[mrspatino]

Two years ago, at the Ann Arbor Pow Wow, my husband and I, were sitting at a t-shirt booth selling Anti-Native American Mascot shirts, t-shirts portraying the degradation of Native American mascots used by sports teams. A teenage Indian boy approached the booth and scoffed. My husband asked if the young man would like to purchase the t-shirt, the young mans response was “Our people have more to worry about than Indian Mascots”. I never forgot that young man, or the statement. I didn’t know him personally, but I feel, that with this paper, I will honor him, and the struggles he, and all Native American youth face.

I have asked two experts to share their experience and perspectives on Native American gangs. My first expert, who is graciously humble and not except a title such as expert, is my friend Mr. Lee Black Bear, a member of the Ogallala Lakota Nation, Town of Wooded Knee Creek, and Pine Ridge Reservation South Dakota. Lee is now a youth mentor and some might say a spiritual advisor.

As a youth Lee expressed to his family, that he would like to attend Junior high school in Rapid City, although his family was against it, he was able to attend. As a young man Lee first started the gang emergence as something as harmless as break dancing crews, they would compete against each other, wear colors reflecting their crew, to Lee, it seemed that almost over night, the transformation of break dancing competition, turned into territorial fighting, his “breakin” crew was the Rapid City Rocker’s as the transformation took place, they turned into The Boyz, now a well known gang. Lee learned of the Gang issues emerging through a close cousin who became heavily involved in the gang culture, although Lee was never a gang member, he was accepted on the fringes. Some of his friends other than his cousin were also gang members, and recalls being at parties, where confrontation ensued between his friends or family with rival gangs. At the young age of fourteen, Lee had been approached by a gang member to join or be “Checked-In”, a process of a gang beating to be consider part of the gang, Lee said no, it just not my way. However he was asked to carry a gun, at the age of fourteen he saw it as a status, something to impress the girls with. Lee can recall never using the gun, but in an instance, did show it, so that gang members would back off, from trying to check him in. The lifestyle of gang members was intriguing to Lee, it was a scene, a party scene, drinking, drugs, and girls, “Raising Hell” he says, to much of a good time.

Gangs Lee knew of, on and off the Reservation were, The Boyz, Warlords, Native Gangster Disciples, Bad Men’s Club and Browns. Some of these gangs were not just native youth but also some had mixed crews of Indian, Black and White, Indian and Latino, and straight Full bloods. As a young man, he remembers the use of knives as not just a weapon but also as a tool, a tool they would heat up, and used to carve lines in the upper arm, as a symbol of rank and gang affiliation. Other than the Bad Men’s Club all the other gangs had members ranging from the ages of fifteen to twenty one, BMC was a group of older men, who harassed the younger gangs, as Lee reflected with a laugh.

In a 1998 visit to the reservation, Lee encountered a woman named Juanita Lone Wolf, from the Navajo Reservation in Arizona. Juanita came to share her accounts of the emerging gang problem on her reservation and her concerns of it spreading throughout Indian country. To Lee, her visit was eye opening; she had integrity, as she talked about gang prevention.

Lee is currently, living in Michigan now, and visits his reservation when he can, always trying to instill the youth with hope and education, through experience and tradition. When we discussed the factors, that these youth choose to turn to gangs, Lee expresses his feelings, of psychological warfare upon his people on the reservation.

They have been instilled with fear, since the reservation system first started. It’s like being destroyed from the inside out he says, we are individually responsible according to the virtues of our culture, but we are at a cross roads, striving to be apart of our culture and apart of the American culture, but the American cultural standard, is causing an identity crisis. When Lee and I reflected on prevention he shared with me that his Grandfather taught him that knowledge is key, knowledge teaches, patience, tolerance and kindness, and goes on to say that Grandpa also used the Lakota word, “BLICHICIYAYO” which means “To gather strength” and that is, what we must do.

