Tribal youth are the treasures of the tribes and hope for their future. Each generation of adults seems to think that behavior problems among teenagers are rising, although through the generations, the vast majority of teenagers make it through that challenging period of life and go on to be fine adults doing the best they can in life. Still, the youth of today face an increasingly complex world. Substance abuse issues, violence, delinquency, and behavior that puts health and lives at risk are ever present among teen populations everywhere.

Developing youth courts, or teen or peer courts as they are sometimes called, is not a new idea, but at this time it is a rapidly growing activity throughout the United States. Youth courts are developing in big cities, in schools, in rural communities, on Indian reservations and in Alaska Native villages. Although the way youth courts are set up and the procedures they use vary widely, the basic idea is to empower youth to be active in helping to solve problems among their peers, and to provide opportunities for youth to develop and practice healthy life skills. Styles of youth courts vary, but typically youth decide sentences, give advice and guidance to their peers, or recommend what should happen for their youth peers who engage in problem behavior. Youth courts may or may not be designed so that they decide if someone is guilty or innocent. Often they are set up so that persons who already admitted they were guilty, or were found guilty by another court, come to the youth court for sentencing only.

Youth courts are typically set up in a similar way as the state or federal courts, but using youth as judges and as prosecuting and defending ‘attorneys’ in the courtroom. This is an ‘adversarial’ style of court, where there is a defense and a prosecution in a case. The two sides argue their case in front of a judge or panel of judges (youths), who then decide what should happen in the case. In some cases juries (youths) are used to make decisions.

Many youth courts on Indian reservations in the Lower 48 are set up in the adversarial model. But, tribes have the option of setting up youth courts in more traditional ways that may better fit the unique cultures of tribes. For example, tribes might use justice circles or various combinations of youth and tribal Elders that operate under a system of consensus. Consensus is reached when everyone pretty much agrees on something, rather than making a decision by taking a vote of those in favor and those opposed. Tribes also have great opportunity to give sentences designed to heal rather than sentences only intended to punish, and to use sentences that incorporate traditional activities that promote cultural awareness and skills.

A tribal youth court is different from other youth courts because the tribal youth court is part of a tribe’s court system rather than part of a state, federal, or general public community court system. The tribal youth court is not considered a diversionary program by the tribe, but an actual branch of the tribal court system. Although federal, state, and tribal governments have relationships with one another and should work together to best serve the needs of all people, tribal governments are different from federal or state governments, and they operate under unique laws. Tribes must consider written guidance provided by the U.S. Congress, but tribes themselves have a wide range of their own written and unwritten traditional law. Traditional law includes the basic values and practices of the tribe, the way things have been done in the past, the way things are done now, and the way people in the tribe think.

At this time, there are 229 federally recognized tribes in Alaska, and there is a wide range of variation in how tribes set up and operate their tribal courts. Many tribes use their tribal councils, or some unique arrangement of their councils, as the tribal court. Some have tribal courts that are separate (different people) from the tribal councils, and some tribes have not yet established tribal courts. Although there each tribe may set up its youth court in a different way, the tribal youth court is connected to and part of the regular tribal court system.

Tribal councils are the governing bodies of tribes, and usually the policy makers in setting up the regular tribal courts. They are also the ones to adopt the tribal ordinance that actually establishes the tribal youth court. Tribal youth may be very involved in the design their court, but ultimately the tribal council must approve and incorporate the youth court into the tribal court system.

Tribal youth courts may be set up so that the regular tribal court is used as an appellate court for the youth court. They also may be set up so that the regular tribal court may take over cases from the youth court that become extraordinarily serious or legally complicated. No matter what the actual design is of the tribal youth courts, they provide great opportunity to link youth and tribal government together, and give youth early training that will help them transition into tribal leadership positions as they grow older.

