Research Study Findings:
Violence Against Native American Women
Barbara General, M.S.W., Ph.D. Student
School of Social Work
University at Buffalo, State University of New York
Faculty Mentors
Kate Kost, Ph.D., Associate Professor
Hilary Weaver, D.S.W., Associate Professor
School of Social Work
University at Buffalo, State University of New York
Funding for this research project provided by
NYS Office of Children and Family Services
through a contract with
College Relations Group
Center for Development of Human Services
Research Foundation of SUNY Buffalo State College
Contract Year 2004: Project 1037105/Award: 31176
Contract Year 2005: Project 1044831/Award 34930
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Abstract
The prevalence rate of violence against Native American women is higher than that of any other
racial group in the United States. However, there is currently very little empirical data explaining
this social phenomenon in tribal and urban communities, with the available literature about
violence against women predominately based on Caucasian women’s experiences of domestic
violence. This review considers a conceptual framework focusing on the colonization of Native
American peoples and turns to feminist and social learning theories to help explain violence
against women in general before going on to further discuss the limitations of these theories in
explaining the existence of violence against Native American women.
Note: The original version of this manuscript was edited and reformatted by CDHS Publications
Services to optimize its usefulness as a research document primarily intended for CDHS trainers.
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Introduction
The phenomenon of violence against women is complex in nature, expanding across all
socioeconomic and racial/ethnic lines. Affecting one in six women, male-to-female assaults are
at least six times more likely to cause injuries to females than assaults caused by other females
(Lawson, 2003). Violent behavior perpetrated against women is a public health concern that has
long-lasting negative physical and mental health consequences for both women and their
children (Wuest, Merrit-Gray, & Ford-Gilboe, 2004). The Center for Disease Control contends
that the cost of rape, physical assaults, and stalking exceed $5.8 billion each year, with nearly
$4.1 billion for medical and mental health care services (National Center for Injury Prevention
and Control, 2003).
Research on violence against women has increased dramatically over the last 20 years, yet there
are still many gaps in society’s understanding of this social phenomenon. In particular, reliable
information on minority women's experiences and domestic violence is still lacking in the
literature (Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000). Indigenous women in the United States and Canada
report more violent victimization than do women and men of other racial backgrounds, yet there
is little empirical research that examines this phenomenon in indigenous communities (Tjaden &
Thoennes, 2000) across all disciplines.
Dobash & Dobash (1979) contend that in order to truly understand the nature of violence
between intimates, research must go beyond the interacting couple and the isolated and
abstracted social relationship. Instead, the violent behavior must be considered in perspective of
its proper settings, both historical and contemporary, and the context that must be examined in
relation to violence against indigenous women is the colonization of North America and its
devastating impact on indigenous cultures and beliefs. It appears that the available literature on
violence against Native American women uses mostly conceptual models, with little empirical
data to support assertions. Thus, central to this review is a conceptual model that is based on a
historical perspective that encompasses the colonization of Native Americans lands and culture.
Empirical studies framed within feminist and learning theories will aid in understanding violence
against women from a general Euro-Caucasian context.
Scope and Research Sources
This paper defines the concept of violence, identifies the target group and the more recent
epidemiology studies, provides a brief historical perspective and analysis, includes empirical
support from feminist and social learning theories, and concludes with remarks about the with
limitations and discussion of the current research and an overall summary.
The following are academic search engines used to locate conceptual and empirical studies on
violence against Native American women: Anthrosource, Ebscohost, Masterfile Select, Eric,
Genderwatch, Infotrac, Onefile, Jstor, Psycinfo (Ovid), Psycarticles. The keywords typed in the
search engines were: “violence against Native American women,” “violence against women
studies,” “violence against aboriginal women,” “battered women’s studies,” “violence against
indigenous women,” “structural violence and Native American women,” “Native American
women and family violence studies,” “Native American victims,” “sexual assault and Native
American women,” and “battered women and trauma.” These searches led to studies
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predominantly focused on the experiences of Caucasian women, leading to the understanding
that the subject of violence against Native American women and interventions are inadequately
represented in social science research. Additionally, and most importantly for this review, the
representation of Native American women in the literature is next to nonexistent and is most
likely reflective of the more generalized marginalization experience of Native peoples, and/or
their somewhat remote relationship with the academic world.