My second expert is Retired Captain Christopher Grant of the Rapid City, South Dakota Police Department and; he spent fifteen years, working on the gang and narcotics taskforce. Captain Grant now spends a great amount of his time traveling to nine different reservations, from South Dakota to Minnesota, working with Tribal police as a consultant, in regards to the Native American Gangs crisis. He works with the native communities for assessment, and training on Gang awareness through education.

Captain Grant reports, that crime such as homicide are low, but does go on to say they are on the rise. Drug sales and distribution are also on the rise, he says it is clandestine, due to the access of rural areas on the reservations being used as Methamphetamine labs and its growing user market. I asked if he knew, what major Organized Crime Groups are providing narcotics to the native gangs, Captain Grant says that the predominant influence is from the Hispanic communities but African, White and Asian groups are also involved, but did not report any major crime organizations that the drugs could be traced back too.

The Native American Gangs, Captain Grant named as well known are Native Indian Bloods, Cobraz, Native Vice Lords and Indian Mafia. When I asked if he could tell me, what are the physical signs they show, such as Tattoos or other markings? He described something more brutal, such as multiple scarring due to burning or branding. I asked Captain Grant about the scars created by the hot knife, and if the number of scars was a rank in the gang, he went on to say that he had not heard of it, as a ranking but that it might be an account of years in a gang. Captain Grant impressed me when I asked him about Gang prevention on our reservations, His first answer was that we need to have and reinforce strong family values, but just as equally important went on to say that strong cultural involvement is also important for the preservation of our youth.

Origins, we must travel back in history to point out origins of gangs, not every tribe had male rights of passage, or a transition ceremony, marking the adolescent movement into adulthood, some tribes had Warrior societies, and these groups were the tribal protectors and hunters. Tribes such as the Navajo Nation, Evon Vogt reports, male groups having a “Raiding Complex”, http://www.streetgangs.com/academic/navajogng.htm pg4, para5, when tribes, such as the Navajo, raided for necessities die, as a progression the male groups seem to become restless. Our history has cast a prison upon our people, who always hunted and protected. How do we help these men, who are genetically programmed to exert some form of aggression for the survival of their people, only prayer, education and prevention can help?

Native American Gangs are similar in their, member identification, as to urban gangs. Colors are one, identification followed by tattoos, such as an eagle feather tattooed on the neck, this might be specific to certain Native Gangs just as the scars and branding described by, Lee and Captain Grant. Lee also said that, he noticed a strange phenomenon, that it was after the release of the movie “Colors” that Native Gangs, actually had their progression, in adopting some of what, they saw in entertainment.

Using Michigan as a reference, I can attest that our reservations, as far as economy and environment are very nice compared to current day acceptable conditions of living, this is a vast difference to reservations in the west such as Rose Bud, Pine Ridge and Navajo reservations. Living on some of the reservations is described by friends as difficult, poverty, substance abuse, domestic violence and suicide are just some of the demons our people are fighting on a regular basis, with the help of education and traditional teachings. It is the demons, that I described, infecting our youth at almost, if not before, their birth.

Michigan is a state with small reservations, when asking piers, about possible gang activity on our reservations, they said that they had not heard of any activity, but claim that there are prevention programs in place, for Indian youth dealing with many issues not just gang activity.

Where do we go from here? What types of prevention can we use for a culture struggle to stay grounded? Reservations have limited law enforcement, some tribal residents, even feel that tribal law is exerting more force, than necessary over people, as a control method instead of to serve and protect. Urban Law enforcement and Tribal law enforcement, are trying to work together in assessing our Indian communities, so to provide healthier resources to the areas.

Our people originally did not drink, or use drugs, it is by that tradition that I try to live my life. As long as our elders teach us to walk on the right path, have courage and integrity, to share the downfalls they faced, and to let us, help carry the burdens they have carried for so long, we will be able to fight the war, our youth now face. We can preserve our future.

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