Examining the Bicultural Ethnic Identity of Adolescents of a Northeastern Indian Tribe

American Indians can be considered “bicultural” because they must adapt to two cultures: their Native (tribal) culture and the white, mainstream (nontribal) culture. Most research on the ethnic identity of American Indian adolescents has focused exclusively on tribal identity rather than on nontribal identity. Also, previous research has been based on samples of adolescents who live on tribal reservations, neglecting those who live off reservations or belong to tribes without residential reservation land. It is important, however, to study adolescents’ nontribal identity and to study those adolescents not living on reservations. Furthermore, studies of western and southern tribal adolescents significantly outweigh those of northeastern tribal adolescents. The history of northeastern tribes differs substantially from that of other tribes, as northeastern tribes have experienced a longer length of contact with settlers and more intermarriage with non-Indians, producing tribal members of various ethnic backgrounds. The purpose of this study is to achieve an understanding of the bicultural (tribal and nontribal) ethnic identity of northeastern tribal adolescents, highlighting their unique history and experience. Adolescents aged thirteen to seventeen of a northeastern tribe participated in the current study. This particular tribe does not have residential reservation land, so studying this population addresses the issue stated above—the lack of studies concerned with Indians not on reservations. Furthermore, the study examines not only tribal identity, as has been typically done in previous studies, but also nontribal identity