ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to review the existing body of knowledge about Native American delinquency across several major topical areas. American Indian youth living on reservations throughout the United States face a myriad of problems. Among the most serious of these difficulties is the disproportionate extent to which Indian adolescents are involved in criminal and delinquent activities. The development of guidelines and procedures to aid the formulation and implementation of policies for responding to these problems continues to be plagued by the relative lack of general information and specific research findings on the causes, nature, and extent of crime and delinquency among Native Americans. One statistical pattern for which research has sporadically provided some insights about Indian juvenile offenders is the prevalence of delinquent behavior on specific reservations and their local environs. The most current profiles of crime, delinquency, arrest, prosecution, and incarceration among Native American youth and adults paint an extremely grim picture.
