Academic Catalog - 2024-2025

College of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Department of Applied Indigenous Studies

Indian Country Criminal Justice, Bachelor of Science


Academic Information

The Indian Country Criminal Justice degree is designed to enable students and criminal justice professionals to master the complexities, challenges, and resolutions of providing criminal justice services in Indian Country.  The historical relationships between American Indian nations and the United States federal government, as well as relationships with states, have resulted in distinctive and complex legal and political environments. Native Americans and other Indigenous peoples have been and are still subject to discriminatory laws rooted in colonialism that have become institutionalized in criminal justice in Indian Country. Factual, historical, legal, and practical knowledge as well as cultural competency and understanding are necessary for better serving Native American and Indigenous communities and building more effective and culturally sound criminal justice systems.
 
This innovative, interdisciplinary degree will educate students about these critical dimensions of criminal justice in Indian Country, as well as provide training in the application of knowledge, skills, and theory in many settings, from law enforcement to judiciary settings to advocacy to policy development. Criminal Justice in Indian Country is a unique, complex, and specialized field.
 

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Academic Catalog - 2024-2025

College of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Department of Applied Indigenous Studies

Indian Country Criminal Justice, Bachelor of Science


Careers

What Can I Do with a Bachelor of Science in Indian Country Justice?

American Indian officials state that Indian reservations in Arizona are underserved by law enforcement, especially those trained to work in American Indian communities. This creates a public safety issue for everyone (Indians and non-Indians) who lives there. This degree is designed for two kinds of students: Some will be students preparing themselves to enter career opportunities in criminal justice and related fields, within American Indian nations as well as other organizations that provide criminal justice and related services to American Indian populations. The other type of student will be those already working in these fields, from law enforcement to court systems to advocacy, to hands-on settings in administration and government, who seek to improve their knowledge and skills and advance their careers.
 
The interdisciplinary nature of this degree ensures that students will have a wide range of substantive knowledge in criminal justice and in Indigenous Studies, as well as special knowledge about legal jurisdiction and federal Indian policy as provided specifically by this degree. The degree will assist them to develop their communication, cultural, and interpersonal skills as well as analytic and problem-solving skills.  The ICJ program is expected to grow over the coming years as more Indian nations establish their own justice institutions as a means to enhance self-government and nation-building.  
 

Career opportunities that might be pursued:
  • Law enforcement officer
  • Detective
  • Court staff
  • Detention staff
  • Indigenous restorative justice systems
  • Victim advocacy
  • Probation and parole
  • Policy analysis

With further education, one of these paths is possible:
  • Tribal or federal judiciary: judge or administrator
  • Detention system administration
  • Criminal defense law
  • Criminal Prosecution
  • Tribal government
  • Policy consultation

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Academic Catalog - 2024-2025

College of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Department of Applied Indigenous Studies

Indian Country Criminal Justice, Bachelor of Science


University Requirements

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Academic Catalog - 2024-2025

College of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Department of Applied Indigenous Studies

Indian Country Criminal Justice, Bachelor of Science


Overview

In addition to University Requirements:

Students may be able to use some courses to meet more than one requirement. Contact your advisor for details.

Minimum Units for Completion 120
Major GPA 2.0
Highest Mathematics Required MAT 114
University Honors Program Optional
Some online/blended coursework Required
Progression Plan Link View Progression Plan

Purpose Statement

Criminal justice in Indian Country is a unique, complex, and specialized field that is presently not taught at any university in the United States. To be proficient, a professional working in this field must know and understand how to analyze essential facets and challenges of the field, such as:

  1. The parameters of Indian Country
  2. The process to determine who is an American Indian
  3. The distinction between an American Indian person’s “political status” and “racial status” and within the context of enrolled membership
  4. Whether federal law, American Indian nation law, state law, or a combination of the laws of two jurisdictions applies.
  5. Whether the criminal procedure rights of the U.S. Constitution, the Indian Civil Rights Act, or the American Indian nation’s Bill of Rights apply
  6. Which court – federal, American Indian nation, or state – would have jurisdiction over the matter.
Throughout the program, these analyses are undertaken based upon the fundamental principle that American Indian nations are self-governing sovereigns and that current federal Indian policy promotes self-determination, self-government, and nation-building. The major in Indian Country Criminal Justice educates students with accurate, current knowledge about criminal justice and culturally-appropriate justice services on Indigenous lands, and helps students develop the unique skills they need to pursue criminal justice careers on and around Indigenous lands, with Indigenous peoples, in Indigenous communities, and with justice institutions of self-governing Indigenous nations.


Student Learning Outcomes

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Academic Catalog - 2024-2025

College of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Department of Applied Indigenous Studies

Indian Country Criminal Justice, Bachelor of Science


Details

Major Requirements
General Electives
Additional Information
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Academic Catalog - 2024-2025

College of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Department of Applied Indigenous Studies

Indian Country Criminal Justice, Bachelor of Science


Campus Availability

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