Information versus ideology: Shaping attitudes towards Native American policy

Abstract

Native American policy is a complex and often poorly understood issue area. Native Americans enjoy a set of rights unique from any other population in the country as established in hundreds of treaties and a right to self-governance that predates the U.S. Constitution. Some scholars believe that American citizens would be more supportive of these policies if they had more information on the rights of tribes. This paper explores the impact of information on individual attitudes and preferences toward Native American policy in the USA. Using an original survey experiment, we test how information concerning the relationship between the U.S. and Native nations influences overall support for tribal sovereign rights and federal Indian programs and services. We find that information increases support for the rights of tribes to self-govern, but political ideology and other individual attributes dominate attitudes toward federally administered programs.