Senior Honors Project Spring '23

Crime Scene Investigation:

Forensic Science In Native Communities

Desirae Suina

Cochiti Pueblo

Desirae Suina- Forensic Science.webm

Research Log 1- Identity

(Suina, Desirae. Traditions, date aquired 2019)

Sharing One Skin

Community and Identification are what make us who we are. It ties everyone together and creates that bond that we are in for the rest of our lives. This is the main theme in this article because it shares how you yourself is the way you are and how you tie yourself into your community. Identity is the most important thing to us Indgenious people because without it we don’t have a place in what goes on in our communities. Finding who you are is a key to everything around you, it connects you to the people, the land, etc. Our communities are so special to us because that is who we associate with learn from for the rest of our lives.

Armstrong, Jeanette. “Sharing One Skin: The Okanagan Community,” in Jerry Mander and Edward Goldsmith (eds), The Case Against the Global Economy. San Francisco, CA, Sierra Club Books, 1996. Pp 460-470.

(Suina, Desirae. Home, May 25, 2020)

How place names impact the way we see landscape

Many landscapes get their name for different reasons depending on the story behind them. “a lot of places are attached to a story”(page 2). Names give things power and when it comes to landscapes, it could get controversial. For example, the colonization words were given to many indigenous things. With that name, it can be a constant repeat of the trauma of what our ancestors went through. Names/stories can define how we all connect to the landscapes or how we perceive them.

Toastie, B. “How place names impact the way we see landscape.” High Country News: Know the West, 1 May 2022, https://www.hcn.org/issues/54.5/people-places-how-place-names-impact-the-way-we-see-landscape. Accessed 27 August 2022.

Research Log 2- History

Exploring the History of Forensic Science through the Ages

The first evidence of forensic science dates back to ancient Greek and Roman societies. They had made contributions to the medicine field, where it was used to test for toxins in their murder cases. The Egyptians were the first to perform an "autopsy" in 3000 BC. They had religious practices where they removed the organs of humans after death. But the first recorded death was in 44 BC, when they exhumed Julius Caesar's body and found he had been stabbed 23 times, and his cause of death was a wound through his chest. Physical evidence was one of the things that was getting more recognition during the 17th century. "Techniques such as matching physical evidence like clothing fibers and footprints to those found on a suspect are starting to gain popularity." Gradually, criminal investigations started revolving more around evidence-based and rational approaches. There are books that were written during these times and years later that discuss how to crack a case and how to determine the cause of death. Many of the first murders recorded helped to develop the tools used for investigation. The 1800s and 1900s were pivotal years in the advancement of forensic science.

IFF Lab. “Exploring the History of Forensic Science through the Ages.” Incognito Forensic Foundation , 2021, https://ifflab.org/. Accessed 2022.

(ifflab, 2022)

(Suina, Desirae. Jurisdiction, December, 11, 2022.)

History and Development of Forensic Science

This article explores the first few cases that made ancient Rome and China develop forensic science. It mentioned all the people involved in developing the tools that the FBI and CSI use at a crime scene. Many of these people developed fingerprints, anthropometry, DNA profiles, etc. that all come into play when a crime is committed. The word "forensics" comes from the Latin word "forensic," which means "forum." Forensic science is a great example of the scientific method because there are a lot of logical steps that need to be followed to solve the problem. The article also mentions the jobs that CSI has, like recording details about the crime and collecting physical evidence. Crime labs are used for analysis, and this can help develop a timeline of events and figure out how it happened. As stated in the article, there are steps to processing a crime scene. Then that goes into the different types of evidence, which leads to it going into the court system, and the case is then presented.

“History and Development of Forensic Science .” Semantic Scholars , https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/0c99/f29aa6f2ebba53a0bade8d30ec5205e9cb3c.pdf. Accessed 2022.

