Alaska Natives make up less than 20% of the state’s population, but account for more than 40% of the state’s prison population — a trend that has worsened in recent years.
It’s an issue that has come into sharp focus this year as state officials, lawmakers and Alaska Native groups have worked on understanding the drivers and potential solutions to the over-incarceration of Alaska Native people. That work has produced a 167-page study released last week, coordinated by the Alaska Federation of Natives, the University of Alaska and the Department of Corrections.
The key takeaway is that the high rates are in large part due to the cultural and generational trauma inflicted upon Alaska Native people — especially around colonial efforts to sever people’s connection to their culture — and that healing those wounds relies in large part on reconnecting people to their culture and communities.
“We really need to approach this with a more holistic lens in order to address the challenges,” Dr. Katie Cueva, a Research Associate Professor at the UAF Center for Alaska Native Health Research and lead author, told the House Tribal Affairs Committee on Tuesday. “Individuals who are able to be started on a good way in life are more likely to avoid incarceration than those who are approached later in life, and offerings that support cultural identity, stabilize housing or address mental health and substance misuse through community-based and Alaska Native approaches are more likely to be effective.”
She noted that many Alaska Native people face historical and ongoing trauma and systemic inequities, which result in them living with issues, such as poverty, trauma, homelessness and substance abuse issues, that are often drivers of crime. Addressing those issues early, especially when people are young, and in culturally relevant ways that strengthen their connections to their communities, she said, has been proven to be the most effective use of resources.
“It’s not a matter of individual or personal responsibility so much as the environments that individuals live and work and grow in,” she said. “So, these early childhood interventions tend to have the greatest impact, including things like prenatal care or family support, culturally relevant family support that can prevent fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, parent training programs, as well as reduced-cost culturally relevant child care.”
As part of the research project, researchers spoke with several programs that work with inmates and are grounded in Alaska Native cultural practices. Lawmakers heard from several at the House Tribal Affairs Committee meeting this week.
“This is a trauma-informed place where individuals can identify some thinking errors, where they can heal from trauma, where they can strengthen relationships,” explained Bobbi Outton, the director of the Family Wellness Warriors program at the Southcentral Foundation that works with inmates. “Really, it’s a holistic approach, where it’s a process of healing where they can come back to that as a healed, whole person.”
Family Wellness Warriors has operated several programs in Alaska prisons for more than two decades. It has two therapeutic communities at Hiland Mountain Correctional Center, a women’s prison, and Palmer Correctional Center, a men’s prison, that are 12 to 18 months long and include peer support, mentoring and learning circles. They also have a re-entry program and a two-week course at Hiland Mountain that serves as an alternative to solitary confinement.
“It’s an opportunity for people to be able to get some coping skills, to understand why their behavior is continuing the way it is,” she said of the Hiland Mountain course. “It’s two weeks long, and they are able to join learning circles for healthy coping, whether it’s codependency or boundaries or recovery support grief and loss, depending on what their need is, they’re offered learning circles. So we’ve been doing this since 2004, and I would say what this program does really well is give people hope, as well as the tools and skills to live life differently.”
Outton noted that people who have gone through the programs are far less likely to commit new crimes, with a recidivism rate of about 28% compared to about 66% for all inmates.
Other care providers reported similar results.
Caitlin Hickey, who works with the Cook Inlet Tribal Council’s Youth Reentry Program and McLaughlin Youth Center, stressed that it’s important to understand where people are coming from and their cultural connections.
“I would like to say that I think culture is so powerful because it’s so adaptive. I think that’s what’s made it resilient through generations. It’s able to evolve with us while also grounding us,” she said. “To me, I think meeting someone where they’re at is more than just showing up in their environment. It’s also taking that time to understand how they view the world and how they think.”
Integrating Alaska Native culture and other culturally relevant lessons into programs serving young people broadens their horizons, she said, noting that the program is not restricted to Alaska Native youth inmates.
“I think it’s such a fun thing to watch them find connection in their differences,” she said, “and it’s been pretty helpful to create that environment where they can have curiosity towards each other without conflict.”
She said, though, that while people generally accept that culturally grounded programs are important for inmates, it’s not always clear what that actually looks like or how those fit into the rigid structures of a state prison.
“I also wanted to mention that I think groups that are based in traditional knowledge really require organizations that are going to commit to these ethical standards and train staff how to teach culture that’s not their own,” she said, outlining the efforts she’s made with her staff to be respectful of the content.
Others called for increased state investments in early childhood interventions such as child care, mental health screenings, housing, workforce training, parent training and other measures that make life a little easier for people. While most commended the state prison system for generally being open to the efforts, some said the state could do better at allowing volunteers to become authorized to help with these programs.
Cueva, the UAF researcher, told the committee that legislators should consider concrete actions to advance the recommendations, noting that much of what’s being recommended now is what was recommended 20 years ago.
“In 20 years, I don’t want to be doing an interview saying the same things, and nothing has changed,” she said. “So, to develop a task force to develop and ensure that these recommendations are culturally grounded and implemented could be another strategy to move this forward.”
And she also stressed that one of the biggest changes would be to see more Alaska Natives working in the criminal justice system.
“We need more Alaska Native lawyers. We need Alaska Native judges. We need Alaska Native behavioral health experts,” she said. “We need everyone that touches the lives of individuals to have some amount of individuals who are Alaska Natives, and for those that aren’t to be receiving training so they’re aware of the unique cultures and contexts of Alaska Native people.”