Defining Violence Against Women
The terms of “violence” and “abuse” have often been used interchangeably by those who study
domestic violence. However, according to Gelles (1985) violence and abuse are not conceptually
equivalent. For example, the umbrella term “battered child syndrome” eventually gave way to
multiple terms such as “child abuse,” “child neglect,” and “child maltreatment” in recognition of
the fact that child abuse was not necessarily only physical, but also included malnutrition, failure
to thrive, sexual abuse, education neglect, medical neglect, and mental abuse. Korbin (1981)
points out that there are no universally accepted standards for child rearing and that thus there are
no universally held terms for child abuse and neglect. Those seeking a culturally applicable term
will face a predicament of choosing between a culturally relevant standard (in which behavior
may be considered abusive or non-abusive, depending on the cultural framework) or an
individual standard whereby violent acts are considered to be those behaviors that differ from the
typical cultural standards of child rearing (Korbin, 1981).
In much the same way as the previously described child abuse example, the definition of
domestic violence or violence against women varies and therefore a universal definition is
nonexistent. Gelles and Straus (1979) define violence as “an act carried out with the intention or
perceived intention of physically hurting another person.” Spanking and shoving are included in
this definition, as well as injury or death. Gelles asserts that when violence against women
became acknowledged as a social problem, researchers moved toward a broader definition to
include sexual abuse, rape, and even pornography (Gelles, 1985). For the purposes of this
review, the terms “violence against women” and “domestic violence” will be used
interchangeably, encompassing a more recent definition by the United Nations General
Assembly and including any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in,
physical, sexual, or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts,
coercion, or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private (United
Nations, 1993).
Epidemiology
The 1999 Department of Justice American Indians and Crime Report stated that American
Indians experience per capita rates of violence that are more than twice those of the U.S. resident
population. The report also described the rate of violent crime against American Indian women
as nearly 50% higher than that reported by black males (United States Department of Justice,
1999), with black males demonstrating violent behaviors seemingly receiving much more media
attention and stigmatization than that of the perpetrators of the silent and seemingly invisible
violence done against indigenous women. Physical assaults against American Indian females
were 98 per 1,000 compared to 56 per 1,000 among black females or 40 per 1,000 among white
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females. Interestingly, 75% or more of the violence experienced by Native American women is
committed by persons not of the same race (United States Department of Justice, 1999). This
data suggests that non-Native perpetrators play a significant role in violence against Native
American women. The 1995 National Violence against Women Survey results showed that
American Indian women were more likely to report rape and physical assault victimization than
women of other racial backgrounds. Some 61% of American Indian women reported physical
assault; among African American women the statistic was 52.1%, and among white women it
was 51.3% (Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000).
A study prepared by the Ontario Native Women’s Association (2004) in Canada found that eight
out of ten aboriginal women have been abused. From a national perspective, approximately 500
aboriginal women have gone missing from their communities across Canada in the last 20 years,
yet the government, the media, and Canadian society continue to remain silent. In interviews that
Amnesty International Canada conducted with victims' families, it seems that police appear to
have repeatedly failed to protect aboriginal women and have also failed to investigate crimes
against them thoroughly or promptly (Amnesty International, 2004). The implication of the
investigations is that indigenous women are not receiving the social supports needed to transcend
violent and tragic situations. Walker (1989) argued that cultural factors, including social
institutions, provide ineffective responses with regard to protecting women and children or else
they promote traditional socio-cultural norms that devalue women and that maintain such
violence.
Most of the epidemiological studies (such as the Department of Justice reports and Violence
Against Women surveys) indicate a high prevalence rate of violence against Native American
women. These statistics were collected with the use of surveys or self-reports to obtain the data.
Surveys represent an essential facet in the methodology of researching violence against women
for the reason that they provide data about the regularity, incidence, and patterning of violence
against women. However, gathering data from the survey method has weaknesses because
surveys do not describe the violence and its impact; moreover, it is not tribal specific. Native
American tribes are so diverse in social, economic, and political backgrounds that the quality of
the data obtained can be considered mainly anecdotal, yet the current data prompts interest in
further investigation that takes the culture and context of Indian life into account (Hamby, 2000).
Definition of “Native American Women”
The idea that “Indians” and now “Native Americans” are a single discrete people was an
invention of Columbus and his European contemporaries, and this reference was perpetuated
without a foundation in historical, cultural, or ethnographic reality (Salisbury, 1996). Many
individuals in the dominant culture commonly refer to Native Americans as a single cultural
entity and believe that come from and represent one cultural group (Hamby, 2000). The fact is
that Native Americans constitute over 550 federally recognized tribal units and over 36 staterecognized tribal units, numerous nations, and some 252 languages (Herring, 1992). Thus the
label “Native American” has been erroneously used to categorize and generalize information on
nations that are distinct in culture, beliefs, and economic and social structures.