There is a wide range of options for the way in which tribal youth courts may be set up in the villages. The success of them will largely depend on selecting the model that will best fit the particular needs, resources, culture, and tribal values and laws of each village. In making the decisions about how to set up and operate a tribal youth court, it is very important to get input from the tribal council, the youth in the village who will be affected by the youth court, and from tribal workers, Elders, or others in the village who will play some sort of a role in operating the youth court.

There are almost endless ways tribal youth courts may be structured, but a few ideas include:

One or more youth sitting as judges along with the regular tribal court judges, on juvenile cases

An adult or panel of adults to serve as judges with a panel of youth to discuss the case and make recommendations to the judges

A panel of youth judges with a panel of Elders or other adult tribal members to discuss the case and make recommendations to the judges

A panel of youth who advise the regular tribal court when juvenile cases come before it

Youth combined with Elders to sit as judges on a special youth tribal court

Panels of youth as judges

A single youth judge

Panels of youth with the tribal chief or president sitting as the presiding judge

Youth justice circles

Adversarial system using youth as courtroom personnel

The actual procedures for operating a tribal youth court depends on the type of structure the youth court uses. In other words, the procedures for using a panel of three youth to hear a case and decide a sentence will be different than the procedures used in a justice circle to determine a sentence. The need for persons to staff the youth court will vary as well. Youth courts commonly have a court coordinator or court clerk to keep things organized, to keep track of court records, to notify people of court sessions, and to keep the youth court on a schedule. One idea is to use the clerk of the regular tribal court as the clerk of the tribal youth court.

There are a few procedural issues that all tribes must consider, such as how cases will be referred to youth court, what kinds of cases the tribal youth court will handle, whether or not the youth court will be authorized to determine guilt or innocence in situations where a youth pleads not guilty, providing due process to persons who come before the youth court, and following up on orders of the tribal youth court. Other issues for consideration are policies on open or closed court sessions, record keeping, and confidentiality issues.

How will cases get into the tribal youth court? One basic issue a tribe needs to decide upon when designing a tribal youth court is how cases will get to the court, specifically, who will have the authority to petition to use youth court. There are many options to choose from including referrals from a village public safety officer (VPSO) or other law officer, tribal council members, school staff, from the regular tribal court, or from state magistrates and courts. Some tribes allow anyone to file a petition to use the tribal youth court, and let the tribal court clerk in consultation with at least one regular tribal court judge, decide if the information on the petition is sufficient and appropriate for holding a youth court hearing. The choice will depend on the resources available in the village and on village policies and politics. In any event, it should be made clear as to who is authorized to refer a case to the youth court, who will receive petitions to use the youth court, and who decides to convene a tribal youth court hearing.

Most juvenile cases arise in the villages and the tribal court systems can handle them appropriately, using local means of referring cases into them. But when tribal youth travel to other villages or to the main cities in Alaska and get into trouble, cases may be referred to tribal governments by state law enforcement or court personnel. This sometimes happens without formal agreements between tribes and state officials. However, there may be cases when an agreement may be beneficial, particularly in large hub villages that have state magistrates and troopers stationed in them, and significant non-Native populations in the village. However, such agreements are commonly made between the state and community youth courts rather than specifically with tribes for referring cases to tribal youth courts.

What kind of issues might a tribal youth court handle? In remote villages that do not have village public safety officers (VPSO) or any other type of law enforcement, the Alaska State Troopers fly in (weather permitting) when there is a major problem, but rarely for less serious ones. Many law and order juvenile problems simply are not addressed by the state law enforcement and court systems. Even when there is a VPSO in the village, the ‘less serious’ problems such as underage drinking, minor fights, petty theft, and such are not always addressed because the state court system is so far away that it is not practical to send youth to Fairbanks, for example.

In other words, there is a lot of opportunity in the villages for tribal youth courts to address problems that either are not currently being addressed, or that are not being addressed in a manner that is culturally appropriate or in a manner that helps people heal. While state law enforcement and court system will continue to handle major crimes, the type of problems that might be considered for tribal youth courts to address may be minors consuming alcohol, other types of substance abuse, fights, theft, vandalism, property damage, disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, and negligent behavior.

