A detailed ecological model is used to develop a framework for assessing the incidence of child abuse among American Indians. Macro, exo, and micro levels of analysis are extended by the inclusion of mediating and potentiating factors that may either contribute to or ameliorate maltreatment or abuse. Abuse and its consequences are considered in terms of the context in which abuse occurs, the dynamics of the abuser and the abusive situation, and the results for the individuals and institutions involved. Initial discussion notes the difficulty of defining child abuse and outlines the interdisciplinary perspective employed. Subsequent discussion covers: (1) long-term potentiating factors of the macrosystem, with emphasis on Congress and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the education of American Indians, and foster care and adoptive placement in the social welfare system; (2) the legal macrostructure, in terms of governmental versus tribal jurisdiction and the Indian Child Welfare Act; (3) potentiating and compensatory, long-term protective factors of the exosystem; and (4) child abuse in the family microsystem. It is concluded that long-term protective factors, such as tribal and family strengths, have attenuated the impact of long-term ecological stress. Citations number 98. (RH)