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According to the Bureau of Census, a Native American is a Native American. This means that
individuals can report they are Native American on the census survey. The census data indicates
there are approximately 2,475,956 Native Americans and that in total they make up less than one
percent of the U. S. population. However, that number reflects individuals who reported being
Native American only. The figure increases to 4,119,301 (or 1.5% of the population) when
individuals report that they are Native American and another race (United States Census, 2000).
Conversely, tribal governments are much more discriminate and assert their rights to determine
tribal members. Some tribal nations (such as the Senecas) consider an individual to be a member
of the tribe if their mother is or was a member, with tribal membership passed down through the
mothers’ bloodline (Weaver, 2005). Other nations are patrilineal and consider an individual to be
a members based on his or her father’s membership.
For the purposes of this review, Native American females are all those who are considered a
member of a tribal nation, whether it is through a traditional (hereditary) or an elective system
supported by the federal government. In addition, the term Native American female is inclusive
of women who self-identify as Native American based on their biological connection to a tribal
nation but who have no membership due to not meeting tribal nation criteria, whether it is lack of
blood quantum or not meeting the matrilineal or patrilineal standard. Note that the terms “Native
American,” “indigenous,” and “aboriginal” will be used interchangeably to make references to
the female descendents of the first peoples in North America.
Historical and Conceptual Framework
Intimate violence in Native American communities in the United States should be viewed not
only from a statistical context, but also within the history of Euro-colonial relations with Native
American nations (McGillavray & Comaskey, 1999, p. 22). It is debated whether violence
against women is a new problem or whether it existed before colonization. Some have asserted it
dates after the introduction of western influences (Hamby, 2000). Nevertheless, based on the
sparse ethnographic research on Native American women, culture, and philosophies, gender
relationships have changed (Klein and Ackerman, 1995). The impact of colonization and (for the
most part) forced assimilation has changed the roles of native women, who have gone from
having a valued position in there communities to leading lives marked by illness, domestic
violence, and early death (Napoli, 2002).
Colonialism is not an abstract notion. It involves a real set of people and relationships and
structures (Alfred, 1999). Colonization refers to a situation in which a dominant group embarks
on a process to alter or eliminate the laws, customs, and belief systems of a community. It is
characterized by an invasive structural and psychological relationship between the colonizer and
the colonized, a relationship that is ultimately reflected in the dominant institutions, policies,
histories, and literatures of the occupying powers (McGillvray & Comaskey, 1999). It must be
noted that North America has not yet entered a postcolonial era, and what was originally Native
American remains occupied by invaders from overseas. These settlers have appropriated Indian
land and resources for their own advantage, while indigenous peoples who conducted themselves
as independent nations since time immemorial continue to be forcibly subordinated (Churchill,
2003).
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There has always been a “problem” of what to do with the indigenous peoples, beginning from
the onset of Europeans settling in North America, and this problem was the cause of much effort
and discussion for centuries (Parker, 1916). Early practices of extermination/racial genocide,
seizure of lands, and assimilation seemed to the white colonials of the time to be the simplest
way to deal with the Indian problem, since from their perspective the Indian tribes stood in the
way of free reign over the land and all the natural resources that went with it (Garrett & Pichette,
2000). Starting in 1609, it is documented that the Virginia Company gave authorization for the
kidnapping of indigenous children for the purpose of “civilizing” local indigenous populations
through imposition of Christianity (Buckley, 2002). George Washington and his administration
included provisions for clergymen to live with each tribe in order to teach the English language
and Christian religion and to encourage peaceful relations with the U.S. government. Thomas
Jefferson encouraged a Presbyterian school among the Cherokees and personally approved
federal funding to build a Catholic church and maintain a priest for the Kaskaskia tribe. His
successors followed suit. Such arrangements were mutually beneficial to both church and state
(Buckley, 2002). The 1819 Civilization Fund Act, a federal law passed by Congress, provided
grants to private agencies (primarily churches) to establish programs to “civilize” the Indian
(Cross, Earle, & Simmons, 2000).