Will the tribal youth court decide guilt or innocence? Some youth courts are set up to hold trials to determine guilt or innocence of a defendant, and then decide a sentence for a guilty party. Other youth courts are set up to decide sentences after a person has already admitted guilt or after being found guilty by some other court. Procedures for those youth courts that determine guilt or innocence as well as sentencing, will be a bit more involved than those that only decide on appropriate sentences.

Most of the regular tribal courts in Alaska handle child protection cases, but among those that handle law and order issues, it is not common for someone to plead not guilty. Still, as tribal courts continue to develop in Alaska, it is likely that it will become more common. In designing a tribal youth court, the tribe must decide if the tribal youth court will determine guilt or innocence, or be a court that decides sentences only.

How will the tribal youth court provide due process? Tribal courts across the country are required to be fair under the terms of the Indian Civil Rights Act (ICRA) passed by Congress in 1968, which applies to all federally recognized tribes in the country. ‘Due process’ is a term used to describe fairness in a court. Due process does not have an exact definition, but it basically requires courts to notify people about court hearings that involve them, to allow people to speak to the court about their side of the story and how they feel, to provide fair judges, and for the court to treat people in equal situations equally. The procedures for tribal youth courts must include these things in some manner. Due process does not have to be provided the same exact way that state courts do, but tribal youth courts must provide basic due process according to tribal law.

What will be done to follow up on sentences issued by the tribal youth court? Once a tribal youth court decides on a sentence, there needs to be a way to make sure that the person follows through on that sentence. Some ideas for follow up include:

• Scheduling follow up meetings or hearings

• Assigning someone to monitor progress

• Develop a peer mentoring program

• Assign an adult mentor to each person who is sentenced by the youth court, and have the mentor sign off when the sentence is complete

• Make specific provisions for the way restitution is paid (paying someone for damages done)

• Have the person return to tribal youth court or report to the tribal council at the end of the sentence to report on what they accomplished and to have their achievement recognized and acknowledged

Other issues that all tribal youth courts need to consider are who will be allowed to come into a court session, how records will be kept, who will have access to them, and how to address confidentiality. Although state court hearings involving juvenile cases are typically closed to the public, tribes have the option of deciding whether or not their tribal court hearings will be open or closed to the public. In any event, tribal youth courts need a policy on who will be allowed to come into a court session. They also need a policy on how records will be kept, whether or not court sessions will be tape recorded, and who will have access to youth court records. Additionally, each tribal youth court should also have a policy on confidentiality so that tribal youth court cases do not become a subject of gossip around the village.

Restorative justice is part of the traditional ways of the American Indian and Alaska Native people. At the time Christopher Columbus sailed to this continent, there were a wide variety of justice systems in place among the tribes. Justice had to be swift to protect the tribes since there were no jails to hold people until a court had time to schedule a hearing. Justice had to be done in the best way to protect the tribal members and to promote harmony among the tribal people. The best way to promote harmony was to hold people accountable for their actions and to help in the repair of damage that was done through apologies to victims and payment of goods and services to victims and their families. In modern times tribal courts in Alaska generally have a restorative justice approach, rather than a punishment approach, to cases that come before them.

Another term that relates closely to restorative justice, is ‘restitution.’ Restitution is paying a person, organization, or community back in some way for harm done to them. Apologizing and admitting that something wrong was done is an important part of restitution. Apologizing may be written, or oral, done just between the people involved, or made to the whole community. It is an important part of the healing process, but there are some situations where victims do not want to hear from offenders and youth courts need to be sensitive to these types of situations. Restitution has been a major part of how Indian and Alaska Native tribes operated for centuries.

