Justice in America for Native Americans

The long history of discrimination and injustices against Native Americans continues today.  This panel brings together a diverse group of experts with personalized experiences of how the past impacts the lives of indigenous populations on and off reservations.  

The April 24th panel, Justice in America for Native Americans, features:  

Host, Bette Jacobs, PhD, professor of health systems administration at the School of Nursing & Health Studies at Georgetown University Medical Center, distinguished scholar at the O’Neill Institute and enrolled member of Cherokee Nation 

Moderator, Marc M. Howard, JD, PhD, professor of government and director of the Prisons and Justice Initiative at Georgetown University

Chase Iron Eyes, JD, South Dakota counsel for the Lakota People’s Law Project, and a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe

Jeffrey Henderson, MD, MPH, a public health physician, and a Lakota and enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe

David Plume, MA, educator and reservation entrepreneur, and a member of Oglala Lakota

For more information please visit Georgetown University’s Indigenous Studies Working Group website at https://indigeneity.georgetown.edu/. 

The full video of the panel is available upon request – contact nbh4@georgetown.edu

On November 5, 2017, members of the Health Law Initiative team – Nicole Heydt, the Program Director, and Mehgan Gallagher, a Law Fellow at the O’Neill Institute – presented an abstract, “At the Intersection of Public Health and Justice: How the Health of American Indians and Alaska Natives is Disproportionately Affected by Disparities in the Criminal Justice System,” at the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting and Expo. 

The piece closely examines the disparities in the application of criminal justice and health outcomes among American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) compared to the rest of the American population. The paper also discusses the cultural considerations and governance structures that create barriers and challenges for AI/AN populations.