By Leah Himlie
It’s a bit early for Thanksgiving, isn’t it? Why am I writing about the first Americans? The answer is that in our Eurocentric culture, we often forget about those who were living on this continent long before Europeans showed up: Native Americans. October 14 was Columbus Day, but more and more people are rechristening it Indigenous People’s Day in honor of those whom the Europeans have wronged. Today, many people are not even consciously aware of Native Americans. Many cannot name a Native American congressperson or activist. The general public needs to be more aware of the oppression and erasure that indigenous people still face in today’s world as evidenced by the high rates of missing and murdered indigenous women, high poverty rates, and society’s general attitude toward Native Americans. Hopefully by becoming aware of it, we as a society can work to change it.
The rates of missing and murdered indigenous women are much higher than the national average. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, on some reservations women are murdered at a rate of 10 times the national average. Many times these reports are overlooked, and nothing is done to investigate them, but that may soon change. According to the Pioneer Press, Minnesota has created a task force to study the issue of missing and murdered indigenous girls. They held their first meeting in mid-September. The task force hopes to identify what contributes to these elevated rates and then take preventative measures to protect those women and girls. The goal is to decrease the current rates of missing and murdered women.
The unemployment rate of Native Americans is higher than average as well. Despite the idea that Native Americans all got rich off of casinos, many of them are impoverished and unemployed. According to a program called Running Strong for American Indian Youth, some indigenous communities have unemployment rates as high as 85%. Many homes are overcrowded, half the children do not graduate high school, and internet access is expensive and limited. All these things contribute to unemployment and poverty, but there is not an easy way for them to get out of poverty: it is a cycle. Not finishing high school leads to not being able to get a job or move out, which leads to overcrowding at home, which makes the financial situation worse, which makes it more difficult for kids to graduate high school. This particular poverty cycle was not induced by the Native Americans themselves. When Europeans created the reservations, they made sure there were minimal economic resources and that they were far away from cities. Most of the deals the U.S. government made with tribes were shams or went unfulfilled. Not to mention that during the Trail of Tears, Native Americans had to walk hundreds of miles and couldn’t carry much with them. Now the long-term effects of these actions are clearly visible. The cycle of unemployment and poverty is firmly established.
Society’s perceptions about indigenous people contribute to the obstacles they face outside reservations. Much of the time, their achievements are overlooked or their presence not recognized by the news media. For instance, Greta Thurnburg has risen in notoriety in the past year or so for being such a young activist, but no one has talked about Autumn Peltier. She is a 15-year-old indigenous girl from Canada who has been a clean-water activist since she was eight. She and Thurnburg are both young activists, but only Thurgburg gets international recognition. Native Americans in general don’t get recognition unless they are being stereotyped or their culture is being appropriated. Many times they are stereotyped as being rich from casinos. Even more often their names are appropriated for the use of white people’s sports teams. Incorrect perceptions, general apathy, and erasure of these people have prevented legislation from being passed to help them. We as a society need to acknowledge and dismantle the cultural bias against them.
Native Americans have been systematically oppressed in the United States, and now the effects of it are being seen more clearly. While some things are being done to give justice to the present-day members of tribes, it is not enough and is long overdue. We as individuals need to become more informed of the effects of our ancestors’ mistakes and work to remedy them.
Sources:
• www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2019/07/03/Missing-and-murdered-Indigenous-women-at-risk-in-US-Canada/6441561965033/
•www.twincities.com/2019/09/19/minnesota-task-force-launched-on-missing-and-murdered-native-american-women/
• https://indianyouth.org/american-indian-life/poverty-cycle
Leah Himlie is a student at Rushford-Peterson High School. She is one of eight area students participating in the Journal Writing Project, now in its 21st year.
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