Research Log 3- Current State of the Issue

(i-tron, 2022)

Tester Blasts FBI for Failing To Keep Indian Country Safe

The 27th missing and murdered Indigenous woman case in Big Horn Country sparked this. “Tester Blasts FBI for Failing to Keep Indian Country Safe” gave me a little bit of insight on the jurisdiction portion of my topic. In which it mentions that "Testers pressed Wray on what resources the FBI provides to local jurisdictions to investigate violent crimes against Native people and whether the FBI provides assistance or training to jurisdictions near Indian reservations or with high Native American populations." Tester was a former chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee and addressed the uprising of MMWI cases. Due to this, the "Two Testers-backed bills" were passed to improve public safety. However, he did criticize Attorney General William Barr for "failing to address Montana’s public safety needs and neglecting to address the MMIW crisis, human trafficking, and methamphetamine use." This created more justice by bringing up the "Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2019" to make sure that tribes could have the authority to bring justice and give survivors resources.

“Tester Blasts FBI for Failing to Keep Indian Country Safe.” Senator Jon Tester, 27 July 2022, https://www.tester.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/pr-7108/.

i-Torn, I-tron.com, Accessed 22 Sep. 2022.

(The Washngton Post, 2022)

The Enhancement of the Native American CODIS STR Database for Use in Forensic Casework

In “The Enhancement of the Native American CODIS STR Database for Use in Forensic Casework”, their main goal is "to produce information for a more geographically diverse representation of additional Native-American tribes that represent a greater number of geographic populations, so as to better characterize genetic variation among Native Americans." This helps in cases involving our people, because they get answers even more quickly. The CODIS STR database is used to both compare and store DNA from crime scene evidence and so on. Because our people cover a large geographic area, this provides a more reliable "backseat" when it comes to Native cases. A more detailed examination will help them see the difference and what is needed to create that reliable source. "Over 6800 samples of tribal DNA are currently archived and available at the Department of Anthropology at UC Davis; the 418 samples analyzed here were the only ones that met the quantification requirements for STR analysis." These DNA samples are a big help in fighting these cases and getting answers.

Author(s) Sreetharan Kanthaswamy; Kelly L. McCulloh; Jillian Ng; Robert F. Oldt; Jessica A. Weise; Joy Viray; Bruce Budowle; David Glenn Smith. “The Enhancement of the Native American CODIS STR Database for Use in Forensic Casework.” Office of Justice Programs, 1 July 2016, https://www.ojp.gov/library/publications/enhancement-native-american-codis-str-database-use-forensic-casework.

Garcia, Alexandra. "A latent fingerprints analyst demonstrates fingerprint analysis during a tour of the Va. Dept. of Forensic Science Northern Va. Lab", March 15, 2012, The Washington Post, December 7th, 2022

(NY Times, 2022)

Crime in Indian Country: FBI explains its role

The FBI works hand in hand with the BIA and the tribal police. Every tribe and their relationship to their police are different, and the crimes they work on are homicide, violent assaults, and crimes against children. It depends on the situation as to their role; they either work with the tribe on the evidence part or the FBI brings in their own team. However, all violent crimes fall under the jurisdiction of the FBI due to a law that was passed years ago. A lot of the investigations can be complex due to the victim's or the felon's complexity, but depending on the level of the crime, it will fall into the FBI's lap.

Arizona Public Media. “Crime in Indian Country: FBI Explains Its Role.” YouTube, 20 Nov. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcFkxz52CMs .

Spayd, Liz. A police investigator at work in Manchester, England, NY Times, September 23, 2022

Research Log 4- Global Connections

(MPR News, 2015)

Coroners must send bodies for scans rather than autopsies if religion demands they stay intact, High Court rules

In the UK, two religions Jewish and Muslim had a landmark victory for their religious rights. They established that coroners must follow a set of principles depending on the family's religious views and have objections to full post-mortems. “Muslims and Jews regard invasive autopsies, defined by one Jewish leader as “cutting open a body and removing internal organs” as the desecration of a body in religious law and to be avoided where possible”(Gallagher). So with this, an alternative has been decided. That alternative is to do a scan, such as a CT scan. These could still help the coroner with their legal obligations but still respecting that family's religion. This topic of discussion began with the death of Serlotta Rotsztein who passed away on September 29th 2014. An invasive autopsy was performed and even through protests from her children that this was against their mother religion, the family took emergency injunctions at the High Court, which paused the autopsy. From there, a scan was performed instead which led to the ruling that they must follow this new regulation.

