Today is Native American Heritage day. Most Americans will go about their business unfettered by this knowledge.
What’s worse? Most Americans, including the news media, did not know or ignored the fact that this past month was National American Indian Heritage Month. There was little educational programing, popular media coverage, and political speeches.
There are lots of plausible reasons why this occurred.
Perhaps you’re not a big fan of dedicating an entire month to celebrating a distinct class of people.
Maybe American Indian Heritage Month was overshadowed by the contentious federal election, which pitted a controversial Republican, Donald Trump, against a moderate Democrat, Joe Biden.
Or then again, the explanation I think is the most reasonable, is that the general public really doesn’t care about American Indians and Alaskan Natives (AIAN).
Sure, we are willing to buy into cute stereotypes and flawed historical explanations, but when it comes time to confront the day to day realities for most AIAN we get bored, our eyes glaze over, and we change the subject.
Shifting gears, almost every year around this time, I tend to write an op-ed about the abysmal plight of American Indians and Alaskan Natives and the dominant White societies’ relationship with them. This is an outgrowth not only of personal experience but of a considerable amount of scholarship I used to do on this subject, including two books, research consulting, and some teaching at the undergraduate level.
I enjoyed engaging with this topic, but over the years, increasingly, I’ve felt that no one really cares about the issues that I brought to public and policy attention. Part of this reaction I believe is my geographical location. I live in Washington, DC, and work in Baltimore, Maryland. It’s not like American Indians and Native Alaskan issues aren’t part of the federal agenda, but they pale in comparison to foreign relations, the economy, etc. And yes, there is an American Indian population in Baltimore and Maryland in general, but they are not so numerous as they are in other states like Alaska, California, Oklahoma, New Mexico, or South Dakota.
Most of the time, I felt like I was beating my head against a wall. It’s exhausting and demoralizing. Sure, I could ignore this simple fact and, like Don Quixote push on, and continue to do my work, but the truth is the truth.
The simple fact is that the health and well-being of Native Americans and Alaskan Natives is not merely a local challenge; it’s a national issue with many complexities. By ignoring this and them, we are telling the original inhabitants of our country that they are not important, and we don’t care.
Let’s work to changing this state of affairs. Expanding and sharing our knowledge of AIAN should be a goal in and of itself. Hollywood and other channels of popular culture have frequently and inaccurately portrayed AIAN and thus prevented our understanding of these unique cultures.
Even if it means celebrating a month or even a day like Native American Heritage Day, today is dedicated to AIAN diverse culture, both past and present, and challenges that they currently experience. Let’s work toward solutions that will assist them.
Photo by Bob Dass, “Lights for Liberty Rally, Santa Rosa, California” “Native American prayer at this rally to end immigrant concentration camps”)
https://jeffreyianross.com/wp-content/uploads/48276979451_0ddd4b8e29_o-scaled.jpg21942560Jeffrey Ian Rosshttps://jeffreyianross.com/wp-content/uploads/jeffrey-ian-ross-logo-04.pngJeffrey Ian Ross2020-11-27 14:31:392021-03-14 14:09:52Ignoring American Indian Heritage Month is disrespectful
Earlier this month Criminologist Francesca Vianello’s (University of Padua) and my co-authored edited book, Convict Criminology for the Future, was published by Routledge. Tracing its origins to a conference that was held May 31/June 1 last year, the book, consists of sixteen chapters (and a foreword by Shadd Maruna) written by a team of international scholars on the subject of Convict Criminology.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Convict Criminology, it is basically a network of individuals who hold a Ph.D. or are on their way to earning a doctorate in Criminology/Criminal Justice or an allied field, and united around the idea that the convict voice is typically ignored in scholarly research and public policy debates. Additionally, scholars who are part of CC represent a diverse group, including those who have been formerly incarcerated, justice impacted, justice-free allies, and/or prison activists.
Since its origins in the 1990s the CC network has participated in public policy debates, taught and mentored scores of students behind bars and those who have been released, and published a considerable amount of scholarly and popular work. Part of this tragectory includes the establishment of the official Division of Convict Criminology (DCC) of the American Society of Criminology during the spring this year. And this new book is now part of development of this field and network.
