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"Robert V. Schmidt" wrote: > I read this statement about the Peter Harris Research Group poll on Indian > mascots conducted for Sports Illustrated: > > "The pollsters interviewed 351 Native Americans (217 living on reservations > and 134 living off) and 743 fans. Their responses were weighted according > to U.S. Census figures for age, race and gender, and for distribution of > Native American on and off reservations." > > The statement raises a number of questions: > > * Given that federally enrolled Indians are scattered among some 560 > recognized tribes, how did Harris select the tribes and people within > tribes at random? Are the tribal membership rolls publicly available > somewhere, or did the tribes provide them? What did Harris do if tribes > declined to provide their membership rolls? > > * Did these membership rolls include addresses and phone numbers for the > Indians living off-reservation, or did Harris identify these people another > way? How, exactly? > > * Given the logistics of visiting 560 tribes in person, I imagine Harris > contacted people by phone. What did Harris do to compensate for the known > conservative bias in phone-polling? The poorest Native people are unlikely > to have phone service even in this modern era. > > * According to 1990 Census figures, only 22% of Indians live on > reservations or trust lands. (Source: "We the...First Americans" from the > Census Bureau.) I don't think the Census Bureau has released data on where > the population lives in 2000, but I doubt the proportion has risen from 22% > to 61% (217 of 351) in only ten years. What did Harris base its > on/off-reservation breakdown on? > > * The US Census now provides a range for the number of Native Americans > (2.1 to 4.1 million) because there's no precise way of defining them. How > did Harris define "Native American"? > > * At least half the people who are Indian or part-Indian aren't enrolled in > a tribe. Did Harris include these people? How did it identify them? > > * Is a sample of 351 people large enough to estimate the opinions of the > 4.1 million Americans who identify themselves as Indian or part-Indian? > Are the subsamples of 217 and 134 large enough to estimate the opinions of > the on- and off-reservation groups that are 1.5-2.5 million in size? > > * Many people think the Census Bureau missed large numbers of Indians > because of the aforementioned problems in visiting or contacting people in > remote locations. At best Harris used Census data secondhand. How did > Harris compensate for the known shortcomings in the Census data? > > * On its website the Harris Field Center touts its expertise in doing > business studies" and interviewing "business executives and managers." > What is its expertise in dealing with the skeptical, hard-to-reach Native > American population? > > * Native people are known for not trusting Anglos and not speaking openly > to them in initial encounters. What steps did Harris take to overcome this > propensity? Can Harris assure us the Native people questioned said what > they really think? That they didn't say mascots are okay to avoid "making > waves"? > > Because of these methodological problems, I don't think I've ever seen a > survey purporting to present the Native American opinion on any subject. > The problem of developing a truly random sample of an amorphous group is a > huge one by itself. It's hard to believe Harris had more resources than > the US government to accomplish this task. But if its sample wasn't > random, the results are probably biased. > > Until Sports Illustrated provides information on this poll's methodology, > I'd say the Native community should take these results with a large grain > of salt. They appear to confirm nothing more than the fact that Native > opinion on the mascot issue isn't unanimous--which Native people already > knew. > > Rob Schmidt > #204, 6150 Buckingham Pkwy. > Culver City, CA 90230 > (310) 641-8931 -- André Cramblit: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Operations Director Northern California Indian Development Council NCIDC (http://www.ncidc.org) is a non-profit that meets the development needs of American Indians and operates an art gallery featuring the art of California tribes (http://www.americanindianonline.com) ======== An American Classic =========================== There's a good reason why Reader's Digest has long been one of America's favorite magazines. 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