preview

Native Americans a Marginalized Population

Best Essays

Native Americans: A Marginalized Population Vicki Carter The University of Michigan-Flint Native Americans: A Marginalized Population Over the course of time in our country, many groups in our society have experienced being set apart from sustainable communities. Among them are the immigrants, the homeless, the African Americans, those with physical or mental disabilities and the Native Americans. According to McIntosh (1988), “Whites are taught to think of their lives as morally neutral, normative, and average, and also ideal, so that we work to benefit others, this is seen as work which will allow ‘them’ to be more like ‘us’ “ (p. 1). Unquestionably, this was the case back in the nineteenth century when the “White” people thought it …show more content…

Although, every marginalized population has the potential to be denied access to opportunities, there are some groups likely to experience deprivation solely based on color. Martin Luther King Jr. (1963) states, When you have to concoct an answer for a five-year-old son asking in agonizing pathos: “Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?”; when you take a cross-country drive and find it necessary to sleep night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your automobile because no motel will accept you; when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading “white” men and “colored”. (p. 4) Throughout the centuries the “White” people have been known to think of themselves as being superior because of their color. If we look back at the time when the White Europeans came to this country they saw no reason to apply rules of honor to people they considered savages because they looked and acted different. Some might call this kind of thinking Social Darwinism where the “White” race is superior and destined to rule over all others. Clearly, the Native Americans were discriminated because of their color, which resulted in economic deprivation. However, now they play a huge role in our communities. Although while some Native American Tribes may benefit financially because of the casinos, most have the worst standard of living in the United States.

Get Access