In using the restorative justice approach to justice rather than the punishment approach, tribal youth courts need to be very thoughtful in the sentences they decide upon. The judges, youth advisory panel, or circle if a justice circle is used, should discuss what they have seen and heard, and review the facts and circumstances of the case. There should be discussion about the harm that has been done in terms of who has been affected by the offense and how. They need to discuss what should to be done to repair the harm and what can be done to make the offender more healthy, as well as what would help any victims there might be. The result of the discussion should be to determine an appropriate sentence through consensus that will help meet the needs of the affected parties and be suitable to the particular offense that occurred.

Community service is very common in youth court sentencing. It should be constructive, educational, and helpful, not just punishment. It may be designed so that the community service builds on the individual’s strengths and interests, and creates opportunities for youth to practice skills. The community service needs to be monitored in some way, to make sure the work is done and hours are completed. Completion of a sentence (or not completing a sentence) needs to be reported back to the youth court in some way. Sentences could be designed to include options that encourage parental involvement, such as invite them to participate in their child’s community service, or to participate in their child’s drug/ alcohol awareness classes.

Counseling is important for many individuals. If the youth court includes counseling in their sentencing, they must consider what kind of counseling is available in the village. Counseling is not just limited to professional counselors. There may be Elders, other adult leaders, or peer counselors in the village who would be very good at counseling youth.

Tribes have a great interest in promoting traditional cultural awareness and skills, and tribal youth courts may play a very significant role. This may be done in sentencing by assigning tribal Elders as mentors, requiring youth to participate in specific traditional activities under the guidance of specific adults, sentencing youth to help others through specific traditional activities, and other things along these lines. There is a huge opportunity for tribes to promote cultural awareness and to help youth build traditional skills through creative sentencing in tribal youth courts.

A few ideas for sentencing in tribal youth courts:

• Oral and/or written apology to victims and also to the parents or guardians

• Require an oral apology to the whole tribe at the next tribal meeting or gathering

• Helping to repair damage to the vandalized or damaged property if the owner wants the person to help

• Payment of money to cover the cost of the damage done

• Community service such as working for an Elder, working with a carpenter or some other tradesman in the village, assisting the VPSO, working in the tribal office, getting wood for the community hall

• Attending a tribal council meeting and reporting back to the students at the school about it

• Attending tribally designed substance abuse awareness sessions if the person was intoxicated or high when the incident occurred

• Writing an essay on who actually was harmed by the incident

• Assisting the village public safety officer for a week

• Go trapping with and assist a particular village Elder

• Help a family put up fish

• Give a presentation to the younger school kids about why it's not a good idea to do what the person did

• Get a personal counseling by a counselor in the village

• Participate in talking circles

• Organize a fundraiser to help cover repair costs or to help an Elder

• Help the Elder by hauling water, shoveling snow, doing their laundry, or other services

• Conduct a village survey

• Work in a tribal office

Planning for how a tribal youth court will be structured and operated is essential for developing a successful court. Planning involves brainstorming ideas, sorting through them, and coming to a general consensus among those persons who will be effected as to the best structure and procedures for the youth court. The main groups that need to be involved in planning are the youth themselves and the tribal councils, but there may be other persons or groups in the village that should also be included such as tribal Elders, tribal staff who work with youth, tribal court judges if they are separate from the tribal council, village law enforcement, or anyone else with a particular interest in the well-being of youth.

Tribal youth should be included to the maximum extent possible in the design of the tribal youth court. However, tribal councils need to be included in the planning process for developing tribal youth courts right from the beginning because the councils are the governmental decision and policy makers for the tribes. If the youth court is going to be a tribal one, then it will be part of the overall tribal court system and the councils will be making the final approval of the structure and procedures.

Planning involves defining the purposes of the youth court and establishing goals, outlining objectives to meet the goals, putting goals and objectives into a timeline within which to accomplish them, and determining how to evaluate if the youth court is fulfilling the purpose for which the youth court was established. Planning is basically an organized way to approach a project or task, and is something that most granting agencies require if the village wishes to seek funding for the youth court. Tribal youth courts may be set up to operate using a combination of volunteers, persons already employed by the tribe, and existing village resources, but tribes may wish to seek grant funding for specific youth court projects. The type of planning used to develop a youth court or similar project is often called ‘strategic planning.’