The supposed move from assimilation to removal marked a shift in U.S. policy toward citizens
of tribal nations. Native Americans were no longer to be civilized in place or reduced to small
reservations on a portion of their traditional lands. Instead, entire tribes were relocated west of
the Mississippi River (American Journey Online, 1999). The Mississippi became the new
permanent demarcation of white colonial settlement. In 1868, the Indian Peace Commission was
formed to review the causes of Indian hostilities. Short on resolution, the Commission again
recommended bringing Native Americans into white civilizations as a solution to their
differences (Cross, et al, 2000).
What is clearly dismissed in early policy practices against Native Americans by the United States
government is the failure to think of Native American tribes as human communities that change
and develop over the years. The long history of social coercion of tribal nations, forcing them to
give up their homeland territories, cultural beliefs, and tribal and religious practices left an
indelible mark on the psychology of native peoples, with many of the social pathologies facing
Native Americans today stemming from this oppression on the part of non-natives.
Cultural Violence
Poverty, inequality, social marginality, and domination of resources all produced unneeded
suffering and death for indigenous peoples in North America. These conditions are not acts of
nature but rather are the direct products of social arrangements created by Euro-colonizers in
ways not easily noticed or clearly understood in today’s society (Pilisuk & Tennant, 1997).
Galtung (1990) suggested that social arrangements are induced and are maintained by cultural
violence. Cultural violence is seen as the symbolic sphere of Western civilization’s existence—
exemplified by religion and ideology, language and art, empirical science, and formal science
(e.g., logic, mathematics) that can be used to justify or legitimize direct or structural violence.
Structural violence is embedded in the social system and shows up as unequal power and
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consequently as unequal life chances (Galtung, 1969). Over years, cultural violence has the
tendency to make structural violence look, and even feel, right (or at least not wrong).
Pheterson (1986) asserts that internalized oppression is the integration and acceptance by
individuals within oppressed groups of the prejudice against them within the dominant society.
Internalized oppression is likely to consist of and be characterized by self-hatred and fear of
violence, as well as by feelings of inferiority, resignation, powerlessness, and gratefulness for
being allowed to survive. The internalization of social norms by Native Americans came from
numerous social aspects such as the church, the educational system, and participation in the
workforce. One prominent archetype in the psychology of many Native American people today
is the memory of Indian boarding schools. For many Native Americans the boarding school
experience left a profound effect on their personal lives as well as on their relationship to their
families and communities (Graham, 1997).
Indian Boarding Schools
In 1879, after 100 years of warfare, Richard H. Pratt established the first off-reservation, military
style boarding school for indigenous children in Pennsylvania (Lomawaima, 1993). The Carlisle
Boarding School was developed specifically for Indian children because Pratt had concerns
about mixing Indian and black children at the Hampton Normal Institution, an all-black school in
Virginia administered by General Armstrong. Pratt and Hampton disagreed on racial mixing, but
they did agree that without educated Indian women there would be no assimilation, with
education of Native American girls being a key support factor in the more important work of
training boys. To enter American society, the Indian male needed a mate who would encourage
his success and prevent any backsliding. Pratt charged Indian women with embracing “heathen”
rituals and superstitions and then passing them on to their children. Such Indian women were
considered unfit as mothers and wives. Thus, a women’s education was extremely important but
not so much for her own benefit as for that of her future husband. Pratt and Armstrong both
insisted that Indian girls be taught “obedience.” In particular, General Armstrong believed that
obedience was completely foreign to the native mind and that “discipline” would mediate
civilization (Trennert, 1982).
The quality of treatment the children received in residential schools was poor, being
characterized by low standards of education, hard work, poor quality food, rigid discipline,
confinement, and lack of recreation (Graham, 1997). The number of Indian boarding schools
established since 1879 is estimated to be in the hundreds, though many of the big boarding
schools closed in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Based on ethnographic interviews with former Indian boarding school students, it appears that
many returned to their native communities as young adults and experienced unresolved issues of
anger, grief, and dependency (Graham, 1997). Left on their own to cope, they had only
fragmented concepts of traditional parenting and family functioning and at the same time many
had not fully taken on the values of white society (Seidman, Jacobson, Primeau, Burns &
Weatherby, 1996). Many of these children, now grandparents and great-grandparents, were
poorly prepared to become parents and spouses. Their parenting skills came from observing the
detached and dysfunctional behavior of boarding school staff and administration. The heritage of
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the boarding school produced generations Native Americans who were alienated from their
extended families and communities, and this experience of alienation may in fact account for
some dysfunction in native families today (Seidman, et al., 1996).
