The Relationship between Substance Abuse and Crime Among Native American Inmates in the Nebraska Department of Corrections

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Abstract
Native Americans incarcerated within the Nebraska Department of Corrections are the focus of an investigation concerning the relationship between substance abuse, particularly alcohol abuse, and criminal activity leading to long-term incarceration. Inmate historical data are analyzed using two sources-prison computer records and ethnographic interviews1-and are compared, revealing strong discrepancies between the two datasets. Interview data yeild significantly stronger correlations between early substance abuse and the onset of a pattern of juvenile criminal activity. Family history, analysis of offenses committed, issues of child custody and parental alcoholism are investigated as factors contributing to chemical dependency and subsequent offense commission. Efforts to achieve sobriety and rehabilitation "behind the walls" are discussed, focusing on particular Native American spiritual and cultural beliefs as they assist in the offender''s commitment to sobriety. Based on the character of early offender substance abuse, recommendations are made for considerations necessary to the design and implementation of more effective therapeutic treatment modes for these individuals.