Alaska Native Incarceration: Restorative Justice & Community Support

0:00Alaska Native folks are less than 20% of the state's population, but they fill over 40% of its prisons. Their recidivism rate hits 60% once released, the highest of any group, says the Alaska Department of Corrections. Two years back, a state crime bill led the corrections department to team up with the Alaska Federation of Natives for a study on cutting these. Numbers. AFN's Kendra Closter points to deep historical traumas as a big driver behind the high incarceration rates for Native people. The study pushes restorative justice programs where youth sit in circles with elders and family to own their mistakes, like fixing vandalism or helping the harmed family, instead of just getting a court record that sets them on a tough path. Meanwhile, it flags parole rules trapping relatives in cities without support, pushing them toward homelessness or reoffending, fixing that, plus rolling out these community approaches now, and building them long term, could finally shift the odds and heal communities from the inside.

1:00From your city, powered by AI, this is Anchorage News Today. I'm Corey with The Story.