A couple months ago I was happy to see Elizabeth Warren state that she thought Native Americans should be included in the conversation about whether minority groups should get reparations from the government. According to the article she is the only democrat who has entertained the idea, which is rather disappointing.
Few, if any, Americans know the real history of Native Americans in this country. We are fed a narrative since elementary school of a peaceful friendship between Pilgrims and Indians on Thanksgiving day, and then believe the stereotypes as we get older that most Native Americans are casino owners and alcoholics. We get annoyed when groups tell us to change football team logos and names because of their racist nature and tell Native Americans to "get over it."
But based on the history of violence that our own government has perpetrated on the Native American people I believe that changing football team names is the absolute LEAST we could do to make amends...I think we should be doing so much more.
To give a brief history...pretty much since the moment Europeans landed on American soil there has been violence committed against Native Americans. Whether that was by literally slaughtering tribes to take over their lands, forcing them to convert to christianity and forget their culture, or infecting them with diseases the damage done has been vast. I believe one could look back over that time period and justifiably say it was genocide. The shamefulness of it all is that it was done by the hands of our government, and there has been little if any reparations given to amend these atrocities. Many try to dismiss the need for the government to do anything by saying it was a "long time ago" but I see that as a lazy and frankly insulting excuse. The effects of those violent acts continue to harm Native Americans today. Their culture and traditions and languages are disappearing more and more. We continue to desecrate their lands by forcing oil pipelines through them.
It is time as a country to show our remorse and start valuing Native American lives. We can do that by demanding the government give tribes reparations. We can do this by demanding more laws to be passed that protect their lands. We can do this by demanding our schools to be more honest about our country's history in relation to Native Americans. We do them (and us) a disservice by sugar coating it.
I believe it can be done, and I look forward to see whether Elizabeth Warren sticks to her promise, and I hope many other politicians will follow her lead.
I agree with your statement, “I was happy to see Elizabeth Warren state that she thought Native Americans should be included in the conversation about whether minority groups should get reparations from the government. According to the article she is the only democrat who has entertained the idea, which is rather disappointing.”
ReplyDeleteBecause the native Americans are among the earliest inhabitants of the United States, and for a long time, they have been left out in matters of development in the US. The American government has failed to acknowledge contributions made by the Native American, claiming that their suffering is based on a long time ago and therefore do not qualify to for reparation following their torture and discriminations. However, Elizabeth did come out advocating for the Native Americans claiming that they deserve credit and should be compensated by the government. Moreover, I agree with you that the Native Americans need to be recognized and accorded with the right treatment.
I like the way how you give information about history to make me exciting and want to understand more about Native America. I decided to do some research about this problem, and I know that after the Europeans came to America, the Native American experienced much violence, forcing them to forego their faith and become Christians. Their land was grabbed, infected with diseases to weaken them and again forced to abandon their cultural practices (Salisbury, p.10). This humiliation and ignorance have continued even to the state of the American government, where the Native Americans still suffer from ignorance of the American people. They have been associated with crime, running crime gangs, and drinking alcohol. In this regard, the suffering they endured in the early American days needs to be recognized and compensated for their atrocities.
Therefore, I agree with you that the Native Americans deserve more than criticism based on the background. It is recommendable for the politicians to voice out the needs of the Native American and make known to everyone of what they went through in the hands of Europeans, which led to the new America they have. Once the government does reparation, the Native Americans can finally rest and be credited for their endurance. Finally, credit should be given where it’s due.
I agree with your statement, “I was happy to see Elizabeth Warren state that she thought Native Americans should be included in the conversation about whether minority groups should get reparations from the government. According to the article she is the only democrat who has entertained the idea, which is rather disappointing.”
ReplyDeleteBecause the native Americans are among the earliest inhabitants of the United States, and for a long time, they have been left out in matters of development in the US. The American government has failed to acknowledge contributions made by the Native American, claiming that their suffering is based on a long time ago and therefore do not qualify to for reparation following their torture and discriminations. However, Elizabeth did come out advocating for the Native Americans claiming that they deserve credit and should be compensated by the government. Moreover, I agree with you that the Native Americans need to be recognized and accorded with the right treatment.
I like the way how you give information about history to make me exciting and want to understand more about Native America. I decided to do some research about this problem, and I know that after the Europeans came to America, the Native American experienced much violence, forcing them to forego their faith and become Christians. Their land was grabbed, infected with diseases to weaken them and again forced to abandon their cultural practices (Salisbury, p.10). This humiliation and ignorance have continued even to the state of the American government, where the Native Americans still suffer from ignorance of the American people. They have been associated with crime, running crime gangs, and drinking alcohol. In this regard, the suffering they endured in the early American days needs to be recognized and compensated for their atrocities.
Therefore, I agree with you that the Native Americans deserve more than criticism based on the background. It is recommendable for the politicians to voice out the needs of the Native American and make known to everyone of what they went through in the hands of Europeans, which led to the new America they have. Once the government does reparation, the Native Americans can finally rest and be credited for their endurance. Finally, credit should be given where it’s due.