Law enforcement officers and social workers say the picture is
changing regarding Native American youth and involvement w/ street gangs.
Max Benson, guidance counselor at Lloyd Rader Center in Sand Springs,
OK, said when he first started working with youth at the juvenile detention
center, "maybe three out of all the number of young people we had were
Indian." "Now we have Indian kids in every unit," said Benson, a Pawnee
tribal member.
Police in Tulsa are also alarmed by the apparent increase in gang
activity among Indian Youth. "Three years ago we didn't know of a Native
American gang," said Cpl. Al Wilson, Tulsa Police. "We had Native Americans
in gangs, but now we have more than one gang that is strictly Native
American." Wilson says Indian gangs are similar to gangs in Los Angelas and
other urban areas where membership falls along racial lines.
Gang members often committ crimes in urban areas and flee to tribal
land to hide, something Tribal leaders would like to see stopped.
The Pawnee tribe created a gang intervention unit last spring,
believed to be the first in the nation geared towards Indian gangs. The
"Tribes of Oklahoma Gang Task Force", was created for educatonal purposes,
Benson is a member. The group will speak to tribes, schools, educators; do
problem assessments and help tribal police develop stategies to ID gangs.
An Indian law enforcement officer, who wished to remain anonymous said
15 Indian gangs have been Identified in Oklahoma.
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As if there were not enough troubles already - Be Well all John Berry