ABSTRACT
American Indian youths in the past have had little involvement with street gangs. The Pawnee tribe last spring created a gang intervention unit that is believed to be the first in the nation geared to the problem of Indian gangs. Through a tribal resolution, the Tribes of Oklahoma Gang Task Force was created with the purpose of educating tribes and other groups about the growing problem. "Poverty and racism and other problems typical in cities exist in Indian tribes," the lawman said. "The juveniles feel the same absence of family, of belonging, and are trying to replace the belonging with the family or the tribe with belonging to gangs." Indian young people in Montana do not have contact with city gangs, yet they adopt their mannerisms, customs and types of crimes," a federal agent noted.
