Native Americans

Native Americans

Robbed of land & resources.

Societies were removed & relocated.

Forced to work as slaves.

Warred upon, massacred, sterilized & undermined ecologically & economically (Thornton, R., 2005).

Genocide: explicit and frequently brutal physical violence perpetrated against Native Americans in an effort to eliminate them as a whole.

European settlers brought over numerous diseases that took the lives of many Native Americans. (Perry, B., 2002).

Historical Oppression

The Major Crimes Act of 1885: An attempt to eliminate Native dominion by extending U.S. government jurisdiction over Indian territories. This was followed by more than 5000 additional statues which extended federal control to Native American authority (Perry, B., 2002).

Indian Removal Act (May 28th, 1830): Called for the relocation of eastern Native American tribes to land west of the Mississippi River, in order to open new land for settlement (ourdocuments.gov).

The Navajo’s Long Walk (1864): More than 8,500 men, women & children were forced to leave their homes in northeastern Arizona and northwestern New Mexico in the dead of winter (crowcanyon.org).

Powerlessness

This occurred when the United States government established The Major Crimes Act of 1885 & disregarded Native American traditions and self-directed rights

The Allotment Act (1887): Helped fragment cultural identities, first by interspersing non-Native allotments among those coded to Native Americans &, second, by requiring Natives to become U.S. Citizens as an condition of allotment (Perry, B, 2002).

Cultural Imperialism

Pequot War (1637): Pequot village was destroyed and over 500 Native Americans were killed (colonialwarsct.org).

Trail of Tears (1836): Many tribes refused to relocate and were forcibly removed by U.S. government. Diseases were acquired & starvation occurred during the journey, resulting in the death of more than 5,000 Native Americans (history.com).

The Plains Wars (1861-1890): Contained episodes of deliberate, systematic extermination of Native Americans (Thornton, R., 2005).

Sand Creek Massacre (1864): 105 Southern Cheyenne & Arapaho women & children and 28 men were slaughtered by 700 armed U.S. soldiers (Perry, B, 2002).

Wounded Knee (1973): Religious oppression ; massacre occurred after Native Americans had already surrendered from war (Thornton, R., 2005).

Violence

Slavery (1492-1501): After the new world was discovered, many Native Americans were forced into slavery.

Exploitation

More so than any other minority groups, Native Americans have been geographically marginalized, first through forcible expulsion into the “frontier” and subsequently by relocation onto reservations (Perry, B., 2002).

Racialized job segregation

Low paying jobs

Felt powerless after colonialism; stripped of their right to control their destinies (Perry, B., 2002).

Marginalization

Hate crimes

Discrimination

Poverty

Lack of resources

Lack of access to care

Current Oppression

Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protection Association (1988): The Supreme Court allowed the construction of a Forest Service road through an ancient site that held sacred by several tribes. In a setback for Native Americans' religious freedoms, the Court ruled that such intrusion did not violate the Indians' First Amendment rights.

Employment Division of Oregon v. Smith (1991): This Supreme Court case determined that a state could deny unemployment benefits to a person fired for violating a state prohibition on the use of peyote, even though the use of the drug was part of a religious ritual. This was eventually overturned in 1993 when President Clinton signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which aimed to prevent laws that significantly weigh down a person’s free exercise of religion. However, this didn’t exactly stick and similar situations like Smith’s have occurred (civilrights.org).

Powerlessness

Seattle Swaps Columbus Day For 'Indigenous Peoples' Day'

This year's Columbus Day holiday will have more Native American flavor in the city of Seattle. Thanks to a unanimous vote this summer by the city council, the federal holiday will now be known by a different name: Indigenous Peoples' Day. Organizers say Columbus should not be credited with discovering the Western Hemisphere at a time when it was already inhabited by Native Americans (Antone, T., 2014).

Cultural Imperialism

Kiki’s Story We decided to ask one of our

Native American classmates if he had any stories that he would be willing to share with us.

He said that when he lived in Flagstaff, AZ and was in high school, both the football & basketball teams (same coach) would bench Native American players. The principal and the administration had to get involved. It turns out that the coach was a bit racially prejudiced against Native Americans and once it was all over he had to play ALL team members.

Offensive use of mascots by schools and professional sports teams (civilrights.org).

Discrimination

Hate Crimes in Our Backyard

Farmington, NM (2012): 3 men were sentenced in federal hate crime charges related to an assault on a 22-year-old developmentally disabled man of Navajo descent.

Victim was taken to men’s home, they waited till he fell asleep and began defacing the victim’s body by drawing white supremacist and anti-Native American symbols on him. Once the victim awoke, he was branded by heating a wire hanger on a stove and burning the victim’s flesh, causing a permanent deep impression of a swastika in his skin (justice.gov).

According to the National Crime Victimization Survey, in 2010, U.S. residents ages 12 or older experienced an estimated 20 million violent & property victimizations.

Native Americans are 2.5 times more likely to experience sexual assault crimes compared to all other races.

1 in 3 Indian women reports having been raped during their lifetime (justice.gov).

Violence Statistics

Violence

Employment Information & homelessness on the reservation The unemployment rate is

between 83 and 85%. As of 2006, 97% of the Native

American population lives below the federal poverty level.

Lack of access to employment: Cities are miles away from reservations.

Overcrowded & scarce living conditions.

There is an estimated average of 17 people living in each family home.

Lack of insulation or central heating & water.

Many live without health care due to travel distances involved in accessing that care. Additional factors include under-funded, under-staffed medical facilities & outdated or non-existent medical equipment.

