Native American Gangs During European Colonization

Chapter Four is entitled, “[The] Scope and Nature of the Current Gang Problem.” It focuses on recent trends in number of gangs, gang members and gang-related crimes in each city. In Inglewood, almost all the neighborhoods were claimed by at least one gang, with gang-unit officers agreeing that the city was facing a major gang problem. In Albuquerque, gangs were involved in drug trafficking and property offenses, with 7 out of 8 gang-unit officers believing the city had a major gang problem. In Las Vegas, migration from other cities was thought to be the primary cause of an increase in gang members. 50% of crime in Las Vegas is attributed to gangs, with most officers believing they had a moderate to major gang problem. In Phoenix, the gang problem is described as wave-like, with 70% of gang-unit officers thinking the city had a major gang problem. These statistics were backed up through interviews with officers and city records.

Native Americans have been neglected, abused, and tormented since the 1700’s when their land was abruptly invaded by Europeans. Europeans declared this “unknown” territory to be their property from then forward and did anything and everything to make sure this would happen. This included forced assimilation, where Natives were stripped of their cultural traditions and forced to assimilate to an english speaking, westernized culture (McLeigh, 2010). This included taking children from their families and sending them to boarding school to learn a new language, new cultural traditions, and new religious practices. Starting in 1860 and lasting until 1970, children were taken from their families at a young age and often lost touch with their family

My argument uses the umbrella term of systematic oppression to allow me to describe the many side effects that violence and misrepresentation has had on Native Americans. It involves suicide rates, alcoholism and how this has pushed Native Americans into the cycle of poverty that is giving rise to more stereotypes. The thesis later focuses on my counter-argument of how Native Americans denounced the two main stereotypes of “The Drunken Indian” and “The Poor Indian” because of their entrepreneurial skills and creativity. These characteristics have allowed them to come out of this intergenerational grief pattern and become more confident in their culture and identity.

Native American people have a unique struggle in society. This stems from cultural epidemics like drug addiction, alcoholism, obesity, and rampant suicide, but also systemic racism and a sort of cultural lag. This is not meant to be a critique of culture, simply an observation of the condition of the families I have helped serve over the course of this internship. To be “Native” has become a slew of stereotypical representations. Stereotypes do not represent reality, but they do affect how individuals view themselves, and limit their ability to become anything but what they are expected to be. This is called the self-fulfilling prophecy. If Native American children grow up in a closed network, such as a reservation or a boundary, they are presented

From its birth, America was a place of inequality and privilege. Since Columbus 's arrival and up until present day, Native American tribes have been victim of white men 's persecution and tyranny. This was first expressed in the 1800’s, when Native Americans were driven off their land and forced to embark on the Trail of Tears, and again during the Western American- Indian War where white Americans massacred millions of Native Americans in hatred. Today, much of the Indian Territory that was once a refuge for Native Americans has since been taken over by white men, and the major tribes that once called these reservations home are all but gone. These events show the discrimination and oppression the Native Americans faced. They were, and continue to be, pushed onto reservations,

The correlation between gangs and drugs has always been an issue for the United States government. Major cities often overlooked the problem of youth gang violence, thinking it was only a 1960’s trend. Sixty years later, gangs and drugs continue to be a problem, but in an increasing number within urban, suburban and rural areas in the United States. People may characterize this problem with words such as violence, increase drug activity, and delinquencies, but not many seem to see the bigger picture. Lack of interaction, collaboration, and strategies from law enforcement, youth centers, businesses, churches, and political icons are increasing gang violence and drug related offenses in major cities. In such cities as Chicago, minority groups are the most vulnerable to joining a gang, which then leads to an involvement with drugs; they are faced with barriers – lack of family support, poverty, segregation, unemployment, etc. An incident that happened in Chicago history is the closing of the Cabrini-Green Project, where people involved with gangs had to find a new home, scattering gang-members throughout the city, and eventually leading to their spread and growth.

The American government and society has played a substantial role in the decline of both the Native American and Inupiat culture. They created inhumane boarding schools and oppressing laws that inhibited those of a different culture from being themselves and partook in the urbanization of cultured communities. The following practices need to be stopped and never forgotten so that such ethnocide doesn't happen again.

