Document Type
Article
Abstract
An extensive amount of scholarly research has been done on the subjects of prejudice and discrimination. The vast majority of this research in the United States has focused on Blacks and Jews and very little on the American Indian. The general public had very little knowledge of the situation on Indian reservations or the relationship that existed between the Indians and Whites until the early 1970s when American Indian activists began to engage in protests. That emerged from these protests were images of white racism and bigotry, separatist movements and a general climate of hostility in those areas where protests occurred. Against this background, it is surprising that so little research has been done regarding prejudice toward American Indians, and still mote surprising that in states such as South Dakota which has experienced social conflict and charges of extreme racism, very little has been done to examine prejudice and discrimination. The only known research dealing with prejudice in South Dakota is a public opinion poll conducted by mail at the University of South Dakota. This 1983 effort was an attempt to gauge the status of Indians in South Dakota. Of the 800 surveys mailed, 200 were returned. From-this study, the researchers concluded that the majority of people in South Dakota are prejudiced (Sioux Falls\ Argus Leader. November 25, 1983). However, nothing has been done to determine if there are socio-geographic differences in norms or what the important variables are that may contribute to an understanding of this prejudice.Therefore, the objectives of this study are to determine: (1) the degree of prejudice in a sample of South Dakota respondents; (2) where, in a socio-geographic sense, prejudice is concentrated; (3) what percentage of the exhibited prejudice can be explained by personality factors and by sociocultural factors; and, (4) what are the behavioral implications of the observed prejudice.
Recommended Citation
Peterson, Dan
(1989)
"A Study of the Relative Contribution of Selected Sociocultural and Personality Variables to the Exploration of Prejudice and Discrimination in South Dakota,"
Great Plains Sociologist: Vol. 2:
Iss.
1, Article 4.
Available at:
https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/greatplainssociologist/vol2/iss1/4