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Native American Native Land

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To be a Native American, one is not just born into the ethnicity, but it is the sacredness of the culture, language, religion, and land that makes a person a true Native American, and without these things, there are no Indigenous people. Developing a culture is human nature, and for Native Americans, their culture revolves around the land, and to take that away is to take away who they are. The land may not physically be a part of Native Americans, but without their sacred land, there is a missing part of them. The building of telescopes on Mt. Graham is one example of how the sacred Native land is being taken over. Just like how a wheel is a part of a chariot, the sacred land is part of a Native American, and without it, Native Americans are not whole. Their culture is seen as inferior to white culture because of the Racial Contract, and is why their land is treated with disrespect. Native Americans’ sacred lands needs to be treated with respect and protected because without it, they are no longer Native Americans, they are a group of people without a culture to be a part of. The word sacred is defined as: “considered to be holy and deserving respect, especially because of a connection with a god; connection with religion; considered too important to be changed” (Cambridge Dictionary). But what is sacred to someone, can that really be defined? What may be sacred and important to one person may mean nothing to another, but that does not mean that others should be able to

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