Strategic planning involves developing a written statement about the purpose or mission of the tribal youth court. After the purpose is established, written statements describing goals to accomplish the purpose are designed. Next, specific activities or objectives to reach the goals are designed. The activities are placed into a timeline so that progress is made in a predictable fashion. Finally, some way of evaluating the success of the youth court is designed.

Purpose: The purpose of a youth court basically answers questions such as; What does the village want to accomplish by establishing and operating a tribal youth court? Why is it wanted or needed? And, What are the juvenile issues in the village a youth court could address? The purpose may be broad or narrow, and may include more than one topic, but it is important to make it focused enough so that the youth court has a chance of fulfilling the purpose it was designed to address. Purpose statements are usually short, and described in just a few sentences.

Example:

The purpose of establishing a tribal youth court for the Moosehide Tribe is to encourage responsible behavior and choices among our youth by empowering them to create helpful and culturally meaningful sentences for fellow youth who come before the Moosehide Tribal Youth Court.

Goals: Goals help refine what the tribe wishes to accomplish as stated in the purpose of the project. Goals are the end products that we hope our visions and efforts lead us to. They may be broad statements that describe what we hope to achieve through the youth court in the long term, or short-term goals that can be achieved as stepping-stones along the way to a broader purpose.

Examples:

Decrease the number of incidences of juveniles vandalizing property in the village.

Increase self-esteem and responsible decision making among our tribal youth.

Eliminate substance abuse among our tribal youth.

Provide experience and training for youth to better prepare them to fill tribal leadership roles when they become adults.

Increase cultural awareness and traditional skills among the youth.

Objectives or Activities: Objectives (which may also be called activities) are specific tasks designed to reach the goals of the youth court. Activities are put into a certain timeframe so that they are paced at a rate that is accomplishable.

Examples:

If a goal is to increase traditional knowledge among the youth, an activity might be to train youth in interviewing techniques and have them interview Elders for traditional ways of handling problems in the village.

If a goal is to decrease the number of youth in the village engaged in substance abuse, an activity might be to bring certain Native people into a gathering of the youth to talk about their experiences and recovery from substance abuse.

Evaluation: Although it may be easy to sense that a youth court in a village is generally doing positive things for the tribal youth, it may be necessary to report success in writing to those outside the village. This is generally required when grants are given to fund youth courts. Evaluation is an organized way to determine if the youth court is successful in terms of reaching the purpose and goals that the tribe has set.

It is easiest to evaluate activities that are written in terms of numbers, such as ‘By the end of the first year the youth court program is operating, 80% of all village youth will successfully complete the tribally designed substance abuse awareness program’ or, ‘there will be 50% fewer cases of vandalism in the village.’

It is much harder to evaluate the success of goals and activities centered on things hard to measure such as ‘raising self-esteem of tribal youth,’ or ‘increasing traditional knowledge and practice of traditional values among the youth.’ Even through these things may be harder to evaluate, it is very important to focus activities on the goals the tribe establishes.

This chapter covers a few ideas about developing tribal youth courts in Alaska. Tribal youth courts are part of the tribal court system and basically under the general guidance of the tribal council. Planning for their development includes describing the purpose of them, setting goals, and deciding what activities need to be done in order to meet those goals. The way tribal youth courts are structured, and the procedures they will follow, will vary from tribe to tribe. Tribal youth courts have excellent opportunities to practice restorative justice for repairing harm, helping people heal, and rebuilding relationships in the community. Restorative justice calls for creativity in sentencing, designing them to help and heal offenders, victims, and the whole village. Tribal youth courts also can provide paths to promoting cultural awareness and traditional skill building.

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