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Donaji Diaz
9/22/2013
Kelley
AP Lang 5th
What is an American?
Many people forget about the true Americans, the Native Americans and how they were
treated during colonial times. When the Europeans came in contact in with the Natives in the
New world, the Native population decreased by 90%. The Natives were outnumbered in their
own home. They were marginalized in colonial times and continue to be marginalized today, the
way Native Americans are treated today have not changed.
The Native Americans were peaceful with the Europeans. They traded with them, helped
them survive the harsh winters, and taught them about the land. After all the Native Americans
did to the Europeans, The Native Americans were killed and kicked out of their homes, by the
Europeans. The Europeans came to the "new world" and settled down close to Native American
tribes. When The European population started to increase and the land decreased, the Native
Americans were forced to move. The Native Americans were always frowned upon and were
lower than the Europeans. No one understood their culture, and wanted them to convert to
Christianity. The ways of the Native Americans were always below those of the Europeans.
Thomas Jefferson in the letter to Benjamin Hawkins, states than the white man's ways are better
than the Native Americans, "I consider the business of hunting as already become insufficient to
furnish clothing and subsistence to the Indians." (Jefferson) in his letter Jefferson also implies
that The Natives need to be United States Citizens for their survival, "Surley it will be better for

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them to be identified with us, and and preserved in the occupation of their lands, than be exposed
to the many casualties which may endanger them while seperate people." (Jefferson)
Native Americans were forced to live on reservations, which still exist today. "I drove
past a number of Indian reservations in Arizona and New Mexico, and I must say that the sight
was not exactly uplifting. I could see hundreds of tumble-down shacks and old trailers located on
hillsides, and none of them were inviting places to live."(Anderson) The conditions that the
Native Americans live on are worse than the conditions of the average American. Native
Americans are also the poorest people in the United States today. 400,000 who live on
reservations, have the highest poverty, unemployment and disease rates of any ethnic group in
America. Native Americans have now gone to the bottom of the social class in the United States.
The dates have changed, but the living conditions have stayed the same, or have even
gotten worse since colonial times. Hundreds of years have passed but Native Americans are still
treated badly today. They are still pushed away to one side and not treated the same. They live on
the worst conditions possible in the United States. . Native Americans were marginalized in
colonial times and still are today.

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Work Cited:
Jefferson, Thomas. "Policy of Civilizations and Assimilation." Letter to Benjamin Hawkins.
1803. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Print.

Anderson, William L. "The Ludwig Von Mises Institute." Living on the Reservation. N.p., 26
Sept. 2006. Web. 22 Sept. 2013.