ABSTRACT
According to the 2000 U.S. census, there are 2.4 million American Indians in the United States, and about half of this population lives on or adjacent to reservation communities. The American Indian population in the United States is relatively young. Almost half (43 percent) of American Indians are under the age of 20 (Coalition for Juvenile Justice, 2000). They represent 558 sovereign tribes or nations, each with a unique history, culture, and relationship to state and federal government. These factors combine to make discussions of American Indian delinquency and juvenile justice both important and complex.
