Americans Divided on Native American Policies

Americans on both sides of the aisle are in agreement over several policies that would work towards safeguarding the rights of Native American people living in the United States, but they remain divided over a few key areas, among them: reparations, monuments and sports mascots. The following chart is based on a survey by YouGov, which asked 1,000 U.S. respondents who were either Republican- or Democrat-leaning whether they were in agreement with or against a number of policies.

While a higher share of Democrats responded affirmatively to all of the policies posed, a majority among both sets of voters voiced their support for 7 out of the 12 questions. This included 78 percent of Republicans and 85 percent of Democrats saying they would support increasing the focus on Native American history in school curriculums, and a similar share of respondents saying they would back strengthening laws to prevent the unwarranted removal of Native children from their families. Similarly, there was only a 2 percentage point difference between the groups of Republicans and Democrats who supported requiring federal agencies to involve tribes in decision-making that affects their lands, at 79 percent and 81 percent, respectively.

There are, however, a handful of important policies which appear to remain a sticking point. These include the proposed removal of monuments dedicated to historical figures who supported mistreatment of Native Americans (18 percent Republicans to 68 percent Democrats), the question of halting or rerouting infrastructure projects based on concerns raised by Native tribes (44 percent Republicans to 70 percent Democrats), giving Native Americans an advantage in college admissions decisions (32 percent Republicans to 67 percent Democrats) and the government paying cash reparations to Native American tribal members (30 percent Republicans to 67 percent Democrats).

The only policy that garnered less than 50 percent of support from both Democrat- and Republican-leaning respondents was the suggestion of banning sports teams from using Native American-themed mascots (12 percent Republicans to 48 percent Democrats).