One Model Does Not Fit All: Group Consciousness and the Political Participation and Attitudes of American Indians

Abstract

Objective Although group consciousness of minority groups is believed to increase their rates of political participation and help shape their attitudes, no research has examined group consciousness of American Indians. Therefore, our objective is to help fill this void by estimating the effects of American Indians' group consciousness on their political interests, voting rates, and support for co‐ethnic candidates. Methods We use a unique data set based on an opt‐in panel survey of American Indians. Results We find that similar to most Americans, American Indians who have higher levels of group consciousness are more likely to support co‐ethnic candidates. However, unlike African Americans and Hispanics, group consciousness has little effect on American Indians' political participation and interest. Conclusions We believe that the unique findings may be related to the small number of American Indians in the United States, or their unique place in the U.S. political fabric. Nevertheless, the findings warn against assuming that theories designed for one minority group will automatically transfer to another.

Political Trust and Native American Electoral Participation: An Analysis of Survey Data from Nevada and South Dakota

“…As such, much of their political engagement is directed at protecting treaty and trust rights. A similar point is made by Herrick and Mendez (2019), who suggest that Native group consciousness is "unique" due to "political issues, such as tribal sovereignty. "…”

Sovereign Bodies: Native Nations, Native American Women, and the Politics of 2018

“…This opt-in approach is limited in not being able to ensure that Native American respondents are enrolled Tribal members. However, Herrick et al (2019) directly compared an opt-in web panel with data in the Current Population Survey (CPS) and American National Election Survey (ANES) and found that, when weighted appropriately, the opt-in web survey results across political behavior items were similar to that from the other data sources. This led them to be optimistic that weighted, opt-in web-based surveys can be appropriate and useful for studying Native American politics.…”

“…Moreover, scholarship on non-Native Americans finds that linked fate is both racialized and gendered (Brown 2014; Gutierrez et al 2019; Stout, Kretschmer, and Ruppanner 2017). For Native Americans, group consciousness leads to greater support for co-ethnic candidates but has no effect on political participation or political interest (Herrick and Mendez 2019).…”

“…Many scholars point to histories of discrimination, ballot box access, and ongoing suppression tactics as reasons Native Americans may participate in American politics at lower levels than other groups (Fergeson-Bohnee 2015; Pryor, Herrick, and Davis 2019; Schroedel and Aslanian 2015; Schroedel and Hart 2015; Wang 2012). 2 Also, research suggests that Native peoples seem to engage in acts like boycotting and contacting a public official at higher rates than other minority groups (Herrick and Mendez 2019; Huyser et al 2017).…”

Asian Americans’ Perception of Intergroup Commonality with Blacks and Latinos: The Roles of Group Consciousness, Ethnic Identity, and Intergroup Contact

“…While it is conceptualized in numerous ways, most researchers use the definition of group consciousness from the work of McClain and others, which is defined as a form of "in-group identification that is politicized by a set of ideological beliefs about one's group's social standing, as well a view that collective action is the best means by which the group can improve its status and realize its interests" (McClain et al 2009, p. 476). It is important to note that scholars have operationalized this concept in various manners, but the measurement of group consciousness contains common elements, such as "having a sense of belonging to the group", "an expressed satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the group's current status, power, or material resource in relation to those of an out-group", and "the belief that a group's social status is attributable to individual failings or to structural inequalities" (Herrick and Mendez 2019).…”