Gallagher , Paul. “Coroners Must Send Bodies for Scans If Religion Demands No Autopsies.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 28 July 2015, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/coroners-must-send-bodies-for-scans-rather-than-autopsies-if-religion-demands-they-stay-intact-high-court-rules-10422561.html.

(The Seattle Times, 2020)

Issues of Culture and the Role of Medical Examiner

In Seattle the Department of Health has a mission to be culturally sensitive when it comes to autopsy. Medical examiners are a part of the Public Health Department, so they have to deal with being appropriate and accepting different cultural backgrounds. “We have achieved positive solutions to some of these cultural conflicts, such as the example of allowing religious, ceremonial washing of bodies in our office. We have done this by initiating meetings with community members to discuss means for recognizing potential conflicts and avoiding them before they occur''(Owens). No matter what, there are still some misperceptions. For example a lot of these autopsies are done for legal reasons rather than medical reasons. So this does create some controversy with having to make sure the procedure is done even if there has to be some alternative routes taken. The examiners even have to take into consideration the time and process it takes to do these autopsy procedures. “Out of consideration for the family, the Medical Examiner makes all efforts to perform the autopsy and release the body as quickly as possible – within 12 hours and certainly less than 24 hours – after a death comes under jurisdiction”(Owens). This played into the impact that this can take on many cultures that have certain ceremonies that are performed.

Owens, Christine. “Issues of Culture and the Role of Medical Examiner.” EthnoMed, 28 Apr. 2020, https://ethnomed.org/resource/issues-of-culture-and-the-role-of-medical-examiner/.

(DiversityInc, 2022)

Cultural and religious issues

The article “Cultural and religious issues” mentioned the different religions. The religions mentioned were Indigenous, Torres Strait Islanders, Muslim, and Jewish. Each religion is unique in their own way but all have in common that an autopsy can interfere with their cultural beliefs or are seen as “taboo.” For the islanders a delay in examination can be a concern for their burial. For Muslims, “traditional Islamic texts forbid the cutting up of bodies and it is believed the body continues to feel pain after death. Autopsies can, however, be performed to serve justice and for medical and scientific reasons”(QUT). Going along with that delay can cause a concern with burial because they normally do so 24 hours after. Lastly for Jewish they believe that no one should violate the body after death.

Objections to autopsy. “Cultural and Religious Issues.” Objections to Autopsy, 6 July 2021, https://research.qut.edu.au/objectiontocoronersautopsy/cultural-and-religious-issues/.

Action Plan 1

(Suina, Desirae. Personal photos 9,15,16, 2022)

I worked with Isaac in a joined action plan. I had students work on a case file game from target. This helped the students at SFIS understand the process it takes for a criminal investigation. I also asked questions after about how forensic science could go into our communites, and how difficult it was trying to piece the puzzle.

Action Plan 2

(Suina, Desirae. Personal Photos 17-19, 2022)

For my second action plan, SFIS students participated in a cold case scavenger hunt. From this they were able to answer questions with the information provided and decided whether it was solved or unsolved. The result ended with them seeing just how many cases have either gone unnoticed or cold in a matter of days involving indigenous people.

Bibilography

Arizona Public Media. “Crime in Indian Country: FBI Explains Its Role.” YouTube, 20 Nov. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcFkxz52CMs .

“History and Development of Forensic Science .” Semantic Scholars , https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/0c99/f29aa6f2ebba53a0bade8d30ec5205e9cb3c.pdf. Accessed 2022.

IFF Lab. “Exploring the History of Forensic Science through the Ages.” Incognito Forensic Foundation , 2021, https://ifflab.org/. Accessed

“Tester Blasts FBI for Failing to Keep Indian Country Safe.” Senator Jon Tester, 27 July 2022, https://www.tester.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/pr-7108/.

Objections to autopsy. “Cultural and Religious Issues.” Objections to Autopsy, 6 July 2021, https://research.qut.edu.au/objectiontocoronersautopsy/cultural-and-religious-issues/.

Owens, Christine. “Issues of Culture and the Role of Medical Examiner.” EthnoMed, 28 Apr. 2020, https://ethnomed.org/resource/issues-of-culture-and-the-role-of-medical-examiner/.

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