Structural Disadvantage and American Indian Homicide and Robbery Offending

Abstract

This article contributes conceptually and empirically to research on American Indian violence. Conceptually, this study extends research on race differences in crime by outlining competing perspectives on the relationship between structural disadvantage and American Indian violence. Empirically, 1995-2005 California arrest data are used to extend macro-level analyses of American Indian violence, most notably by using offending instead of victimization data. Findings reveal that structural disadvantage is associated with increases in American Indian homicide and robbery offending. This suggests that macrosocial criminological theories are applicable to the study of American Indian violent offending as they are for other racial and ethnic groups.