Why is this book important? Francesca and I had numerous objectives when we held the conference and organized the book. One of them stemmed from our realization that very first book on the subject, Convict Criminology (Ross & Richards, 2003), was increasingly out of date, unnecessarily expensive, and there was a necessity for another edited book that reflected not only a stockkeeping of where CC has been, what it is currently doing, what the future may hold, but the increasing diversity of the people who make up Convict Criminology. Safe to say, Convict Criminology for the Future fulfills these complementary objectives.
In terms of content, what subjects does the book cover? Seven major areas are included:
• Historical underpinnings of Convict Criminology
• Adaptations to prison life
• Longstanding challenges for prisoners and formerly incarcerated people
• Post-secondary education behind bars
• The expansion of CC beyond North America
• Challenges to conducting research in correctional facilities
• Future directions in CC
The book is interdisciplinary in the sense that the contributors have training and experience working in different kinds of social sciencefields. Like the original edited book, many of the contributors who are formerly incarcerated or are justice impacted are presenting their work alongside supportive justice free colleagues who are allied with Convict Criminology. They bring this wealth of knowledge to the pages of this book and to the readers so they can make sense of the complicated world of corrections and to shed light on a viable way forward.
It’s always great to have a project that you and others worked so hard on come to fruition. It presents another opportunity to share what we know with others, address issues we have perhaps ignored, or failed to pay enough attention to, to gauge our progress, to make connections, and to assist others in the quest of making the field of corrections less brutal and more humane.
The field of Convict Criminology has been all that to me. As the network has grown and matured it has provided fresh opportunities for more experienced members to share what they know, and to attract new people, with new and different ideas and energy, willing to tackle subjects of import to people behind bars, and those who have been recently released, those who study the subject of corrections, and those who want to reform the carceral enterprise. Things that we once thought were impossible and not attainable are all now part of the CC ethos.
https://jeffreyianross.com/wp-content/uploads/Screen-Shot-2020-11-20-at-12.15.40-PM.png610408Jeffrey Ian Rosshttps://jeffreyianross.com/wp-content/uploads/jeffrey-ian-ross-logo-04.pngJeffrey Ian Ross2020-11-20 17:26:522023-02-13 19:28:59CONVICT CRIMINOLOGY FOR THE FUTURE drops: Why should you care?
The recent election demonstrated that many Americans either don’t understand how elections work, or don’t really care.
Shortly after the polls closed, many Americans either unhappy with the projected outcome of the electoral race protested, and contrary to their state’s laws suggested that the vote counting be stopped or continued.
Some, despite the evidence of state chief election officers and certifications of elections to the contrary, but echoing conspiracy theories advocated by President Donald Trump’s and supportive news media pundits, claimed that the vote was rigged.
This is a scary situation. Why did this occur? Although there are multiple reasons, one that sticks out is that many Americans are poorly informed about how American democracy operates. I would even go further and argue that some really don’t care.
Why does this occur and what can be done to remedy this situation?
Sure we can blame the influence of a focus on STEM education, and the mass media like the internet, including increased distractions presented by the rise of social media, especially Facebook, TikTok, etc., but I believe that the basic cause of this democracy blindness, is the erosion and elimination of both classes that teach students how to think critically, and civics classes in the typical middle and high school curriculum of the United States.
What are the solutions? Again, there are many, however I believe that there needs to be mandatory teaching of critical thinking skills and civics in middle and high school. The exact curriculum can be decided upon by a committee of nationally recognized experts. Regardless, this education should be funded by the federal government. Moreover if student’s don’t pass this test, administered in a SAT like fashion, and I don’t mean squeak by with 51 percent or a C, they don’t graduate.
This is the way to go. We don’t want to slide into authoritarianism and enable kleptocracies, like the situation we are now in. We want an informed public, properly schooled in the basics of democracy, who knows and respects our history, laws and our constitution, not one that make their decisions simply based on superficial aspects of the candidates or what their family, friends, or religious leaders told them how to vote.
photo: “Million MAGA March” by Victoria Pickering
https://jeffreyianross.com/wp-content/uploads/50603298017_2f8d5a72a1_o-scaled.jpg9332560Jeffrey Ian Rosshttps://jeffreyianross.com/wp-content/uploads/jeffrey-ian-ross-logo-04.pngJeffrey Ian Ross2020-11-15 12:44:492022-12-15 12:14:52Democracy blindness: On being misinformed about democracy or ignoring its principles when the outcome does not go your way
Ignoring American Indian Heritage Month is disrespectful
/by Jeffrey Ian RossToday is Native American Heritage day. Most Americans will go about their business unfettered by this knowledge.