Leads to a much lower life expectancy. Life expectancy is an average of 45

years for folks on the reservation, when it is 77.5 years in the U.S. as a whole.

Teenage suicide rates are roughly 150% higher than they are for the rest of the country.

The infant mortality rate is the highest on this continent & is about 300% higher than the U.S. national average (Frank, K., 2010).

Lack of resources/access to care for reservation residents

Marginalization

Spirituality plays a central role in health and wellness of the Native American culture.“A lack of wellness

results from an imbalance in one’s spirit, mind & body.”

Spiritual histories (storytelling) are widespread in the Native American population and identify personal, tribal & community assets and resources (Hodge, D.R. & Limb, G.E., 2010).

Strengths

There are over 550 federally recognized tribes that have their own distinct set of spiritual beliefs, values & traditions.

These traditions include dances, death ceremonies, healing rituals, pow-wows, vision quests, animal totems, sweat lodges & dream catchers.

Designated elders are groomed in the healing arts and serve as herbalists, healers & spirit communicators (Hodge, D.R. & Limb, G.E., 2010).

Strengths

Pow-wowsWord derived from

“Narragansett” word powwaw, meaning “spiritual leader.”

Meant for socializing, dancing, singing & honoring the Native American culture.

Can be planned or called for special occasions (Hodge, D.R. & Limb, G.E., 2010).

Animal totems: Birds & animals (reality or dreams) are considered to be totem messengers offering spiritual guidance.

Sweat lodges: Purification rituals that clean & heal the body, mind and spirit (about.com).

Traditions

Strengths

Dream Catchers Intended to protect the

sleeping individual from negative dreams, while letting positive dreams through. The positive dreams slip

through the hole in the center and glide down the feathers to the sleeping person below.

The negative dreams are caught up in the web and expire when the first rays of the sun struck them.

An element of the Native Americans of North America relates to the tradition of the hoop, which symbolizes strength & unity (dreamcatchers.org).

Strengths

Social Location

Social Location

Self-sufficiencyNative Americans were

able to build their own communities & work together as a team.

Strong leadership and respect for families & each other.

Acculturation-Native Americans have been able to adapt to the ways of the dominant group.

Many Native Americans have found entrepreneurship to be a way to get back on their feet & get out of poverty.

An increasing number of tribes are taking the entrepreneurial path of development to prosperity.

A number of tribes have constructed casinos & have opened their own businesses, such as vacation resorts, apparel companies, auto dealerships, etc. that generate thousands of dollars a year (Bandow, D., 1998).

Entrepreneurship

Success

SpiritualityBecause of Native

American spirituality, this is now part of mental health assessments and treatment plans.

Produce oil & gas (Bandow, D., 1998)

Development of natural resources

Success

EmpathyAfter doing our project &

cultural experience portion of the project, we were able to develop much empathy for this culture. Europeans put Native Americans through so much that they did not deserve. They have also never gotten credit for all of their many achievements & successes.

Through our research & newfound learning on the Native American culture, we feel as though we can now understand them on a deeper level & take the best therapeutic approach for our clients.

Education

Lessons Learned

About religion. (2014). Native American Healing Traditions. Retrieved from http://healing.about.com/od/tools/a/nativetools.htm Antone, Tristan. (2014, October 12). Seattle Swaps Columbus Day For 'Indigenous Peoples' Day.' [Web log comment]. Retrieved from

http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2014/10/12/354274630/seattle-swaps-columbus-day-for-indigenous-peoples-day?utm_source=npr_email_a_friend&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20141021&utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_term=

Bandow, D. (1998, April 1). Native American Success Stories: Entrepreneurship Has Lifted Some Native Americans out of Poverty. Retrieved from http://fee.org/the_freeman/detail/native-american-success-stories

Frank, K. (2010, March 25). Native Americans in the U.S. Today: Oppressed and Ignored [Web log comment]. Retrieved from https://revolutionaryfrontlines.wordpress.com/2010/03/25/native-americans-in-the-us-today-oppressed-and-ignored/

History. (2014). Trail of Tears. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/trail-of-tearsHodge, D.R. & Limb, G.E. (2010). A native american perspective on spiritual assessment: The strengths and limitations of a

complementary set of assessment tools. Health & Social Work, 35(2), 121-131.100 Milestone Documents. President Andrew Jackson's Message to Congress 'On Indian Removal' (1830). Retrieved from

http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=25The Leadership Conference. (2014). Native Americans. Retrieved from http://www.civilrights.org/resources/civilrights101/native.htmlThe United States Department of Justice. (2012). Two Men Sentenced for Racially-Motivated Assault in New Mexico. Retrieved from

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/two-men-sentenced-racially-motivated-assault-new-mexicoThe United States Department of Justice. Tribal Communities. Retrieved from http://www.justice.gov/ovw/tribal-communitiesThe Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Connecticut. (2011). 1637 – The Pequot War. Retrieved from

http://www.colonialwarsct.org/1637.htmThornton, R. (2005). Native american demographic and tribal survival into the twenty-first century. American Studies (00263079), 46(3/4),

23-38. Peoples of the Mesa Verde Region. (2011). The Long Walk. Retrieved from

http://www.crowcanyon.org/EducationProducts/peoples_mesa_verde/historic_long_walk.aspPerdue, T. (2012). The Legacy of Indian Removal. Journal Of Southern History, 78(1), 3-36. Perry, B. (2002). From ethnocide to ethnoviolence: Layers of native American victimization. Contemporary Justice Review, 5(3), 231.Understanding the Dream Catcher Religion. (2010). Dream Catchers. Retrieved from http://www.dream-catchers.org/

References