Literature Review
While it seems that the literature available about Native Americans has increased in many
disciplines in the last 20 years, empirical research to explain the violence against indigenous
women in North America is next to nonexistent (Mihesuah, 1996). However, considering the
process of assimilation of indigenous people over a period of centuries, it may be practical to
hypothesize that the high prevalence rate of violence against Native women is due to generations
of Native American men and women internalizing the gender norms of the dominant society.
The current empirical literature focuses on lower- to middle-class women who have experienced
violence in their intimate relationships. While some empirical studies have included Native
American women, the participant number is so small that the results cannot be generalized. The
available research studies to explain why males assault women and why females allow abusive
behavior to be directed at them by their intimate partners are complex, and there is no one single
theory that can fully explain this social phenomenon.
Theoretical Frameworks
Gender is widely recognized to be an important empirical factor (or variable) in understanding
many aspects of behavior. Feminist researchers contend that violence is part of a patriarchal
system of coercive controls through which men maintain social dominance over women.
Patriarchy is held to be an organized power structure that is used deliberately and purposely to
control and subjugate women. The construction of male dominance in the social, economic, and
political spheres of society directly influences the behavior of males and females in the social
order (Robbins, Chatterjee, & Canda, 1998).
Most feminists firmly rebuff the idea that violence against women results from individual
psychopathology, because embracing that notions can be a means by which to absolve men in
general for their control of women. The perpetration of violence is seen as the undisguised
expression of inherent cultural sanctions that allow men to use violence and intimidation to
control women (Jennings & Murphy, 2000). The empirical evidence driven by feminist
theoretical perspectives with regard to violence against women is sparse when considered in the
light of the diversity of men and women that engage in and encounter violence in their
relationships, but ample enough to gain a general understanding that domination and control are
contributing factors that need further investigation.
For one year, Hall (2000) observed a group of poor white youth living in a postindustrial urban
setting in the Northeast. When Hall asked the youths about their future wives and families they
articulated male supremacy stereotypes. Males were to be the breadwinners and female were to
stay at home and take care of the children. A male youth commented about his future wife:
“…she should be home raising the kids…it’s all part of the contract of being married…the wife
takes care of the husband and the husband gets free time” (p. 476). When asked to describe their
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community, none of the boys mentioned domestic violence. However, when asked to describe
their lives at home and their relationships with girls and women, they revealed that the females in
their lives (such as mothers, girlfriends, and others in the neighborhood) were current victims of
abuse. None of the boys were critical about this violence, and most saw it as normative. For
example, one male stated that “…he [his father] pushes her around a bit, like if the house gets
messy or the food is burned…my dad apologizes…and he is usually true when he says he is
sorry. It’s just that she doesn’t always do what she’s supposed to do” (Hall, 2000, p. 478). This
particular male’s criticism of his mother’s housekeeping warranted (in his opinion) her being
pushed around. Another youth sympathized with his mother’s boyfriend “…she should stop
nagging him, leave him alone…this makes him haul off and swat her. They [females] should
give us space (Hall, 2000, p. 478).” Hall’s observations included witnessing leaders of the local
community center and public school turn a blind eye to the aggressive behavior perpetrated by
male youth toward female peers. The community center and school officials did not intervene to
correct the behavior of the youth. Hall concluded that by not challenging the violent ideology
and behaviors among youth, the institutions that structure the lives of white youth are complicit
in the normalization of abusive behavior.
Xu, et. al. (2005) estimates the prevalence of and risk factors for intimate partner violence in
China. One aspect of their study concluded that violence against women is prevalent in China,
with strong links to male patriarchal values and conflict resolutions. In terms of domestic
authority, attitudes, and cultural beliefs, Chinese female respondents who believed it is important
for a man to show his wife or partner “who is the boss” and believed it is a wife's obligation to
have sexual intercourse with her husband even if she does not feel like it were more likely to
experience intimate partner violence. The hidden violence that is embedded in traditional female
obligations to their male partners is invisible to the eye and thus receives little research attention.
As a result, many individuals may regard violence as acceptable if it does not leave a physical
mark and the more subtle form of emotional violence being perpetrated is never addressed.
Additionally, another survey conducted among females of three provinces in South Africa
demonstrated that more than a third of the respondents agreed that a man beating a woman was a
sign of love (Abrahams & Jewkes, 2005).
