The process of colonization comes with brutality and for the Native people of indigenous California was not an exception. Theirs involved genocidal activities which criminalized their ways of tradition, these led to their imprisonment into punishment institutions including military forts and federal prisons (page 1). In fact, historians have recorded that the most oppressed groups are the poor and the color who has been sent to jail and prisons to control them socially, with 34 percent of Native American women in South Dakota being in prison for punishment. Furthermore, the prison industrial complex was built on the ancestral land of the native people, this contributed to the devastation of the colonization process (Smith, 2015)
The native of California was organized into the society which believed in the governing bodies of their respective tribes. They maintained religious and traditional laws without the police force and courts since individuals accepted this law for their collective survival. Unfortunately, the Europeans through Spanish mission got in contact with Native peoples and left some historical buildings which symbolize terror to the Native people (page 2). The Mexican hunter the Native people, used them as slaves and raped their women until 1848 when Guadalupe Hidalgo signed a Treaty to end the war (Castillo, 1992). This was followed by a Gold Run in the 1880s who also raped their women, even though the Native people tried to fight them out of their land.
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The Prison-industrial complex also connects with a young girl who was running away from home with her mother for their rescue, but the abuse started on their arrival to their new home. The girl was being abused sexually by both the stepfather and her grandfather who later on introduced her to alcohol (page 4). Since she was an Indian she was being abused by her stepfamily members including her mother. Out of frustration, the girl dropped out of school at a tender age then escaped from home and got married to a man who was 13 years older than her (page 5). The girl opted to run away from the husband but got into drugs and at the age of 22years, she was sentenced to five years in the California Rehabilitation center of Norco.
Consequently, the number of women in prison continued to grow, this was because they were being sentenced for abusing drugs. Consequently, this also made California have a distinction in having most women prisoners. Furthermore, the Native American came into conflict with the criminal justice system because they believed in their customs which guided them on how to behave. In addition, the prison-industrial complex was purposed for central justice and profit.
The prison industrial complex continues through to the immigration department of the United States of America. The immigration and customs enforcement arrested Shirley Tan for no apparent reason, this is because she was denied the American citizenship after she came back to United to settle (page 1). Furthermore, the immigration and customs enforcement continued with the invisible prison-industrial complex by going after the immigrants and arresting because of being either a guy or a lesbian (page 3). In addition, the immigration and customs enforcement went to the extent of arresting the immigrants who are giving birth in United States of America including checking if the immigrants can offer quality labor (page 4).
In conclusion, the prison-industrial complex is there to serve two purposes; to deteriorate people socially and for oppressors to get profits. They brutalize people depending on their race, tribe, and country.
References
Smith, A. (2015). Conquest: sexual violence and American Indian genocide. Duke University Press.
Del Castillo, R. G. (1992). The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo: A legacy of conflict. University of Oklahoma Press.
