Social networks of American Indian youth on a Northern Plains reservation

Social relations and multigenerational networks remain a salient fixture of American Indian (AI) culture and survivance. Network data can describe the dynamic nature of social networks and the powerful role these relationships play in the development of behaviors in adolescence. Research in other populations has demonstrated how networks impact risk and resilience, but data on these factors are lacking among AI adolescents. There are reasons to expect that network structures may differ and that prevailing social network theories may not apply among this population. This paper describes ego and grade level networks of 9th and 10th grade AI youth (N = 263) in three diverse schools on a Northern Plains reservation. Aligned with prior research, we find that gender homophily plays a role in friendship formation. Unlike in other settings, race/ethnicity was not a significant predictor of friendship ties; this finding is not surprising given that 94% of the sample identified as being from this Northern Plains tribe. The descriptive findings also suggest that AI youth have a significant portion of family ties, even among their school-based networks. This may be a distinct feature of AI networks. Variation in networks across schools suggests unique community contexts that may make a universal approach to prevention development and implementation less effective. Within this tribal community, we find significant differences in the types, sizes, and potential mechanisms of tie formation. This underscores the importance of identifying network variations to implement targeted preventive interventions for feasibility, efficacy, and sustainability.