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Despite great diversity within and across Indigenous Nations, Indigenous Peoples share similar experiences of colonialism, genocide, oppression, and marginalization (Andreescu & Overstreet, 2020; Dai et al., 2021; Monchalin et al., 2019). These experiences manifest in many forms of injustice, including high rates of Indigenous Peoples, and particularly, women and girls being reported missing or murdered (Dai et al., 2021; Monchalin et al., 2019). Recently, several federal and state Acts and initiatives have been implemented to improve data collection and reporting, as well as responses to reports of missing and murdered Indigenous Peoples (Benjamin & Gillette, 2021; Department of Justice, 2019). Although it is too early to tell if they have been effective, it is important to synthesize existing data to provide a baseline for future research and policy analyses. The purpose of this study was to synthesize the existing body of knowledge and enhance current understandings related to the relative risk of homicide faced by Indigenous Peoples and whether the risk differs among males and females.
Methods
A systematic literature review uncovered 38 studies that examined the risk of homicide for Indigenous Peoples compared to non-Hispanic White people, and in some cases the general population. Two hypotheses were tested using meta-analytic models: (1) The pooled relative risk of homicide will be significantly greater for Indigenous Peoples than for non-Hispanic White people. And (2), the risk will be greatest for Indigenous girls and women. Three moderator analyses were undertaken to assess the effects of geography, temporal period, and comparison group composition. Rate ratios, odds ratios, or similar risk-ratio-based measures of effect estimated the relative risk (RR) of homicide from the primary studies. Natural logarithms of study RR were weighted by their inverse variances so larger studies carried more weight (Cooper, 2017). The sample-weighted, random effects were then pooled using sample-weighted regression models (Cooper, 2017; Greenland, 1987).
Results
The risk of homicide for Indigenous Peoples was nearly three times that of non-Hispanic White people (RRpooled = 2.70). There was no significant difference in the risk of homicide between Indigenous females and Indigenous males. The moderation effect of homicide risk by temporal period was also null. The risk of homicide for Indigenous Peoples was found to be much larger in specific geographic locations (RRpooled = 3.42) than unspecific geographic locations (RRpooled = 2.12). Finally, when compared with only White or non-Hispanic White people, Indigenous Peoples’ risk of homicide was nearly three times greater (RRpooled = 2.92). However, when compared to subsamples that included White people and others, the Indigenous risk was only about 1.5 times greater (RRpooled = 1.54).
Conclusions and Implications
In conclusion, the relative risk of homicide has been persistent and longstanding for both Indigenous females and Indigenous males. It is imperative that future Acts, initiatives, and advocacy efforts are inclusive of all Indigenous Peoples, regardless of gender identity (Hansen & Dim, 2019). Relatedly, future research should focus on causes of and efforts to reduce violence against both Indigenous females and Indigenous males. Further implications will be discussed.