Guest Opinion. In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court's ruling in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson allows cities to penalize individuals for sleeping outdoors when no shelter is available. This ruling disproportionately impacts Native youth—an already vulnerable population. With Native Peoples facing some of the highest rates of homelessness, this decision perpetuates legal and financial burdens, pushing unsheltered Native youth further into the shadows and away from the support and stability they desperately need and deserve.
In City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, the Supreme Court considered whether Grants Pass, Oregon could enforce public camping bans when there is nowhere else for unhoused residents to go. The laws were enforced using fines, but multiple violations could result in imprisonment. Homeless residents sued, claiming the bans were cruel and unusual punishment, which the Eighth Amendment prohibits. T^he Supreme Court's conservative majority overturned a Ninth Circuit Court decision and declared these laws are not cruel and unusual punishment.
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Criminalizing being unsheltered puts Native youth at significant risk by increasing their chances of justice involvement, exploitation, and health problems. It disrupts their education and creates a lifetime of legal and financial burdens.
According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, Native Peoples face some of the highest rates of homelessness. Approximately 20,000 Native Peoples experienced homelessness in 2022, according to a limited survey by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Point-in-Time Count.
Approximately 70-80% of Native Peoples live near urban centers due to policies of forced assimilation, termination, and relocation. Because of the proximity to law enforcement in an urban environment, urban Natives without a home or shelter are more likely to have interactions with law enforcement, leading to arrests, fines, and jail, trapping them in a cycle of legal and financial problems that are difficult to break. This cycle makes it even harder for them to find stability and secure a home.
Criminalizing homelessness creates great risks for already endangered Native youth. The National Center for Juvenile Justice reports that Native children are significantly overrepresented in state foster care. Although they constitute just 1% of the total child population, they represent 2.6% of children in foster care, a rate 2.6 times greater than the proportion in the general population. 43% of Native youth transitioning out of foster care report experiencing homelessness, significantly higher than the national rate of 29%. If parents are jailed for being homeless, their children enter the foster care system, perpetuating this cycle.
When Native youth are unsheltered, their risk of encounters with law enforcement increases. Native youth are already disproportionately detained and incarcerated. The National Center for Juvenile Justice data shows that 181 Native youth per 100,000 ages 10 to 21 were in detention in 2021, compared to just 49 white youth per 100,000. Accumulated arrests and unpaid fines can escalate to felonies in some states, making it nearly impossible to find a job or access public benefits. Criminalizing being unsheltered imposes legal and financial burdens, pushing Native youth deeper into poverty and hindering their ability to secure stable housing and employment.
Education is disrupted, with frequent absenteeism leading to truancy and making it hard for them to stay in school. Native youth are also at higher risk of exploitation and victimization. They are more vulnerable to violence and may fall prey to sexual predators and human trafficking, adding to the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples.
Being unsheltered exacerbates physical and mental health problems, complicating the stress and trauma of dealing with law enforcement and the fear of arrest. It worsens anxiety, depression, and PTSD. It is difficult for unsheltered Natives to access medical and mental health services or maintain a regular medication schedule.
Laws criminalizing homelessness endanger our next generations trapping them in a cycle of incarceration and poverty and hindering their ability to secure stable housing and employment. Every child deserves a safe and secure future. We must address the root causes of homelessness—high housing costs, lack of livable wages, healthcare expenses, mental and physical illness, domestic violence, and more. Instead of burdening those at risk, we need real solutions that reflect the values of compassion, justice, and opportunity for all. Now more than ever, it is vital that we unite to support our unsheltered relatives and tackle the housing crisis together.
Kim Mettler, Next Generations Director for the Association on American Indian Affairs, is a citizen of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation. Beginning her diverse service in Native Country with the Indigenous Women’s Network, Kim has served as legal counsel for a Native Nation, focusing on Tribal law, intergovernmental relations and cultural resources protections; serves as a board member for the Native American Women’s Health Education Resource Center, providing advocacy on the regional, national and international levels on domestic violence, sexual assault, reproductive and environmental justice; provided training and co-advocacy with court appointed special advocates; and directed Tribal STAR, an ICWA training and technical assistance program, and the development of California’s Common Core ICWA curriculum for social workers. Kim is a skilled coach, facilitator and mediator and brings more than 25 years of advocacy and bridge building with and on behalf of Native women, youth and Native Nations. Kim received her BA in Social Justice from Fairhaven College, and her law degree from the University of Arizona in Indigenous Peoples’ Law and Policy.
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