Feminist theory with regard to rigid gender roles helps to explain violence against women as
well as to explain violence within lesbian, gay, and bisexual couples. Many may think that a
male being violent and controlling in his relationship with his male partner is understandable,
given internalized norms of appropriate male behavior, yet conversely these instances when a
female exerts physical abuse toward her female partner may be puzzling to some because the
patriarchal factor is absent. In order to overcome misconceptions and to assist gay and lesbian
victims of violence it is probably necessary to examine the nature of the violence within the
context of the relationship to gain insight into the underlying power structure. That is, it becomes
necessary to determine which partner of the relationship has established physical or
psychological power over the other partner (Potoczniak, Mourot, Corsbie-Burnett, & Potocniak,
2003). In addition, it is important to look at a variety of factors that may influence lesbian and
gay individuals' relative risk for and protection from psychological, physical, or sexual abuse in
childhood or adulthood.
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From a social learning perspective, violent behavior as a form of communication displayed by
parents or guardians in childhood may possibly determine whether individuals later perpetrate
violence in heterosexual and homosexual relationships. Parental and guardian behavior teaches
children what is appropriate within the family. Thus, children learn to be violent by observing
their intra-family aggressive behaviors. Children also learn aggressive and violent behavior by
being exposed to it their surrounding community. According to this perspective, each generation
learns to be violent by being a participant in a violent family and this situation is further
reinforced by their society (Diamond & Muller, 2004). The social learning process is
accomplished by two important mechanisms: modeling and reinforcement. Modeling is an
important tool in learning behavior, since children learn by watching and imitating others.
Reinforcement occurs when certain behavior is rewarded and other behavior is punished
(Wallace, 2005).
Abrahams and Jewkes (2005) conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire survey of 1,368
randomly selected male municipal workers in Cape Town, South Africa. The purpose was to
assess the effects of witnessing violence against their mothers in childhood on those men's use of
violence in a range of settings in their adulthood. Positive associations were found between the
witnessing of abuse during childhood and later arrest as a result of theft, violent behavior, or
illegal possession of a gun. The strongest association was found between the witnessing of abuse
during childhood and use of physical violence against a partner (Abrahams & Jewkes, 2005).
Violence may originate from imitating parental or guardian displays, and reinforcement of such
behavior is implied as South Africa experiences high levels of violent crime within the society.
Statistics collected by Interpol indicate that rates of rape, murder, robbery, and violent theft are
higher there than in any other Interpol member state (Abrahams & Jewkes, 2005).
In a study performed by Gych, Wachsmuth-Schlaefer, and Klockow (2002) children ages 3 ½ to
7 years old were drawn from agencies serving battered women and the MacArthur Story Stem
Battery (MSSB) was administered to them after the children were separated into two separate
groups: control and experimental. The MSSB includes nine story stems, each presenting a
dilemma or issue to be resolved, that each child participant was asked to finish by showing or
telling the administrator “what happens next.” Results showed that the responses of children
whose mothers had been victims of spousal abuse differed from those of children from
nonviolent families in both the content of their representations and the way in which they
communicated their narratives. Children drawn from the agencies serving battered women
portrayed their mother in their stories as less nurturing, less affectionate, and less authoritative
than the other group. They did not, however, view them as more aggressive, more rejecting, or
more neglectful. The children’s self-representations were less positive, but not more negative,
than were those of children from the community sample. Analyses showed that inter-parent
aggression predicted children’s expectation that conflict would arise and that children who had
experienced such aggression tended to avoid engaging in the narrative task. Inter-parental
aggression and father-child aggression had additive effects on representations of mothers; on the
other hand, children whose father (or father figures) directed higher levels of aggression toward
both them and their mothers portrayed mothers less positively. This suggests that witnessing
aggression within the family may affect children’s developing beliefs about close relationships
and may in fact be a process by which these experiences give rise to later problems in social and
emotional functioning (Gych, et al., 2002).
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Muller and Diamond’s (2004) study examined the association between witnessing domestic
violence and the long-term psychological adjustment of college students. As per their hypothesis,
results suggest that it is not just witnessing physical violence that has long-term effects on
children, but also that witnessing inter-spousal aggression of a nonviolent nature may be just as
harmful. College students who had witnessed physical domestic violence and students with a
history of witnessing major psychological domestic violence demonstrated higher levels of
psychopathology than both individuals who witnessed low levels of psychological domestic
violence and those who witnessed no domestic violence. As noted by Muller and Diamond
(2004), generalizability of the study is limited by the fact that the participants were all college
students and excluded individuals unlikely to attend college due to financial reasons and further
excluded individuals who may be socially immobilized by their psychopathological conditions.
