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14 J. Contemp. Crim. Just. 3 (1998)

handle is hein.journals/jccj14 and id is 1 raw text is: EDITORIAL COMMENT One of the first questions that a guest editor must ask of himself or herself is Why is it important to have a special issue on a particular subject? In this case, my answer to myself centered on the issue of self-determination within the criminal justice system for indigenous peoples. Self-determination for indigenous peoples is important because, in general terms, it has a direct effect on the type and method of social control that is exercised: the effective delivery of services, the economy of Native American communities, and the self-image of the people. More specifically, self-determination has been reported to have direct affect on the high incarceration rates among indige- nous peoples, on legal rights of indigenous peoples, and on the waste of human potential. With the colonization of the Americas by Europeans, the right to self-determination by the indigenous people was lost. In this case, self- determination can refer to many different things depending on the tribe, the chronological time, and/or other circumstances. This means that one simple definition of self-determination is not possible; however, a general statement, that self-determination is the basic right to make decisions about life and community, would be mostly accurate. The American criminal justice system by its very nature is a complex grouping of interrelated organizations that at times confounds the foreign and sometimes even the local researcher. When this complex system is superim- posed on a different culture such as that of Native Americans, the complexity of the issues increases manyfold. Issues of policing, courts, juvenile prob- lems, organizational structure, and many others are all complicated by the issues of Native self-determination and cultural independence. The articles in this issue address a small selection of issues facing Native Americans. Most of the questions raised and to some extent addressed in this volume focus on some level of self-determination. In the article A Comparison of Canadian Native Youth Justice Committees and Navajo Peacemakers: A Summary of Research Results, Marianne 0. Nielsen explores the impact of colonial processes on the social organization of two initiatives: the Aboriginal Youth Committees in Canada and the Peacemakers of the Navajo Nation. In both of these initiatives, a return to traditional methods of social control is advocated. Yet, this movement is not without obstacles and challenges. As Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, Vol. 14 No. 1, February 1998 3-5 @ 1998 Sage Publications, Inc. 3 from the SAGE Social Science Collections. All Rights Reserved.

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