What’s worse? Most Americans, including the news media, did not know or ignored the fact that this past month was National American Indian Heritage Month. There was little educational programing, popular media coverage, and political speeches.
There are lots of plausible reasons why this occurred.
Perhaps you’re not a big fan of dedicating an entire month to celebrating a distinct class of people.
Maybe American Indian Heritage Month was overshadowed by the contentious federal election, which pitted a controversial Republican, Donald Trump, against a moderate Democrat, Joe Biden.
Or then again, the explanation I think is the most reasonable, is that the general public really doesn’t care about American Indians and Alaskan Natives (AIAN).
Sure, we are willing to buy into cute stereotypes and flawed historical explanations, but when it comes time to confront the day to day realities for most AIAN we get bored, our eyes glaze over, and we change the subject.
The fact remains that on almost all measures of personal well-being, including poverty, health outcomes, crime, and educational achievement, AIAN are either at the bottom or close to the bottom. Such inequality and outcomes did not happen by chance or lack of personal drive.
Even though many Hispanics (18 percent of the genome) and African-Americans (1 percent of the genome) are of the American-Indian Heritage, most Americans are pretty ignorant about American Indians and Alaskan Natives. And the sad thing is that they don’t really care.
Shifting gears, almost every year around this time, I tend to write an op-ed about the abysmal plight of American Indians and Alaskan Natives and the dominant White societies’ relationship with them. This is an outgrowth not only of personal experience but of a considerable amount of scholarship I used to do on this subject, including two books, research consulting, and some teaching at the undergraduate level.
I enjoyed engaging with this topic, but over the years, increasingly, I’ve felt that no one really cares about the issues that I brought to public and policy attention. Part of this reaction I believe is my geographical location. I live in Washington, DC, and work in Baltimore, Maryland. It’s not like American Indians and Native Alaskan issues aren’t part of the federal agenda, but they pale in comparison to foreign relations, the economy, etc. And yes, there is an American Indian population in Baltimore and Maryland in general, but they are not so numerous as they are in other states like Alaska, California, Oklahoma, New Mexico, or South Dakota.
Most of the time, I felt like I was beating my head against a wall. It’s exhausting and demoralizing. Sure, I could ignore this simple fact and, like Don Quixote push on, and continue to do my work, but the truth is the truth.
The simple fact is that the health and well-being of Native Americans and Alaskan Natives is not merely a local challenge; it’s a national issue with many complexities. By ignoring this and them, we are telling the original inhabitants of our country that they are not important, and we don’t care.
Let’s work to changing this state of affairs. Expanding and sharing our knowledge of AIAN should be a goal in and of itself. Hollywood and other channels of popular culture have frequently and inaccurately portrayed AIAN and thus prevented our understanding of these unique cultures.
Even if it means celebrating a month or even a day like Native American Heritage Day, today is dedicated to AIAN diverse culture, both past and present, and challenges that they currently experience. Let’s work toward solutions that will assist them.
Photo by Bob Dass, “Lights for Liberty Rally, Santa Rosa, California” “Native American prayer at this rally to end immigrant concentration camps”)
CONVICT CRIMINOLOGY FOR THE FUTURE drops: Why should you care?
/by Jeffrey Ian RossEarlier this month Criminologist Francesca Vianello’s (University of Padua) and my co-authored edited book, Convict Criminology for the Future, was published by Routledge. Tracing its origins to a conference that was held May 31/June 1 last year, the book, consists of sixteen chapters (and a foreword by Shadd Maruna) written by a team of international scholars on the subject of Convict Criminology.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Convict Criminology, it is basically a network of individuals who hold a Ph.D. or are on their way to earning a doctorate in Criminology/Criminal Justice or an allied field, and united around the idea that the convict voice is typically ignored in scholarly research and public policy debates. Additionally, scholars who are part of CC represent a diverse group, including those who have been formerly incarcerated, justice impacted, justice-free allies, and/or prison activists.
Since its origins in the 1990s the CC network has participated in public policy debates, taught and mentored scores of students behind bars and those who have been released, and published a considerable amount of scholarly and popular work. Part of this tragectory includes the establishment of the official Division of Convict Criminology (DCC) of the American Society of Criminology during the spring this year. And this new book is now part of development of this field and network.
