Gilbert 1

Katey Gilbert
Cooper and Whipple
English 5/ Cpush 7
9 May 2018

Take Responsibility- Non Natives are Oblivious to the Harm they are Causing

Throughout my Junior Year in the Academy for Global Studies, our primary focus was

on Native Americans, the history that brought them to this point, and their struggles today. To

further our knowledge we were awarded the opportunity to visit New Mexico and explore native

culture first hand. We visited the To’hajiilee Reservation and spent time at the community school

assisting younger students, toured Acoma sky city (a pueblan village), went on a river rafting trip

down the Rio Grande with a Native American guide, and attended a Native American pow wow.

Throughout this trip I was able to gather direct insight into the culture and hardships of Native

Americans.

There is no denying it; the history between Native Americans and Non Natives is a

violent and tragic one. Most Americans today agree to that being a dark and shameful time.

However, along with the obvious historical ignorance, what needs to be contemplated is how our

Native American citizens are being treated in the present. Visiting, or even driving through, a

modern reservation can be an eye opening experience. The poverty is blatant, and their lack of

basic resources evident. Furthermore, many Native Americans face stereotyping and

discrimination in their daily lives. So, what factors are contributing to this maltreatment?

Unfortunately, the ignorance and insensitivity of the general population seems to be a recurring
theme when searching for an answer. The influence of offensive pop culture and mascots only

goes further to contribute to the obtuseness.

Dr. Cornel Pewewardy discusses this further in her article, “A Pocahontas Paradox: A

Cautionary Tale for Educators” Pewewardy explains the negative repercussions of

misrepresenting and categorizing native people, specifically in pop culture. She goes on to

discuss the damaging effects such media has on young people's’ susceptible and fragile self

esteem. “Young Indian students who are treated as though they are less than human beings in

movie cartoons and as sports mascots, logos, and even in the tomahawk chop, often assume that

they are, indeed, inferior to “normal” children. The effects of this assault on the self-esteem of

American Indian children, when buttressed by other factor that plague their communities -

poverty, cultural dislocation, and related social ills - can be devastating.” (Pewewardy 1) Clearly

these stereotypical references can be observed in several aspects of pop culture, even the NFL

has a team with the offensive name “Redskins.” This blatant ignorance is simply a show of

disrespect towards the Native people. While in New Mexico, on the rafting trip, our guide

disclosed to us the hurt he felt when watching Western movies as a kid. He recalled being

confused as to why the Indians were “always the bad guys.” It is hard to imagine the invalidation

he must have felt in his community. As a society we are all contributing to this factor of

maltreatment as long as these endeavors continue to be supported.

While I was able to get a sense of the state of reservations by visiting one first hand; I

was able to gather statistics and facts on a larger scale through my Independent Based Learning

(or IBL) project. With the help of my research for this project I found, due to lack of funding,

reservations are given dangerously inadequate health care, and poor education. Unfortunately,
Native Americans are being grossly neglected by our government and the results speak for

themselves: 43% of Native American students dropout of high school (these students also hold

some of the lowest test scores in the country), 27% of Natives live below the poverty line, and

suicide is the leading cause of death in Native American youths. Mental health is a eminent issue

within the Native American communities, and the unacceptable state of their health care is only

worsening it. On the river rafting trip the guide disclosed to us first hand the negligence he felt

in regard to health care access. He explained the nearest hospital was over an hour away,

furthermore, he described it as a “place the inexperienced doctors come to practice.” It was very

evident that those living on the reservation were not given access to the services they need.

Throughout America’s time as a nation- we have continuously failed a group of our

citizens. To make matters worse, we are failing the same group whose land was originally stolen

from them. The same citizens who risked their lives fighting for us in our wars . Unfortunately,

to this day, these citizens are still not being treated with the respect they deserve or even given

their basic needs. I went into this year hoping to find the factors that contribute to the

maltreatment of Native Americans. After my extensive research, I am left appalled and

disappointed at how far this issue reaches and the true damage that is being done. Our country

needs to wake up. The shameless disrespect, and offensive symbols still present in pop culture is

unacceptable to say the least. The negligence of reservations by our government is ultimately

costing lives and affecting the general well being of thousands of people. The relationship

between Native Americans and Non Natives is historically complicated, to say the absolute least.

However, while the past cannot be changed, its important to remind ourselves of what we can

change today.
 Works Cited

Dovey Dana. "Healthcare On Native American Reservations Is 'Horrifying:' In The US, Who
You Are Affects How You're Treated." Medical Daily. 2/5/16.
http://www.medicaldaily.com/native-american-reservations-healthcare-terrible-372442.
Accessed January 11.

Raphael, T.J.. "Education And Funding Are Critical Issues Facing Native Communities In The
US." Public Radio International. 11/2/16.
https://www.pri.org/stories/2016-11-02/education-and-funding-are-critical-issues-facing-native-c
ommunities-us.​ Accessed January 11.

Pewewardy, Cornel. “The Pocahontas Paradox: A Cautionary Tale for Educators.” ​Journal of
Navajo Education​, 1996, www.hanksville.org/storytellers/pewe/writing/Pocahontas.html.
Accessed May 23,