I use the case of Native American websites to understand and analyze the processes by which group identity is asserted and groups organize online. I categorize and analyze key structural components within websites, as well as how these key components contribute to the formation of and ascription to group identity. I also analyze community structures, both in terms of their content and the connectivity of linked pathways. I specifically look for similarities and differences in techniques used to reproduce cultural identity and ethnic distinctions in website content and structure.

Drawing upon my previous academic pursuits in Folklore involving ethnography of world cultures, my search narrowed to locating a representation of online groups ascribing to an ethnic identity. After conducting multiple Internet searches, the search string “indigenous online community” led to the website NativeWeb. I found links to hundreds of ethnic groups in North and South America on NativeWeb as well as an expansive Nation index of American Indian tribes. From this index, I observed a vast amount of Native American websites, ranging in scope, tribal specificity, intent, and intended audience. As I continued to research these web pages and Native American cultural history, I observed close similarities and differences in content, structural formation, audience scope, and techniques used to reproduce cultural identity and social boundaries. It appeared that the theoretical concepts of community and identity representation were able to be abundantly applied to illustrate the particular qualities and issues raised within Native American websites.
The American Indian tribal site index on the supratribal website NativeWeb functions as this study’s premier orientating tool to the expansive and evolving digital world of Native American websites. Traversing through websites—by borrowing links from NativeWeb and utilizing subsequent links provided on visited pages—emulates the very processes participants use to navigate and discover other tribal homepages. As my observations continued, I paid close attention to the authenticity, intent, and scope of tribal websites, noting emerging trends in techniques used to establish community and assert group identity. Ideally in field research, the observer selects a sample for study which is representative of the population as a whole and which has several clearly established, know parameters. Within the expanding and evolving confines of cyberspace, this is not yet possible. I used a snowball sampling method to look at a wide range of Native American websites, after which I selected a small set for more detailed analysis, which I present in this study. The set represents two of the main dimensions on which the sites differed: those oriented toward specific Native American tribal groups, and those targeting broader pan-Indian groups.

Website content plays an integral role in shaping the representation of groups, community, and identity online. I cataloged and analyzed three main categories of the data available on Native American websites: discourse, images, and hyperlinks. Discourse or tribe-based descriptors appearing on a website may display how Native Americans refer to themselves and group identity within the community. Images presented within a website aid in shaping the physical perception of a community and its members as well as reproducing cultural identity. Links residing within websites are gateways to other environments. The appearance of links within a group’s website may extend a broader notion of community and create a larger communal structure by suggesting the virtues and commonalities present within a linked site are connected to that of the originating group. While documenting the websites in my selection, I sought to understand the significance of each particular piece of content as well as how these quantities collectively work together to construct cohesive representations of Native groups.

The relational arrangement of web pages as well as their content collectively comprises a website’s structural composition. Whether implicitly or explicitly, structural decisions shape the way participants perceive and navigate website content. These choices dictate the focus of visual persuasion, emphasizing specific objects of content. A website’s broader structural design can have an equally profound impact on member experience by directly affecting participants’ movement through and interaction with virtual terrain. Contextual distinction, tribal organizational structure, scope, as well as cultural values and mores are influential factors reflected in structural decisions. In contrast to website content, structural choices reflect less tangible—but equally important—techniques to foster social organization and interaction among members, assert group identity, and extend broader notions of commonality and communal structure. This study evaluates the significance of spatial and visual placement of content residing on individual web pages, the hierarchical relationship of these pages within overarching website composition, as well as the relationship between websites within a broader relational structure.