COVER/CRIME
BIOGRAPHY
Chad
Denny Makes Quebec Major Juniors
BUSINESS
Casino
Of The Rockies: The Casino Where Everybody Wins
CULTURE
Buffy
Honours Dudley George's Life with Music Concert
Vancouver's
Museum of Anthropology Strives To Accurately Represent First Nations Culture
ENVIRONMENT
Chippewas
of Nawash Defend Lake Huron and Georgian Bay
HUMOUR
Bee
in the Bonnet: Artsy Fartsy
Bee
in the Bonnet: Halls!
POLITICS
AFN
Leader Seeks to Reorganize National Body
By Lloyd Dolha
Prairie-based
aboriginal gangs have reached crisis proportions in major urban centers,
supporting larger and more sophisticated gangs - such as the Hells Angels
and Asian gangs - and are spreading out into smaller cities and rural
areas, moving on and off impoverished reserves recruiting new members.
In the annual report by the Criminal Intelligence Canada (CISC),
Aboriginal-Based Organized Crime or ABOC has become one of the national
agency's intelligence priorities.
Released on August 22nd, the report states that aboriginal gangs are present
in several urban centers across Canada, particularly in Winnipeg, Regina
and Edmonton.
These gangs are generally involved in street-level trafficking of marihuana,
cocaine, crack cocaine and crystal meth.
They are also involved in prostitution, break and enters, robberies,
assaults, intimidation, tobacco fraud, home invasions, vehicle thefts,
weapons offences illegal gaming and debt collection and enforcement as
trench troops for other organized crime groups like the Hells Angels.
Nationally,
the primary gangs are the Indian Posse, Redd Alert, Warriors and Native
Syndicate, with a number of smaller gangs that frequently form and reform.
The street gang scene in Winnipeg, the birthplace of aboriginal gangs
in Canada, is dominated to a large extent by two aboriginal gangs, the
Manitoba Warriors and the Indian Posse. A smaller street gang called the
Deuce, with connections to the Manitoba Warriors, is a rival gang to the
Indian Posse
"In Alberta, aboriginal gangs that once existed primarily in prisons
for protection purposes, have now recognized the financial benefit of
trafficking hard drugs, such as cocaine, on the reserves," states
the CISC report.
Many of these gangs have ready access to firearms that has resulted in
a number of incidents of violence.
Gang activity on the rise
In April, an Edmonton-based task force identified 12 aboriginal gangs
operating in the city, with more than 400 members and almost 2,000 known
gang associates. The task force warned that gang activity will increase
along with the growing aboriginal population if the social and economic
problems faced by urban native youth are not addressed.
The local task force identified gangs operating in the city as Redd Alert,
Indian Posse, Alberta Warriors, Saskatchewan Warriors, Manitoba Warriors,
Native Syndicate, Crypts, West End Boys, Death Do Us Part, Wolf Pack,
Mixed Blood and Deuce.
One day before the release of the CISC report on aboriginal gangs, on
August 21st, the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN), released
its own report on aboriginal youth gang violence entitled Alter-Natives
to Non-Violence Report: Aboriginal Youth Gangs Exploration, the result
of a two-year examination of the conditions underlying the growing gang
phenomena within Saskatchewan's major urban centers and the communities
that are most impacted.
According the FSIN report, aboriginal youth in the prairie provinces join
gangs for money, power and excitement. They are characterized by feelings
of disenfranchisement from the community and family with no attachment
to school.
Youth gangs can be identified by the use of colours, various hand signals,
caps/hats worn a certain way, pant-leg rolled up, one glove, an untied
shoelace or a bandana worn a certain way.
Aboriginal youth are initiated into gangs by the following methods:
committing certain crimes at the behest of the leader; 'beating in', in
some cases an intense beating can last up to three minutes; prostitution;
'sexing in' or 'banged in', where young females have sex with several
members of the gang; a family connection, children who are raised in families
in gangs; and, muscling others or intimidation.
