Indigenous Criminology

After centuries of colonization and ongoing subjugation by governments of all political persuasions, the contemporary situation of Indigenous peoples in settler-colonial jurisdictions is highlighted by profound social, political, and economic hardship and marginalization. One area of social policy and practice where this subjugation is most profound is the relationship between Indigenous communities and the criminal justice system. Since the early 1990s Indigenous scholars and our critical non-Indigenous allies have exposed the ongoing marginalization of Indigenous peoples by both the agents and the agencies of crime control as well as, at times, criminologists who routinely support their activities. Over this period a significant and distinct Indigenous-centered critical scholarship has developed, producing a lexicon that challenges conventional analysis and representations of Indigenous life-worlds. It is also a body of work that privileges Indigenous epistemologies and experiences of crime, social harm, and (neo)colonial governance. The lexicon has grown to such an extent that it is now possible to speak of a distinctly Indigenous criminology, an approach to social harm that touches on a wide range of topics that exposes the depth and character of Indigenous people’s engagement with settler-colonial criminal justice. Thus far, scholars whose work falls into the broad category of Indigenous criminology have provided us with critical insight into a range of empirical issues related to Indigenous peoples experience of colonial crime control, including policing of our communities; the impact of penal policies, most especially the use of prison; and our experiences of state crime, especially genocide. A body of material is growing highlighting Indigenous peoples historical and contemporary responses to crime and social harm and critiquing academic criminology and its support for the (neo)colonial state. The bibliographic material that follows has been selected to offer a gateway into the developing field of Indigenous criminology, one that is both academic and, by necessity, political.