Native Now, Equity Now: Implicit Associations Between Native Peoples and the Past Predict Reduced Support for Racial Equity

Abstract

Although over 8 million Native peoples live in the United States, American culture is infused with representations depicting them as people of the past (i.e., the Native-past stereotype). Four studies (total N = 38,009 non–Native American adults who voluntarily visited the Project Implicit website) examined the prevalence of the implicit Native-past stereotype among non–Native individuals and whether this stereotype predicted lower support for Native equity. We developed a Native-past Implicit Association Test to index the implicit Native-past stereotype and document the extent to which people associate Native peoples (vs. White Americans) with the past (vs. the present). Results showed that over two-thirds of non-Native participants demonstrated at least slight implicit Native-past associations (Cohen’s d s > 0.41). Moreover, stronger Native-past associations predicted greater minimization of contemporary Native racism and, subsequently, lower support for policies designed to advance Native equity. This work suggests that the prevalent Native-past stereotype may harm many aspects of contemporary Native peoples’ lived experiences.