Natives prime recruits
According to the FSIN report, of the 98,000 youth in Saskatchewan between
the ages of 12 17 years, approximately 15,000 are aboriginal youth.
Based on known risk factors such as poverty, lack of opportunity for employment,
institutional racism and discrimination and a sense of hopelessness and
despair, many of these 15,000 aboriginal youth are at-risk of being recruited.
The development of gang culture can be understood through the history
of aboriginal people in Canada. A widely known aspect of the destruction
of aboriginal culture in the residential school system experience and
its subsequent intergenerational effects.
As it is widely known, many of the aboriginal children of the 1950's and
1960's suffered extreme physical and sexual abuse. The racism and assimilation
efforts of the residential school era has left residual effects on aboriginal
youth that provided the underlying social unrest of aboriginal youth leading
to gang involvement.
Aboriginal youth gang can be characterized as a 'spontaneous youth social
movement.'
"For an undereducated aboriginal youth disenfranchised from society,
there are few options for survival. Sheer survival is a strong motivational
factor that leads many youth to gangs," states the report.
Jail more likely than diploma
In the executive summary, the report notes, "In1992, the Lynn Report
stated that, Oit was said that an aboriginal youth had a better chance
of going to jail than graduating from Grade 12 this is still true
today."
The report goes on to quote a January 2003 submission to the Commission
on First Nations and Metis Peoples Justice Reform that notes Saskatchewan
has the highest crime rate in the country. Aboriginal people account for
only ten per cent of the population of Regina and Prince Albert combined
but accounted for 47 per cent of the victims of crime.
Between 1994 and 2000, aboriginal people accounted for 55 per cent of
Saskatchewan's homicide victims as well as 60 per cent of those accused
of committing homicides.
Aboriginal youth accounted for about six in ten youth accused ages 12
to 17 years in the three cities of Regina, Saskatoon and Prince Albert
in 1997.
According to the FSIN, aboriginal youth comprise at least 75 to 90 per
cent of youth in open and closed custody facilities. Of the 3,000 youth
that are in the criminal justice system on any given day, about 1,800
are aboriginal.
In one passage, the FSIN report graphically demonstrated the danger of
gang affiliation for aboriginal youth from a passage of the Western Reporter
magazine.
One of the young people on the corner was a 13-year old Joseph Spence,
known to his friends as 'Beeper'. When Johnson asked the group 'You IP?'
Beeper stepped forward even though he had no gang affiliation.
'Straight up,' he bragged. 'In full effect!' Johnson jumped up out of his seat and pointed the shotgun at Beeper as a 16 year-old Deuce named Fabian Torres shouted from the back of the van. 'Bust a cap in his ass!' As Beeper turned to run, Johnson fired a blast straight into his back. Beeper, who had just completed Grade 7, died in the street where he lay.
The FSIN report hopes to make a compelling case to the federal and provincial
government agencies to substantiate the need for enhanced and new resources
that can be directed at First Nations to address the gang issue.
Prison mentality on the Rez
A former resident who did not wish to be identified described the gang
phenomena as the result of aboriginal inmates who return from jail and
bring a 'prison mentality' back onto reserves that makes them 'open air
prisons.'
To address the exploding gang phenomena, a number of initiatives have
been launched.
In November 2001, Corrections Services Canada (CSC), launched an Aboriginal
Gang Initiative (AGI), in Winnipeg. The initiative was the result of former
AFN national chief Ovide Mercredi, who examined the issue of aboriginal
gangs and recommended 23 strategy options to CSC.
The major thrust of the May 2000 Mecredi Report, was the involvement of
the aboriginal community, especially elders, to find solutions for the
rise of aboriginal gangs.
The AGI team consists of five aboriginal facilitators guided by aboriginal
elders. The team works with those involved in or affected by gangs.
"We've come along way in a very short time," said Darrel Phillips,
Project Manager for the AGI. "We've established a foundation of trust
with gang members themselves and the CSC staff. We've also constructed
solid bridges of between CSC and the community and we've mobilized a wide
array of resources.
