Theories of Underdevelopment and the American Indian

Abstract

This article examines the applicability of the theories of colonialism and dependency to the present underdeveloped situation of American Indians. In the first section, the theoretical and empirical literature is reviewed. The second section applies the general theory to various US minorities, including American Indians. After discussing the shortcomings of this theoretical framework, the article demonstrates how deficiencies found in the colonial analysis of Indian underdevelopment can be corrected by using the supporting theoretical construct of dependency. Among other things, it suggests that dependency analysis of Native Americans, on the basis of previous research, appears, to offer a potentially unified and coherent explanation for the Indian's continued underdevelopment.