We Must Preserve Native-American Land

By: Abby Percy

August 20th, 2020

In the midst of the recent racial awakening in the United States, people of color and allies have been fighting in our country against systemic racism and oppression. Many have begun thinking more about Native American communities and the struggle they endure. I have learned so much about their cultures, racial struggles, and sacred land. The Native American community endures struggles in work, housing, proper representation, cultural stereotyping and appropriation, and much more. The systemic oppression and inequalities that they face are not acknowledged on the same levels as they are with other groups. Native Americans are constantly overlooked and continually are denied justice from oppression the United States government has put them through. They face systemic oppression, and it is time to bring awareness to the effects of their oppression, and how allies can help mitigate the injustices Native Americans face.

We were all taught in school about the brave and courageous Pilgrims that sailed the Atlantic Ocean, arrived in America, were helped by Patuxet Indians, and later invited them to a Thanksgiving we still celebrate in modern day America. The so-called “image” of White Americans living in a peaceful society alongside Natives is completely inaccurate and has affected the way we view the beginning years of their interaction with European pilgrims. This has overall affected how the United States teaches, and educates Americans on the founding of the US. History has always contorted Native Americans and their lifestyle as savage and violent, when in reality they were some of the most advanced groups of people in all of history. They invented complex cities, maintained social order, and designed elaborate agricultural systems. When White Europeans arrived, they brought illnesses with them that killed an estimated 90% of natives, leaving the rest to be forced into marriage. Many others were Native Americans were raped, enslaved, forced off their land, etc. This exclusion from society left a permanent mark on the foundation of America. This mistreatment and disrespect towards Native Americans resulted in events like the Trail of Tears, when Andrew Jackson called for the relocation of the Cherokee Nation in the 1830s to Oklahoma. The inhumane brutal actions of the United States government onto the Natives in the Trail of Tears resulted in many communities being ravished by violence.

Native American culture was different for every group because it was formed around their specific environment, which is why native land is very important to the Native culture and many religious practices. They also practice land-based religion with much of their land sacred to their beliefs. The relationship between Native nations and the federal government is very unsteady. The federal government assures that Native Nations receive the services and resources established in their specific treaty with the government, but, more often than not, the government fails to honor these agreements. The government has terminated 109 tribes and has been responsible for the loss of billions of dollars in income for around 500,000 Indian landowners. Due to the obvious carelessness our federal government has shown to the community, Native Americans living in tribal areas have been dealing with a housing crisis since the beginning of American history. These particular areas deal with high poverty rates,low annual incomes, overcrowding, lack of plumbing and heat, and unique housing development issues. They are underfunded now more than ever. For example, the Northern Arapaho tribe has just 230 reservation homes, and 55% of the tribe is considered homeless. While this is a matter of poverty and unemployment, it is mostly the lack of resources; when you give 230 homes to a population of 11,000, there are going to be many homeless families. You may be wondering why the government supplies Native Americans with reservations housing. “The main goals of Indian reservations were to bring Native Americans under U.S. government control, minimize conflict between Indians and settlers, and encourage Native Americans to take on the ways of the white man. But many Native Americans were forced onto reservations with catastrophic results and devastating, long-lasting effects.” The U.S. government is trying to make up for the tragedies they caused Native Americans, but they are failing, and refusing to acknowledge the disparities and oppression they have caused. The Native American community has become reliant on these once oppressive reservations just to survive and preserve their culture.

Due to the problematic ties between the U.S. Government and Native American communities, disparities and inequalities have developed, and will continue to grow if we do not implement changes and begin listening to Native voices and concerns. In 2017, more than 1 in 5 American Indian and Alaska Native people—22 percent—lived in poverty, compared with just 8 percent of White Americans. Native Americans also face a significant wage gap, Native women only make 58 cents on the dollar compared to White men in similar positions. This is a clear example of systemic oppression. Also, we are all aware that the U.S. census is taking place this year, but did you know that Native Americans have always been disportionately undercounted? The Census determines seats in Congress and election maps for local and state representatives, so as a result of being undercounted, they do not get the proper representation and funding they need to bring change to their community. Oftentimes, the United States Census Bureau does not adequately attempt to count Native communities. Our current leaders even ignore these ongoing problems, like when our current President wanted to drill on Native land, or when the border was going to go through sacred burial grounds of Monument Hill, or even when he used ‘Pocahontas’ as a slur toward a United States senator. Clearly the change must start with us. Everything from the underfunded neighborhood schools to the lack of healthcare access are obvious examples of systemic oppression that Native Americans face on a daily basis.

With the silencing of Native voices becoming prominently normalized, many Americans are unaware of the crisis with missing and murdered Indigenous women across the country. I have witnessed many women on social media platforms like Tik Tok and Instagram trying to spread awareness but getting continuously shadowbanned. There were 5,712 cases of MMIWG in 2016, yet only 116 were logged in the U.S. Department of Justice’s federal database (Murdered /Missing Indigenious Women and Girls). The Urban Indian Health Institution (UIHI) has written an amazing piece on it and I 100% recommend you read it. ”As demonstrated by the findings of this study, reasons for the lack of quality data include underreporting, racial misclassification, poor relationships between law enforcement and American Indian and Alaska Native communities, poor record-keeping protocols, institutional racism in the media, and a lack of substantive relationships between journalists and American Indian and Alaska Native communities.” - UIHI. These women face domestic abuse, police brutality, and sexual abuse, and with the substandard relations with law enforcement, their claims are not taken seriously. We need to bring awareness and support the Native American community in the United States, as they are citizens like the rest of us.

I hope by now it is clear to you that we continually mistreat Native Americans all the time. Change is not going to happen in the White House; it starts with us. We need to hear their stories and be there for them in times of need, now more than ever. The best thing you can do is educate and reflect. I have become more self aware that some of my actions have been done out of ignorance, and now that I have become more educated on Native culture, I try to make up for them. It might not be easy, but it needs to get done. Please check out some of the petitions and articles I have linked, so you can help. You can also look at a past forum The Teen View did on the cultural appropriation of certain sports team names. Education and action is the way to stand up for Native lives. To help the Native American community go here.

Recent by The Teen View: