Personal Narrative: The Indian Reservation

The advantages that an individual has who chooses not to attend college are very slim. Depending on whether that person did finish high school or not that individual either has two options either go right into the work force or apply into the military. There is not really much of an advantage for not attending

As a first generation Indian-American, I am no stranger to being a part of a distinct community while observing two unique cultures. Traveling to India exposed me to a dynamic population with rich diversity comprising of numerous languages and differing religions. Though these individuals may have had differing customs from their neighbors, there were similar ambitions to conquer grinding poverty. This poverty can be clearly noticed by seeing citizens sleeping on floors of a railway station, or the lack of air conditioning in searing hot weather. The frailty and mortality of the human condition was starkly visible in India. As a fellow human, I was humbled not only by the lack of privilege and opportunity of many citizens, but also by their

So many of the Indians on the reservation had given up on trying to move on from their poor lifestyle and have decided to stay with their Indian culture. However, this is not the case for Junior. Despite the fact that he grew up with a variety of medical problems and unlucky experiences, he still did not give in. Now why didn’t he just stay within the reservation he was on? It would have been much simpler if he just stayed there with his family than travel outside of the reservation (not to mention the low chances of him succeeding in getting anywhere). So why bother? The simplest reason would be that he’s determined to get a better life.

Going to college will set the basis for your career pathway in the future. High school students contemplate that college is not the right choice for them, but there are multiple benefits that come with a college degree. If students decide to attend college, they may considerate it a waste of time and stress. Unlike high school for some, college needs taken seriously. Attending college prepares and gives you knowledge on what to expect when you start the career. Those who attend college are more than likely to get a higher wage job then individuals who decided not to join.

On the Cheyenne River Reservation, there are on average 3-7 suicides per week, including children as young as seven years old. A recent study showed that nearly 50% of girls in 9th grade at Red Lake Reservation High School have attempted suicide at least once and those rates are only rising every year. In addition to depression, alcoholism, and suicide, Native Americans are also expected to live in such poor living conditions that most reservations don't have access to a safe and adequate supply of water. Waste disposal facilities aren't available in 12% of American Indian and Alaskan Native homes as opposed to the 1% throughout the rest of the nation. Without the acknowledgment, funding, and compassion by not only the government but the general public the livelihood for Native Americans isn't expected to get better anytime soon. All of the denial, ignorance, and uneducated assumptions toward Native Americans isn't going to help them and instead of ignoring the problems we need to address them so that all Americans, especially the Native Americans, have access to the most basic necessities of life: clean drinking water, adequate healthcare, education, access to healthy foods and supermarkets, and better living

As an uncultured, whitewashed, charter school Indian, going into high school trying to find an extracurricular activity for me was a bit of a challenge. I was very unexposed to my culture, and had friends who showed me something I could be apart of. When I saw what it was, I turned the other way as fast as I could. We walked into the Canton cafeteria on a Tuesday after school, and I can truly say I’ve never seen so many Indians gathered in one place—on time—for the same cause. It honestly felt like being back in the motherland, and never do I want to go back there. I look ahead with the only two Indian friends I had standing at my sides and as I stand in awe, they go about greeting everyone and catching up. I’ve never felt so out of place, which was was weird considering everyone usually knew who I was, but I had no idea who any of these people were.

When not going to college you are losing a significant amount of money. Data and proven facts have shown that a numerous amount of people who chose to take the path of not going to college and going into a career directly out of high school are not as successful as people who go into college right after high school and get a degree. The number of people who decide not to go to college continues to decrease yearly which only hurts their lifelong income. By going to college and actually graduating you are guaranteeing a successful career and earnings.

Imagine being put in a horrible situation that one has very little chance of escaping from. This happens to people all over the world and even occurs in Canada and the United States. Often this inability to escape horrible things is faced by many Native American populations. Sherman Alexie the author of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian made this very clear through plot, characters and the themes. Certain points in the novel stuck out which clearly represented how hard it is for Native Americans to escape poverty. Native Americans often believe that they have no control over being in poverty so they do not try to get themselves out of it. When Native Americans try to overcome poverty, they are often unsupported by tribe

My family’s Native American heritage has influenced me by encouraging me to assist the poverty-stricken Lumbee community that I grew up in, whether that be by volunteering my time, energy, or resources. Growing up as a member of the Lumbee community, I have witnessed firsthand the struggles that many Native American families face, including living paycheck to paycheck, being ridiculed for our heritage, and alcohol abuse in many households. My culture has instilled in me the desire to educate the youth to be proud of their heritage despite the derogatory stereotypes that people associate Native Americans with. Unlike many children I was raised with, I have the opportunity to go to college and become only the second person in my family to do

Not many knows this about me, where and how I grew up. I was born in San Francisco, CA, and at the age of 3, my abusive, alcoholic parents abandoned me. I don’t remember how long I was left alone in that apartment until CPS was called, but I do remember being hungry, alone, scared, and what it was liked to not be loved or wanted.

I was born in Darby and raised in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania but based off of my vivid memories, I considered myself to be a Southwest Philadelphian native. When I was in seventh grade, my sister and I started attending Arabic and Islamic School on Saturdays to improve our knowledge of the Islamic religion. The name of of the masjid we would learn at was called the Southwest Community Center. The masjid was not only a school for my sister and I, but also a place of worship for others in the community, which made it very different from a traditional, public school. All the boys had to wear long garments that covered their arms and legs. They also had to wear religious head wear called “kufis”. The girls had to wear long garments as well, but

This article talks about how on Indian Reservations, that if people don’t see you as dumb, then you are not accepted among everybody. If you were smart and Indian, you were considered dangerous but now the education for the schools have gotten a lot better and are teaching them things that they wouldn’t have been taught 20 years ago.

The pros far outweigh the cons on the long run. The benefits include gaining an advantage to my future, making the transition into college easier, and academic rigor. (Bade, 2015) However, in regards to opportunity cost; they are far too many alternatives I will miss as discussed in

Often times it can be difficult if not impossible to make what you think at that moment will be the right choice. One of the biggest factors that will hold people back is that to too often than not we are not completely clear on what type of result or outcome we want from a situation. Think about it, if you don’t really know what kind of result you want it is going to be pretty hard to know what choice is going to be the right one. So what do you do? You get a clear understanding, before you make any choice. Think about its effects in the long term, and short term. Knowing exactly what you want is very powerful. We have all heard the golden rule; do onto others as you would have them do onto you. This is probably one of the most important ideas to keep in mind when making good choices. When we are young a lot of us develop this me, me, me, attitude. We want all the toys, and we don’t want to share. Now this mentality may get us a lot of toys, but it defiantly doesn’t help you make friends. In this day and age a large part of personal success is based on working with others to achieve our goals. If we can help others get what they want, it will be much easier and they will be much more willing to help us get what we want. So when making any choice it is always ideal to think about how can I

1. There is always uncertainty... so learn to be comfortable with it. There is no right or wrong choice, there is only a choice... so make the choice you believe will lead you to your life path. How? Use your intuition and gut feeling.