Public Opinions about American Indians

Nov 27, 2006

Buffalo State College

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Executive Summary

Research Project 1: Focus Groups. Four parallel focus groups conducted with Western New York adults yielded a generally positive profile of a citizenry that can best be described as friendly and open toward Indian issues.

• The research shows a widespread posture of interest in and support for Indian issues, though amid an environment that is relatively uninformed.

• A positive link exists between personal familiarity with Indians and support for Indian issues. Familiarity most often is based on patronization of vendors and services on Indian reservation land.

• Some people believe that it is unfair to Indians to take advantages of their untaxed goods and services because outsiders don’t deserve them.

• The concept of treaties evokes two responses: one, that they should be respected; two, that perhaps they should be updated.

• Likewise, the concept of sovereignty yields to two opinions: one, that Indian selfgovernment should be respected; two, that the state should be able to intervene for the good of the larger public.

• Peripheral issues such as the establishment and management of gaming venues sometimes cloud the more central issues of treaty obligations and sovereignty rights.

Research Project 2: Survey. A 426-respondent survey conducted with Western New York adults echoed the general support observed in the focus groups and provided specifics.

• Current public opinion seems decidedly pro-Indian on many of the issues investigated through these research projects, particularly respect for treaty provisions.

• Concurrently, public opinion seems decidedly against some of the positions proposed or taken by state government on many of the tax-related issues. Surprisingly absent from the research findings was any significant we-all-should-pay-taxes notion. Additionally, the feeling was strong that, if there were to be taxation on sales on Indian lands, tribal governments should receive the tax revenues.

• Gender is not a significant factor in support or rejection of what would commonly be considered a pro-Indian position on various issues.

• Surprisingly, neither is political leaning a significant factor in most situations. At least twothirds of political liberals, moderates and conservatives support the notion that treaty provisions prevent state taxation of all sales on Indian lands.

• Predictably, higher levels of education are associated with support for Indian issues.

• Ethnicity is not a significant factor in support of Indian issues. An exception to this generality is that there is notably more support for maintaining treaties in their original form among ethnic minorities (56%) than among Caucasians (48%).

• Age is not a serious dividing point in support for Indian issues, with significant support throughout each age group. Continuing availability of untaxed sales to non-Indians is favored by people under 30 (83%) only slightly more than those 30-45 (77%) and those over 45 (75%). Additionally, persons over age 45 were slightly more likely to support keeping treaties in their original form rather than updating them.

• However, age is a potential factor, since younger people reported having less information about Indian issues, though no less support for Indian issues. Concurrently, younger people expressed openness to knowing more about Indians.

Research Project 3: Content Analysis. A preliminary content analysis of five newspapers in Upstate New York reveals a journalistic environment somewhat out of step with the generally pro- Indian public opinion observed in the previous two research projects. Newspapers are more likely to accept assertions by New York State public officials that the state has a right and ability to collect taxes on purchased by non-Indians on Indian lands.

This research project also suggests that Indian entities might take advantage of their proximity to metropolitan newspapers in obtaining a public platform for their voice. More importantly, Indians can impact reporting by developing their voices with a pro-active effort to engage reporters and editorial writers. Media training and a communication/public relations infrastructure are elements of this potential impact.