January 2, 2015
Native Lives Matter
Publisher: Lakota People's Law Project
In light of the debate surrounding police violence against minority populations in theUnited States, one group that is consistently affected, yet continuously excluded frombroad public discourse, is Native Americans. Much of the rhetoric has been justifiablydedicated to African Americans in urban areas, who certainly suffer from disproportionatecriminal justice outcomes. However, statistics uncovered and compiled by the LakotaPeople's Law Project demonstrate that American Indians, in fact, suffer the most adverseeffects of a criminal justice system which consistently reifies itself as structurally unjust. The report, composed by the Lakota People's Law Project, will delve deeper intowhat it means to seek justice for Native peoples, including but also moving beyondanecdotal evidence of police violence by presenting empirical data that demonstrates howthe justice system disproportionately and cruelly punishes American Indians.