And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: via pechanga.net Proposed White Earth jail designed to be a trend-setter http://www.northscape.com/news/docs00/0910/27A158D.htm By Dorreen Yellow Bird Herald Staff Writer The White Earth Indian Reservation has an answer to the problem of over-crowded jails. Officials there are proposing to build a 400-bed jail/detention/treatment facility and Juvenile Learning Center on the reservation. The proposed facility will employ about 300 workers, said RustyPavey, chief of police at White Earth. "It will be a trend-setting correctional facility," he said. The emphasis will be on rehabilitation, rather than punishment, he said. The days when an inmate sits or lies on a bunk all day will be gone, he said. Rather, they will be working or training. In years past . . . One tribal member said he remembers when inmates were released from prison with a paper bag containing a set of clothes and $100. With that they were to find jobs and housing and begin a new life. The prisoners who leave the new facility will have more than a paper bag of clothing. They will have job before they are released, said John B. Buckanaga, chairman of the White Earth Tribe. They are designing the facility to be humane -- to teach art, medicine and other skills. The tribe has secured some state and local funding and will most likely receive a federal grant. White Earth has a good chance winning a grant because it has completed a planning study, has support from the community and a location for a prison, Buckanaga said. The tribe will allocate additional funding that might be needed. The estimated cost of the facility is $30 million to $40 million. Work-release The emphasis proposed in the plan is work-release, Buckanaga said. But there will be other programs, including drug and alcohol prevention and education, anger management, self-esteem, behavior management, life skills, sex offenders program, pregnant women's and pregnant juvenile females' facilities and educational training (GED and CEU credits from the White Earth Community College). One of the strong arguments for a correctional facility on the reservation are statistics indicating that Native people outnumber non-Native inmates. Buckanaga said 1.6 percent of the state's population is Native American while 7 percent of the Native American population is incarcerated. Seventy-five percent of all crimes committed by Native Americans are drug- and alcohol-related. Alcohol treatment and rehabilitation will be an important part of the facility. Pavey said the facility will also provide opportunities for Native American ceremonial sweats, powwows and spiritual counselors. The people who will occupy the facility are those who are sentenced to 18 months or less. They will not be taking people who have committed any of the 10 major crimes, the tribal chairman said. That fact allays some fears of the local community. The facility, which would be about seven miles from Mahnomen, is on land called "the ranch." It was land given to the tribe by a non-Indian who married into the tribe. It was formerly called the Shimerhorn farm. The farm is on rich Red River soil, Buckanaga said. Officials plan to take advantage of the farming facility develop a truck farming and garden program. The produce from the farm will be used to feed the prisoners, the White Earth Head Start children and the elderly in some of their programs. Garment factory Currently there is a garment factory on the grounds. That will also be used to make clothes for the inmates and as a source of education and training. The new tribal college in Mahnomen will offer training for the staff and a schedule of classes for the inmates. Officials hope construction can begin in April next year. Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ UPDATES: CAMP JUSTICE http://shell.webbernet.net/~ishgooda/oglala/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
