The Dynamics and Characteristics of Indigenous Families Affected By Violence: Identifying Emergent Risk Factors

Background and Purpose:

Despite violence against Indigenous women in the U.S. being higher than for any other racial group and the tendency of Indigenous women to rely on families for support and recovery, the dynamics and characteristics of Indigenous families affected by violence is unknown. Indigenous families have been impacted by a broader context of historical oppression, including the chronic, pervasive, and intergenerational experiences of oppression, beginning with colonization and pervading due to structural inequities such as poverty, discrimination, and subjugation. These processes may affect family dynamics and processes related to violence. Despite families being highly salient in Indigenous communities and Indigenous women and professionals overwhelmingly recommending family-focused interventions to address violence, research on the dynamics and characteristics of Indigenous families affected by violence is absent. This lack of understanding limits the ability of practitioners to effectively address and treat this injustice. 

Methods:

To understand the dynamics and characteristics of Indigenous families affected by violence and uncover potential risk factors related to violence, this research uses interviews from a critical ethnography (with extensive standards of rigor upheld for each stage) with Indigenous women who have experienced violence, along with the professionals who serve them.  The setting was multiple tribal communities in the southeastern United States. Interviews with 49 purposively selected participants: 29 Indigenous women who experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) and 20 professionals who worked with tribal members affected by violence informed results of this study.  Semi-structured interview guides, developed in conjunction with the Indigenous communities, were used for 29 life history interviews with Indigenous women affected by IPV and 20 semi-structured interviews with professionals.  Examples of questions from the interview guides included, “If you have experienced IPV, how did your family respond to it?” and “How do think [indigenous] families respond to IPV?”  Data analysis of transcribed interviewed followed pragmatic horizon analysis, to identify themes across both subsamples.

Results:

Pragmatic horizon analysis of a total of interviews with 49 Indigenous women who experienced violence and professionals who work with tribal members affected by violence unveiled the following overarching themes, which which had connections to a context of historical oppression:  (a) Family division; (b) Parental impairment; (c) Absent parental figure; and (d) Intergenerational nature of violence, substance abuse, and parental impairments. Future research can examine these potential risk factors related to family violence and their connections with historical oppression.

Conclusions and Implications: 

Results highlight the relevance and importance of locating personal and family problems in a historical context.  Without this, marginalized groups may be further stigmatized and blamed for problems brought on by injustice and oppression.  Given that many of the challenges apparent in Indigenous families affected by violence have roots in historical oppression, community consciousness-raising groups may uncover these connections.  Although problems are present in some Indigenous families, locating their causes in structural inequality can shed light in the insidious effects of historical oppression.  Family and community groups can help tribal members reconnect with Indigenous teachings, which tend to promote complementary, respectful, and non-violent family relations.