Brickfield (1999) contends that poverty is a risk factor for domestic violence, as well as lower
educational level and younger age. Families with annual incomes below $15,000 were more than
22 times as likely to experience some form of abuse when compared to families with annual
incomes above $30,000 per year (Lutenbacher, 2002). Over 28% of the Native American
population falls below the poverty line, compared with less than 13% of the general population.
The percentage of high school and college graduates among Native Americans is also lower than
that among the general population (Bagley, Angel, Dilworth-Anderson, Liu, & Schinke, 1995).
Other risk factors for injuries to women as a result of domestic violence are alcohol or drug
abuse by male partners and having a partner who is unemployed (Minow, 1999). Many (but not
all) Native American tribes have very high rates of alcohol abuse and dependence (Ehlers, Wall,
Garcia-Andrade, & Philips, 2001). Victimization has been associated with substance use and
abuse among women in a number of research studies. For example, research has shown that
women who have alcohol or drug problems, or both, are more likely to have a history of being
sexually abused and physically assaulted than women without such problems. High rates of
sexual and physical abuse among women in drug abuse treatment programs have also been
found, with some studies reporting that as many as two out of three women entering treatment
have a history of sexual or physical abuse (Logan, Walker, Cole, & Leukefeld, 2002).
Miller and Down’s (1993) comparison study concluded that women in alcohol treatment
programs experienced higher rates of childhood victimization, significantly more severe violence
by fathers, and more childhood sexual abuse than did women in drinking and driving classes and
women in households. Women in treatment with alcohol problems also experienced significantly
more childhood sexual abuse than did women without alcohol problems in other treatment
settings. Also, women with alcohol problems experienced significantly higher levels of violence
by partners than did the women in the household sample. The lack of family and community
support may mediate negative responses (such as alcohol and drug use) to cope with the pain of
domestic violence. Therefore, it is important that abused women have supportive relationships
because they help women feel connected (Davis, 2002).
Levendosky, Huth-Bocks, Shapiro, and Semel’s (2003) study of 103 preschool children and their
mothers demonstrated that domestic violence was significantly and directly related to maternal
psychological functioning, parenting effectiveness, and attachment. Domestic violence
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13
negatively affected women's psychological functioning, as determined by depressive and
posttraumatic symptoms, a finding consistent with previous theoretical and empirical literature
(Levendosky, et al., 2003). Whatever the theoretical framework used to explain violence against
women, consequences are children of female victims are at risk of being affected psychologically
and/or physically as well.
Vasgue (1998) insists there are no real differences between the personalities of battered women
and the personalities of other women. Abused women are not masochistic or looking for men
who will hurt them, and their personal histories are generally similar to those of others. The only
variable that has been identified as being different with some battered women is that they were
themselves abused, neglected, or mistreated as children. Thus, it may be hypothesized that the
battering scenario feels familiar (Vasques, 1998). Although personalities may be somewhat
similar, the histories and culture of individual women varies and there needs to be a better
understanding why women of color experience violence at higher degrees of violence than
Caucasian women.
Limitations of Research
The empirical research to understand violence against women is predominately limited to
Caucasian women’s experiences and does not capture the historical, social, and economic
context of Native American life over the last 500 years. Tribal communities today are socially
and economically diverse and many are divided on their beliefs and practices—this owing to the
impact of colonization (Alfred, 1999). It does not seem fitting to frame the social problem of
violence against Native American women within Western theoretical frameworks based on Eurowhite values and on the observations of Euro-white women, because doing so does not provide a
better understanding of contributing factors from a social, cultural, and colonization experience
perspective.
Liberal- to radical-feminist theorists agree that the history of women’s oppression has lead to
women’s inequality in our society, but it is primarily the radical feminist theorists who state that
there is a need to uncover what is considered “normal” in western society. With regard to this
particular precept, it is also important to ask this question: Is it good practice for any academic
discipline studying human behavior to apply theories emanating from Western thought to Native
Americans whose peoples and societies have been subjugated and exterminated by Westerners,
and would not such an evaluation merely continue to assert and impose Western ideological
practices and values?