Why is this book important? Francesca and I had numerous objectives when we held the conference and organized the book. One of them stemmed from our realization that very first book on the subject, Convict Criminology (Ross & Richards, 2003), was increasingly out of date, unnecessarily expensive, and there was a necessity for another edited book that reflected not only a stockkeeping of where CC has been, what it is currently doing, what the future may hold, but the increasing diversity of the people who make up Convict Criminology. Safe to say, Convict Criminology for the Future fulfills these complementary objectives.
In terms of content, what subjects does the book cover? Seven major areas are included:
• Historical underpinnings of Convict Criminology
• Adaptations to prison life
• Longstanding challenges for prisoners and formerly incarcerated people
• Post-secondary education behind bars
• The expansion of CC beyond North America
• Challenges to conducting research in correctional facilities
• Future directions in CC
The book is interdisciplinary in the sense that the contributors have training and experience working in different kinds of social sciencefields. Like the original edited book, many of the contributors who are formerly incarcerated or are justice impacted are presenting their work alongside supportive justice free colleagues who are allied with Convict Criminology. They bring this wealth of knowledge to the pages of this book and to the readers so they can make sense of the complicated world of corrections and to shed light on a viable way forward.
It’s always great to have a project that you and others worked so hard on come to fruition. It presents another opportunity to share what we know with others, address issues we have perhaps ignored, or failed to pay enough attention to, to gauge our progress, to make connections, and to assist others in the quest of making the field of corrections less brutal and more humane.
Doing edited books can be both rewarding and also an anxiety-ridden undertaking. This project had elements of both. More importantly it was a chance to work with people we always wanted to work with and to learn from them. It was also another opportunity to influence, to create, and to share.
The field of Convict Criminology has been all that to me. As the network has grown and matured it has provided fresh opportunities for more experienced members to share what they know, and to attract new people, with new and different ideas and energy, willing to tackle subjects of import to people behind bars, and those who have been recently released, those who study the subject of corrections, and those who want to reform the carceral enterprise. Things that we once thought were impossible and not attainable are all now part of the CC ethos.
Democracy blindness: On being misinformed about democracy or ignoring its principles when the outcome does not go your way
/by Jeffrey Ian RossThe recent election demonstrated that many Americans either don’t understand how elections work, or don’t really care.
Shortly after the polls closed, many Americans either unhappy with the projected outcome of the electoral race protested, and contrary to their state’s laws suggested that the vote counting be stopped or continued.
Some, despite the evidence of state chief election officers and certifications of elections to the contrary, but echoing conspiracy theories advocated by President Donald Trump’s and supportive news media pundits, claimed that the vote was rigged.
This is a scary situation. Why did this occur? Although there are multiple reasons, one that sticks out is that many Americans are poorly informed about how American democracy operates. I would even go further and argue that some really don’t care.
Clearly, I’m not the first person to identify this problem. As recent as 2019, the Annenberg Public Policy Center at University of Pennsylvania found that about three in five Americans don’t know the three branches of government and an equal number don’t know a single branch.
Why does this occur and what can be done to remedy this situation?
Sure we can blame the influence of a focus on STEM education, and the mass media like the internet, including increased distractions presented by the rise of social media, especially Facebook, TikTok, etc., but I believe that the basic cause of this democracy blindness, is the erosion and elimination of both classes that teach students how to think critically, and civics classes in the typical middle and high school curriculum of the United States.
What are the solutions? Again, there are many, however I believe that there needs to be mandatory teaching of critical thinking skills and civics in middle and high school. The exact curriculum can be decided upon by a committee of nationally recognized experts. Regardless, this education should be funded by the federal government. Moreover if student’s don’t pass this test, administered in a SAT like fashion, and I don’t mean squeak by with 51 percent or a C, they don’t graduate.
This is the way to go. We don’t want to slide into authoritarianism and enable kleptocracies, like the situation we are now in. We want an informed public, properly schooled in the basics of democracy, who knows and respects our history, laws and our constitution, not one that make their decisions simply based on superficial aspects of the candidates or what their family, friends, or religious leaders told them how to vote.
photo: “Million MAGA March” by Victoria Pickering