"We realized early in our work that many aboriginal gang members
truly want to change, but they don't really have the tools or skills to
stabilize themselves," added Phillips. "They're being pulled
in so many directions and very often their belief systems are totally
at odds with committing to a crime-free lifestyle."
Clayton Sandy, Community Relation Manager of AGI, believes that is where
the strength of the elders comes into play.
"Because it's our elders that can help gang members see how their
beliefs and values determine the choices they make, which leads them into
conflict with law. We help them commit to a spiritual path in life (the
'Red Road'), and support them in their spiritual journey," said Sandy.
As of April 2002, within Manitoba, 163 gang members were either incarcerated
at the Stoney Mountain Institution, the Rockwood Institution of on conditional
release in the community under the Winnipeg Parole office.
Pat Larocque, a lifer, has a great deal of credibility as a member of
the AGI team. Larocque works directly with aboriginal gang members in
Stoney Mountain and Rockwood.
"I find it's really making a difference to consistantly interact
with the
guys inside. Most of them know my experience with the correctional system
and this gives them a lot of hope that positive change is possible. We're
not only trying to get these guys on a spiritual path, we also need to
cooperate with CSC staff to help aboriginal gang members prepare for a
job when they get out," said Larocque.
Female gangs of concern
A key area of concern for the future is aboriginal women involved in gangs.
The issue will be given greater attention once the AGI is established
as an on-going initative.
Recently renamed Bimosewin, Ojibway for 'walk your path in life in a good
way', the AGI has to date: obtained a written commitment from over 125
gang and ex-gang members to work with Bimosewin ; over 12 aboriginal individuals
have been 'helped out or kept out' of gangs; secured employment for more
than 15 aboriginal gang members; a safe house has been supported and is
now available to ex-gang members; and, a core group of ex-gang members
is
emerging that Bimosewin can mentor and work with.
CSC is currently evaluating the efficacy of Bimosewin and, with the approval
of the executive committee, may be extending Bimosewin's mandate to other
to other provinces in the Prairies over the next five years.
"Many aboriginal gang members respect their elders and their traditional
culture," says Phillips. "This is a window of opportunity for
us to help them find a new indentity rooted in their own culture. We believe
this leads to aboriginal gang members making more positive lifestyle choices."
Support programs
In Saskatchewan, Bimosewin has extended an offer to the FSIN to participate
in their gang initiative committee. The FSIN has established a Youth Gang
Awareness Cultural Camp for aboriginal youth 1118 years in collaboration
with the White Buffalo Youth Centre located in Saskatoon.
The camp provides healthy alternatives for aboriginal youth and
opportunities to interact with role models and elders, working towards
dispelling the glamourization often associated with gang membership.
The FSIN is developing a three to five year strategic plan to address
the complex issues underlying the development of gang culture and a provincial
policy that focuses on the root social problems experienced by aboriginal
youth who join gangs.
In Edmonton, the Spirit Keeper Youth Society (SKYS), an aboriginal non-profit
society was recently formed in June to address the escalation and growth
of aboriginal gangs in the city. The board of directors consists of a
'hands on daily' group of aboriginal professionals each with their own
area of expertise in business, program development and crime prevention.
Spirit Keeper is currently working to establish a crisis line for aboriginal
youth and a transition house for 18-25 yr. olds involved in gangs. Spirit
Keeper also wants to establish a Learning Centre for pre- and early teenage
aboriginal youth as an intervention and prevention measure against future
gang recruitment.
They will also be developing an extensive aftercare and
follow-up program of both formal and informal support.
Len Untereiner, president of Spirit Keeper, said the society is currently
facing some funding difficulties but is trying to secure a safe house
for aboriginal youth seeking to escape the city¹s gang culture.
"We're dealing with about 60 kids on a regular basis on the street
level that want to get out of gangs and we have a deal going to have a
safe house in the next few weeks to accommodate some of them."