IT IS POSTULATED THAT PARTICULAR FORMS OF VICTIMIZATION ARE A FUNCTION OF TWO BASIC DETERMINANTS - INTERACTIONAL AND STRUCTURAL. THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE VICTIMIZATION OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN IS SEEN AS REVOLVING AROUND TWO KEY ISSUES: THE TYPES OF VICTIMIZATION, AND THE PROCESSES OF VICTIMIZATION. THIS VIEW CALLS FOR SPECIFYING AND DETAILING THE PROCESSES INVOLVING TWO FACTORS - CULTURE CONTACT AND CULTURE CONFLICT. THE CHARACTER AND RANGE OF MUTUALLY PERCEIVED CULTURAL DISCREPANCIES TRANSFORMED THE CULTURE CONTACT BETWEEN WHITES AND INDIANS INTO A BROADER MATRIX OF CULTURE CONFLICT ENTAILING COERCIVE DOMINATION. HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF THE POLITICO-LEGAL RESTRUCTURING OF INDIAN LIFE DOCUMENTS THE USE OF FORCIBLE RESETTLEMENT, DETRIBALIZATION, MISSIONIZATION, ASSIMILATION, AND LETHAL VIOLENCE LEADING TO EXTERMINATION. AS FAR AS TYPES OF VICTIMIZATION ARE CONCERNED, THE FOLLOWING OBSERVATIONS MAY BE ADVANCED: VICTIMIZATION INVOLVED REGIONALLY INSTIGATED, RATHER THAN CENTRALLY LEGITIMIZED AND AUTHORIZED PERPETRATIONS; COERCIVE METHODS RATHER THAN LETHAL VIOLENCE; MORE DISLOCATION THAN IMMEDIATE AND DIRECT DESTRUCTION; IN TERMS OF A GENERAL TREND, MORE ASSIMILATIVE DISINTEGRATION THAN EXCLUSIONARY OBLITERATION; AND FINALLY, MORE TEMPORAL, SEGMENTAL, AND SPORADIC DESTRUCTION THAN TYPICAL GENOCIDE. REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)...ELW