From Urban Institute:
A recently released study by the Southwest Center for Equal Justice examining racial disparities in policing practices in Flagstaff, Arizona, found that Native Americans were arrested at nearly 12 times the rate of white people, most often for misdemeanor “quality-of-life crimes,” minor infractions that, according to police, disrupt the quality of life among neighborhood residents and may lead to more serious future crimes. To work toward racial equity, police departments in Flagstaff and around the country should decriminalize quality-of-life offenses and provide culturally responsive resources for Native Americans. In addition, as police departments demonstrate accountability by publishing arrest data with information about race, advocates around the country can document similar injustices and make a stronger case for reforms.
There are 22 federally recognized Native American tribes in Arizona, several of which are near Flagstaff. These include the Navajo, whose tribal nation is the largest in the state, as well as the Hopi, Hualapai, Havasupai, and Southern Paiute. Flagstaff is known as a border town—a town on the edge of “Indian country” where Native Americans often come to work and shop off of the reservation. Border towns were established by settler colonialism, a system of power that normalizes settler occupation and exploitation of lands and resources and destroys indigenous cultures through displacement and genocide. Continue reading >>>
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