Law | National

Native Sun News: Jail with large Indian population secures grant

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

The following story was written and reported by Richie Richards, Native Sun News Staff Writer. All content © Native Sun News.

The jail in Pennington County, South Dakota. Photo from Pennington County

Grant could help Pennington County Jail reform
Number of incarcerated Indians far out number non-Indians
By Richie Richards
Native Sun News Staff Writer

RAPID CITY –– Native Sun News has recently published a series of articles regarding the sheriff’s office in Rapid City which has sparked national attention and support from The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

The MacArthur Foundation, based in Chicago, Ill., is a charitable organization whose intentions include bringing equality and fairness to 20 jails around the country in cities like Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, New Orleans, Philadelphia, and Milwaukee to name a few.

The foundation would like to see the population of jails reflect the population of the community the jail resides in.

The Pennington County Jail (PCJ) in Rapid City has been selected to receive an initial grant of $150,000 given to all 20 cities receiving support from the charitable organization. These 20 sites are considered to be the Challenge Network jurisdictions.

In the next year, the MacArthur Foundation plans a second round of grants ranging from $500,000 to $2,000,000 for half of the chosen cities who receive this initial grant.

Of the 509 inmates in the PCJ on average throughout 2014, 72% of those were housed during pre-sentencing; either they were held without bond waiting for court dates and sentencing or they were unable to make bond.

The Native American population in Rapid City fluctuates throughout the year with many of those tribal members traveling back and forth from the reservations including the Pine Ridge Reservation, due to financial incumbencies which prohibit permanent residence.

In Rapid City, the Native American population hovers right around 13% annually, while the population in the PCJ of local tribal members is at 50% year round.

This overpopulation of Indians in the jail presents an increased need for culturally relevant services for rehabilitation, access to indigenous religious practices, addiction recovery focus, and medical attention for those affected by mental disorders.

Native Americans require a specialized means of care during incarceration as their needs differ from those in a general American population; many experiencing historical trauma which cannot be rectified in a 12-step program.

John D. and Catherine T. were successful business partners living in the Chicago and Palm Beach areas and were sharing their successes locally with organizations in need of financial assistance.

In 1970, they formed the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to share generously from their largely successful business ventures which included the Bankers Life and Casualty insurance company and real estate profits gained in Illinois, Florida, and New York.

Beginning in 1978, after the death of John D. MacArthur, the foundation made its first two grant donations to Amnesty International and the California League of Cities. Since then, the MacArthur Foundation has given over $5 billion in grants to organizations in the United States and to 50 countries around the world.

The focus of the $150,000 grant given to the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office will go towards drug courts, behavioral health programs and alternative sentences for adult offenders.

Native Sun News contacted Pennington County Sheriff Kevin Thom regarding the grant. Sheriff Thom confirmed it was a collaborative effort between five city agencies working together to apply for the MacArthur Foundation grant.

Representatives from the Public Defender’s Office, State’s Attorney’s Office, Pennington County Courts, Health & Human Services, and the Rapid City Police Department assisted in applying for the grant as they would like to see change in the justice system.

They recognize the need for examination and rectification of the multi-generational systemic racism, as many concerned tribal citizens refer to it in Rapid City, within the courts and the Pennington County Jail.

As part of the criteria for the MacArthur Foundation grant, was recognition for the need for collaboration, community involvement and leadership within these Challenge Network jurisdictions. Rapid City is a strong candidate for this foundation’s challenge for change.

The first 7 months of this initial grant (May 11 – Jan 6) has been divided up into the “Five Phases of the Planning Process” and the success of these phases will be a deciding factor for the next round of grants which is to be decided on Feb. 16, 2016 and distributed thereafter:

• Phase 1 (May 11-29) is considered to be the “Getting Started” period. This is considered the planning and initializing stage- five representatives, one from each of the organizations in Pennington County and Rapid City, have gone to an all-sites meeting in Washington, DC for a three-day training period from May 25-27.
• Phase 2 (May 30 - Jul. 31) is the “Investigate and Understand the Facts” period.
• Phase 3 (Aug. 5 - Oct. 8) is the “Develop a Reform Response” period.
• Phase 4 (Oct. 12 - Dec. 11) is the “Implementation Planning” period.
• Phase 5 (Dec.15 - Jan.6) is the “Application” period.

Technical assistance will be provided by the MacArthur Foundation during the process. Two of their representatives will periodically visit each of the 20 sites during the initial 7-month planning process phase. The first of these visits to Rapid City will be on June 22.

Sheriff Thom and the five organizations are in the process of forming a 15-person Planning Committee with community members of Rapid City which would include representatives from the Native American, African American, and other minority groups for participation in the first stage of the Safety and Justice Challenge.

This Planning Committee is currently co-chaired by Sheriff Kevin Thom and Judge Jeff Davis and currently has a representative from each of the five organizations from the city/county involved thus far.

This committee will be formed by appointment-only and Sheriff Thom has a list of well-qualified, potential committee members to consider.

The eyes of the nation are watching this small town in South Dakota and waiting for transparent change and a mold to form their own communities around. Although injustices of the past will never be changed, the future relations between Native Americans and Rapid City are yet to be determined.

(Contact Richie Richards at staffwriter@nsweekly.com).