Indian rolling (or Injun rollin')[1][2] is the assault, and in some cases murder, of often homeless[3] Navajo and Apache individuals committed by non-Indians in the Southwestern United States, especially in the border towns surrounding the Navajo Nation and Jicarilla lands. In her 2006 dissertation, Lisa Donaldson classifies Indian rolling as a "thrill-seeking hate crime" and traces its roots to the colonization of the Southwest which created a "power differential between groups that led to negative feelings toward minorities among law enforcement and local citizens".[2]
The assaults, which often target comparatively defenseless alcoholic men, are variously described as "rites of passage",[1] "sport",[4] and a "recreational pastime"[2] to the perpetrators. Survivors report the act involves being assaulted with rocks, pellet guns, bottles, eggs, and baseball bats. Victims claim, furthermore, that law enforcement officials often refuse to intervene.[5]
The term first came to public notoriety in the spring of 1974 when three Navajos were beaten and murdered by three white teenagers. Jesse Howard Bender and Delray Ballinger, both 16, and 15-year-old Matthew Clark murdered the three men in the city of Farmington, New Mexico and left the mutilated bodies in a nearby canyon.[1][4] The perpetrators were convicted of murder, but sent to a reform school after attempts to prosecute Bender and Ballinger as adults were unsuccessful (Clark was too young to be tried as an adult under state law at the time).[6] None of them served more than two years in custody. Bender, who was considered the ringleader in the murders, died at age in 20 on October 1, 1977, after being struck in the head by the side mirrors of a van while jogging.[7] Clark later served time in prison for convicted of forgery, theft, unauthorized use of a vehicle and escape in Texas. He served additional prison time in Washington for sexual abuse, forgery, and credit card fraud.[8]
Subsequent protests by tribal members turned into riots when permits to march peacefully were revoked or not granted.[9] The incident triggered a report by the New Mexico Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights and inspired the true crime-novel The Broken Circle—A True Story of Murder and Magic in Indian Country by Rodney Barker.[5][10]
Concerns about the practice's revival emerged in the 1970s to 2000s after a resurgence of attacks against Native Americans in the area.[1][11] Assaults have allegedly taken place in the Arizona cities of Flagstaff, Phoenix, and Page and in Gallup, New Mexico.[3]
See also
- Hate crime
- Lynching of Native Americans
- Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women
- Police brutality against Native Americans
- Saskatoon freezing deaths
- Thrill killing
References
- ^ a b c d Nieves, Evelyn. In Navajo country, racism rides again. salon.com 2 September 2006.
- ^ a b c Donaldson, Lisa Weber. "Indian rolling": White violence against Native Americans in Farmington, New Mexico. Dissertation (Publication 3220935). University of New Mexico, 2006.
- ^ a b Linthicum, Leslie. "Dirty Secrets Emerge After 'Indian Rolling'". Albuquerque Journal. 19 July 2009. Accessed 2011-03-26.
- ^ a b Linthicum, Leslie. Farmington Struggles With Civil Rights Issues. Albuquerque Journal. 1 May 2004. Accessed 2011-03-26.
- ^ a b Banish, Laura. Homeless: ‘Indian rolling’ still takes place today. The Daily Times. Farmington. 23 April 2004.
- ^ "Chokecherry Canyon Killings Las Cruces Sun News". Las Cruces Sun-News. 1974-05-02. p. 5. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
- ^ Albright, David Edward (2024-08-26). "Chokecherry Massacre, protests shocked Farmington 50 years ago". Durango Herald. Retrieved 2026-02-13.
- ^ Banish, Laura (April 2004). "The Broken Circle — 30 Years Later". The Farmington Daily Times.
- ^ Research Report: Navajo Community and Farmington, New Mexico (2006). Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine The Pluralism Project at Harvard University. Accessed 2011-03-26.
- ^ Barker, Rodney. The Broken Circle—A True Story of Murder and Magic in Indian Country. Simon & Schuster. New York: 1992.
- ^ Draper, Electa. Attacks recall racist history of N.M. town. Denver Post. 13 July 2006.
External links
- The Farmington Report: A Conflict of Cultures. New Mexico Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights. 1975.
- American phraseology
- Euphemisms
- Hate crime in the United States
- Anti-Indigenous racism in New Mexico
- Navajo history
- Native American topics
- Alcohol and Native Americans
- Southwestern United States
- Racially motivated violence against Native Americans
- Violence in New Mexico
- Violence in Arizona
- Violence against homeless people in the United States