Native Americans in the United States have reported to come from many different tribes. American Indians are likely to experience violent crimes at more than twice the rate of all other U.S. residents. The rate of violent crimes committed against Native Americans is substantially higher than any other minority group in the United States. Yet, little or no attention is paid to them. According to information collected by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), American Indians are likely to experience violent crimes at more than twice the rate of all other U.S. residents.

W.E.B Du Bois once stated “to be a poor man is hard, but to be a poor race in a land of dollars is the very bottom of hardships” (qtd. in Rodgers 1). The Native American culture is often overlooked by many people in the United States today. What many people do not realize is that about twenty-five percent of Native Americans are living in poverty (Rodgers 1). A majority of the poverty among Native Americans is due to the United States breaking treaties that promised funds for their tribes. When non-Native Americans first began migrating to North America, the Indians were slowly having their land stripped away from them, and being pushed to live on small, poorly kept reservations. As well as taking

Our nation’s history has been deep rooted in the conflict involving Native Americans, ever since the beginning of America and it is one hard to get rid of even as the days go by. The impact of colonialism can be seen in Native American communities even today, and it can only be understood through a cultural perspective once you experience it. Aaron Huey, who is a photographer, went to Pine Ridge reservation and it led him to document the poverty and issues that the Sioux Indians go through as a result of the United States government’s long term actions and policies against them. One must question all sources regarding these topics because there is a lot of biased and misinformation about Native American struggles, and sometimes schools do not thoroughly teach the truth so students can get an insight. There are also different sociological perspectives in this conflict, along with many differing opinions on how to approach the problem and deal with it. This is where ideas clash because people believe their views are right regarding how to handle it.

Native Americans have felt distress from societal and governmental interactions for hundreds of years. American Indian protests against these pressures date back to the colonial period. Broken treaties, removal policies, acculturation, and assimilation have scarred the indigenous societies of the United States. These policies and the continued oppression of the native communities produced an atmosphere of heightened tension. Governmental pressure for assimilation and their apparent aim to destroy cultures, communities, and identities through policies gave the native people a reason to fight. The unanticipated consequence was the subsequent creation of a pan-American Indian identity

Through the years minority groups have long endured repression, poverty, and discrimination. A prime example of such a group is the Native Americans. They had their own land and fundamental way of life stripped from them almost unceasingly for decades. Although they were the real “natives” of the land, they were driven off by the government and coerced to assimilate to the white man’s way. Unfortunately, the persecution of the Natives was primarily based on the prevalent greed for money and power. This past impeded the Native American’s preservation of their culture as many were obviated of the right to speak the native language and dress in traditional clothing. Because of this cultural expulsion, among other

As many prominent scholars have postulated, there is very little research addressing the multifaceted dynamics with respect to Aboriginal gang involvement from a Canadian perspective. This paper intends to advance the understanding of the pathways involved in Aboriginal gang formation, recruitment and participation by critically examining the historical and institutional impediments, which have contributed to the facilitation of this phenomenon. In the process, this paper will apply the foremost tenets of social control theory in order to provide a holistic account of the context that enables the proliferation of Aboriginal gangs within Canada. Correspondingly, the formulation of these results will subsequently be useful for policy-makers

Europeans came to the United States and seized the opportunity to take advantage of the Native Americans and in order for them to do that they needed to take away Native nations’ political power. Europeans brought ideas of social control, social hierarchy, and criminal justice system to these Native nations to “delegitimize Native worlds and attack their constructs” (Ross, 14). Through these new ideas, Europeans establish superiority over them and attempt to assimilate Native Americans to European culture. When Native Americans were not assimilating, Europeans decided to make them criminals and incarcerate them. Incarcerating Native Americans, allowed for Europeans to gain political power over them and take their land and

This book has been a really helpful source of information on Indigenous peoples in the U.S. It beginning chapters were useful for information on the area category, and the last few chapters discuss U.S. government intervention onto reservations in an attempt to make positive change. However, even though their intentions of increasing Native education in the mid-1900’s, their ways of carrying out such “help” was oppressive and demeaning. These chapters, among other policies, discuss Native American boarding schools where teens from tribes were brought to schools, and there were forced to learn European norms in an attempt to diminish their traditional culture. This resources shows that even in the modern day, not all aid is helpful and intentions can be multifaceted.