Barker (1997) argues that existing academic literature indicates that the behaviors of individuals
are generally judged only from the context of Western culture, meaning that Western culture is
the starting point and benchmark by which other cultures are judged. This practice is based on
the assumption that white culture is superior to other cultures (Nkomo, 1992). Sheurich and
Young (1997) identified Western biases in the research literature as “epistemological racism.” It
is argued that researchers using positivism are not necessarily considered overtly or covertly
racist as individuals, nor is it an underlying intent by institutions or society to conspire in favor
of whites. However, either Sheurich and Young simply overlooked the experience of
colonization and oppression of Native peoples in North America, or the secondary and post© 2004-2005 CDHS, College Relations Group, Buffalo State College/Research Foundation of SUNY
14
secondary school systems have apparently worked very efficiently in the marginalization of
Native American peoples. In addition, if epistemological racism is not a conscious move, there is
a need to examine minority research studies and then determine whether the results have been
generalized to the dominant population or have received the same attention as research studies
conducted on Caucasians.
It is important for academics and researchers to understand and accept the notion that power over
another society does not merely originate through coercion or cultural and political repression.
Such dominant power can also manifest as cultural violence that operates (albeit in a more subtle
fashion) through educational systems that set forth precepts about how societies “should” work.
Researchers need to consider the way that scientific discourses (studies and projects) may serve
as a means through which socio-cultural and political power operates, namely by the way such
“knowledge” acts to control members of society by defining what is to be considered “normal”
or expected (Elias, Oneil, & Sanderson, 2004).
Summary
There is little quantitative and qualitative research on violence against Native American women
in existing social sciences research literature. However, many of the epidemiological studies
indicate that the incidence of violence against Native American women is higher than that found
within any other racial group in North America. How much of the variance in violent
victimization may be explained by demographic, social, and environmental factors is unclear. In
addition, social and economic factors vary across the more than 500 tribal nations in the United
States, and therefore the epidemiological reports may be seen as anecdotal in nature (JumperThurman, 2003, et. al.).
The conceptual literature indicates that Native American women of many tribal nations have
gone from having a valued position in their communities to leading lives marked by illness, early
domestic violence, and early death (Napoli, 2002). Without a good understanding of the history
of the relationships between the colonizers and Native Americans, it is difficult for non-Native
American individuals to grasp how intensely colonialism has impacted Native American
communities. It is also difficult for such persons to understand the mindset and behavior of
indigenous peoples. It is clear, however, that the prevalence of Eurocentric discourses about
Native peoples has prevented a critique of colonialism and a discussion of the adverse effects
that colonization had on these peoples and their family systems (Waterfall, 2002).
The current research on violence against women is based on Western values and primarily on the
experiences of Euro-white females, but it seems that that this limited research is being imposed
on Native Americans to explain their maladaptive behaviors despite the unique history and
psychology of Native American peoples. In general, while feminist and social learning theories
attempt to explain violence against women from a macro and micro perspective, and such
theories do not speak to the colonization of Native Americans—a context that is of key
importance in understanding the contemporary pathologies in Native American communities.
The Native women’s Association of Canada asserts that violence in aboriginal communities is a
direct outcome attributable to colonization and cultural genocide. Domestic violence in such
communities is a learned behavior that continues on a multigenerational basis, affecting actions,
© 2004-2005 CDHS, College Relations Group, Buffalo State College/Research Foundation of SUNY
15
values, beliefs, and attitudes, and the end result of this behavior pattern is that it weakens or
destroys the peace and well-being of the aboriginal individual, family, community, and
nationhood (Native Women’s Association of Canada, 2004).
It is important to note that any normalization of violence against women in Native American
communities is a major barrier to the well-being of women, children, and tribal nations as a
whole. Children witnessing and experiencing abuse in their family of origin have an increased
risk of either being an abuser or becoming a recipient of abuse in their adult lives, resulting in a
cycle of abuse that continues with future generations (Lemmey, McFarlane, Wilson, & Malecha,
2001).
Several academics, including as Alfred (1997), Smith, (1999), and Waterfall (2002), encourage
indigenous peoples to disengage from current neo-colonial and constitutional colonial politics in
favor of advocating and working toward decolonization or anti-colonial initiatives. This is
because the actual practices of Native American social work are embedded within a neo-colonial
context that does not assist in working toward building stronger tribal nations, but instead further
reinforces the assimilation of native peoples. As a result of this research, it seems quite clear to
this author (a Native American academic) how and why the traumatic experience of colonization
keeps reformulating itself.
© 2004-2005 CDHS, College Relations Group, Buffalo State College/Research Foundation of SUNY
16
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