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This article is from Today's
Native Father, issue #114, March/April, 2001. Related articles from this
issue: |
Family Breakdown Feeds Growth of
Gangs by David Hertzler |
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Membership in gangs has exploded in the past three or four years in Canada. Police estimate that about two-thirds of these new members are Aboriginal. The growth is most noticeable in the prairie provinces. The two largest Aboriginal gangs are based in an impoverished area of Winnipeg. All the factors that make gang life attractive to Aboriginal youth are present here: poverty, unemployment, drugs, alcohol, broken families, and lack of hope, education and opportunity.1 In 1998 growth of more organized gangs such as Manitoba Warriors and Indian Posse slowed down. At the same time, the more violent and unorganized gangs expanded rapidly.2 These gangs are moving from petty crime into more lucrative activities such as organized prostitution and sale of drugs. Drive-by shootings, which used to happen only in big cities, are now on the increase in smaller urban centres. Correctional institutions are a major breeding ground for gangs. The gangs within these institutions control much of what goes on. Inmates are bullied into siding with a gang. When they get out, they recruit new members back home, which is often on a reserve.3 What gives gangs so much appeal to Aboriginal youth? Gangs offer a way to break the poverty cycle. “Being part of a gang is a real money issue,” one prison inmate told TNF. Smuggling of drugs brings in lots of money. So does prostitution, which is on the increase among gangs. Gangs also offer recognition, self-esteem and a sense of protection. They offer relief from boredom.4 They offer heroes and authority figures to submit to. Growing boys are especially attracted to people like this, says family counsellor Clair Schnupp. Most of all, gangs offer a sense of group identity, or “family.” But it’s a trap, says Brian Contois, former leader of the Manitoba Warriors. “Getting into a gang is easy. They just open a door for you. Getting out is the difficult part. Ninety-nine percent of the people involved in the Warriors wind up behind bars. They say they are your friends, but when it comes down to it, you’re just another body to them. They’re there to hurt you. They make you take money from those close to you. They’ll make you take the rap for things they did.”5 Many gang members may never experience healthy family living. Still, some are finding healing for their emotional wounds. Ironically, this often happens behind bars. One alleged gang leader speaks of the love he felt from a Christian volunteer prison worker, love that moved him to follow Christ. Another gang member recalls struggling to manage his suffering. “I was in my cell and wondering why I couldn’t cry for my family who died, why can’t I cry because I’m in jail without my son and my wife beside me? I asked God to let me cry and sure enough I did. That’s when I gave my heart to Jesus.”6 But it’s one thing to stay clean in isolation. The real test of these men’s conversions will come on the outside, when they are confronted by former gang associates, when they are faced with the challenge of fathering their own children without the parenting skills their own fathers failed to teach them. Police are aware that tougher law enforcement will not meet the needs of youth and solve the gang problem. A unified effort from all political, social and educational agencies and churches is required to stop young people from joining gangs and to rebuild broken families. 1. Smith, Michael, “Aboriginal street gangs in Winnipeg,” Alberta Sweetgrass, October, 1996. |
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