurate. See my article on
Death Penalty Use Statistics.
The Native American Story: The Native American Rights Fund
The Native American Rights Fund (NARF) is a non-profit organization that provides legal representation and assistance to Native American Indian tribes, organizations and individuals nationwide. NARF focuses on applying existing laws and treaties to guarantee that national and state governments live up to their obligations.
Over the past twenty-nine years, NARF has become a respected resource for policy makers and others engaged in drafting legislation. NARF continues to work with religious, civil rights, and other Native American organizations to ensure the civil and religious rights of all Native Americans are upheld.
Throughout its history, NARF has impacted tens of thousands of Native American Indian people in its work for more than 250 tribes. Some examples of the results include:
- Protecting and establishing tribal sovereignty
- Obtaining official tribal recognition for numerous tribes
- Helping tribes continue their ancient traditions, by protecting their rights to hunt, fish and use the water on their lands
- Helping to uphold Native American religious freedoms
- Assuring the return of remains and burial goods from museums and historical societies for proper re-burial
- Protecting voting rights of Native Americans
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