Death and Violence on the Reservation: Homicide, Family Violence, and Suicide in American Indian Populations

(Hardback)

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This volume is an attempt to examine systematically the etiology of violence in American Indian communities. Using field work as well as quantitative and qualitative research, Bachman presents an overview of American Indians from historical and contemporary perspectives, before she focuses specifically on violence and its causes. Homicide, suicide, and family violence are analyzed in depth, and the destructive impacts of alcohol and other addictive substances are documented. Dr. Bachman uses personal stories and narratives given by American Indians to illustrate the living reality behind the statistics she presents. She concludes with a variety of policy recommendations that should be of interest not only to policymakers, but also to acadmeic researchers and students in criminology, ethnic relations, sociology, and anthropology.

Reviews

Bachman, an analyst with the US Justice Department, combines quantitative and qualitative data, fieldwork, and personal narratives, to illustrate the character and possible causes of violence among Native Americans. She also makes a variety of policy recommendations. Should interest readers involved either with Indians or other minorities, or with criminology.-Reference & Research Book News
Examining a widely recognized but little-studied program, Bachman has ambitious goals in this book. She applies both quantitative and qualitative methods to the study of homicide, family violence, and suicide on Native American reservations. To accomplish this, the author weaves human stories collected from personal interviews with statistical methods common to standard sociological analyses. The insights gained from this combination of approaches are then used to construct a model of Native American homicide. This model links socioeconomic factors, such as poverty, alcoholism, and family breakdown with a lack of cultural identity that Bachman attributes to a long history of internal colonialism. She is successful in her attempts to unite the two methodological approaches and provides valid direction for future policies, but as might be expected, has tackled too large a topic to be dealt with in one short book. Her presentation of the problem, although never appearing simplistic, lacks the depth that the topic requires. Given the paucity of work in this field, however, Bachman's book is a welcome addition to the literature. Advanced undergraduate; graduate; faculty; preprofessional; professional.-Choice
One of the most compelling aspects of the book is the extensive material from in-depth interviews with American Indian male inmates and women from battered women's shelters.-Contemporary Sociology
"Bachman, an analyst with the US Justice Department, combines quantitative and qualitative data, fieldwork, and personal narratives, to illustrate the character and possible causes of violence among Native Americans. She also makes a variety of policy recommendations. Should interest readers involved either with Indians or other minorities, or with criminology."-Reference & Research Book News
"One of the most compelling aspects of the book is the extensive material from in-depth interviews with American Indian male inmates and women from battered women's shelters."-Contemporary Sociology
"Examining a widely recognized but little-studied program, Bachman has ambitious goals in this book. She applies both quantitative and qualitative methods to the study of homicide, family violence, and suicide on Native American reservations. To accomplish this, the author weaves human stories collected from personal interviews with statistical methods common to standard sociological analyses. The insights gained from this combination of approaches are then used to construct a model of Native American homicide. This model links socioeconomic factors, such as poverty, alcoholism, and family breakdown with a lack of cultural identity that Bachman attributes to a long history of internal colonialism. She is successful in her attempts to unite the two methodological approaches and provides valid direction for future policies, but as might be expected, has tackled too large a topic to be dealt with in one short book. Her presentation of the problem, although never appearing simplistic, lacks the depth that the topic requires. Given the paucity of work in this field, however, Bachman's book is a welcome addition to the literature. Advanced undergraduate; graduate; faculty; preprofessional; professional."-Choice

Author Bio

RONET BACHMAN is a Research Analyst and Statistician with the Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Justice Department. She is also Visiting Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology at the University of Maryland.