The Community Organizing Self Reflection Essay

action and protest from Native American groups such as the National Congress of American Indians

Throughout my life I always thought the little things that we do to help people in our community are the things that made the biggest difference. I learned in church one day on a Sunday about how to improve ourselves to get closer to God. The pastor said that we are so busy with our daily activities that sometimes we get distracted on things that matter the most. Sometimes even though we might be busy, we should just take a brief moment to help others in need. That is why I find community service important because you are not just building our career we are also building our character as a leader and as a citizen.

This paper will conduct a community assessment of Marion County, Indiana. Marion County is located in the heart of Indianapolis, which is the capital of the state of Indiana. Marion County was created April 1, 1822 and was formed from Delaware New Purchase. It was named after General Frances Marion from South Carolina in the Revolutionary War period. This assessment will address the health needs and risks of Marion County through the use of the WGU assessment forms identifying the population’s economic status, neighborhood and community safety inventory, cultural assessment, and the disaster assessment and planning guide.

Tribal sovereignty is a highly debated concept and an important aspect of Native American society. It refers to a tribe’s power to govern itself, manage its membership, and regulate tribal relations. As Joanna Barker stated, “Sovereignty carries the awful stench of colonization.” Tribal sovereignty must be traced to the beginning of colonization in North America. Colonizing nations asserted sovereignty over indigenous people and took away their independent status. The term “tribal sovereignty” carries with it multiples meanings and implications for tribal nations (Cobb, 2005).

For this assignment, I interviewed Tony Easter, a member of the Native American Sac Fox tribe in Missouri. There are three federally recognized Sac fox tribes in the US, one located in Oklahoma, a combined one in Kansas and Nebraska, and one in Iowa. Tony belongs to a branch of the Oklahoma tribe, which unofficially broke from the Oklahoma tribe in the 1970’s following a dispute on the admittance of members through marriage or blood relation to the tribe.

For several hundred years people have sought answers to the Indian problems, who are the Indians, and what rights do they have? These questions may seem simple, but the answers themselves present a difficult number of further questions and answers. State and Federal governments have tried to provide some order with a number of laws and policies, sometimes resulting in state and federal conflicts. The Federal Government's attempt to deal with Indian tribes can be easily understood by following the history of Federal Indian Policy. Indians all over the United States fought policies which threatened to destroy their familial bonds and traditions. The Passamaquoddy Indian Tribe of Maine, resisted no less

Over 100 years ago, the Lumbee tribe of North Carolina pleaded for federal recognition. In 1956, an act relating to the Lumbee Indians of North Carolina was passed, giving the Lumbee tribe the acknowledgment of being of native descent. Recently, an amendment to the 1956 law has been put on the table under the name of “Lumbee Recognition Act.” This amendment will make the Lumbee Indians a fully Federally recognized tribe.  To be recognized as a legitimate native nation, a tribe must have political influence, possess membership criteria,

On a warm February morning, I had the opportunity of interviewing someone who has heavily influenced the Choctaw Nation and as a result changed multiple communities throughout southeastern Oklahoma. That person was former chief of the Choctaw Nation, Greg Pyle. Greg Pyle was born in California, but moved to Oklahoma later in his childhood. He was heavily influenced by his father who never went to college, but read him books about business, which led him to obtain a bachelors in business, and a minor in psychology at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. Despite having several achievements, including being assistant chief for thirteen years, principle chief for seventeen, and being inducted into the Oklahoma hall of fame, Mr. Pyle had a gentle, humble, and a family minded persona.

As a young adult living in Oklahoma, I had never given a lot of thought as to the portrayal of the Native American. Although, it never occurred to me that my perception of life might be different from those growing up and living with the everyday realities reservation life offered. Simply put, I was overjoyed to be amongst those who lived on the reservation and in hindsight, I realize that I was naïve as to the treatment of those I call my people. Growing up, I was always aware of my Native heritage, but truthfully that is where it ended. My grandmother a full blood Cherokee woman was content to live the life to which she had become accustom to in the white man’s world. Therefore, as children, stories of my grandmother’s childhood were never bestowed upon my brothers, sister, and I. Ultimately, leaving us to our own imaginations and with that I created the image I had readily embraced, the image of the beautiful Indian maiden.

I am the third senator from Hawaii to have the honor of serving on the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and follow Senators Daniel K. Inouye and Daniel K. Akaka, both of whom served as committee chairs and worked for decades to advance priorities important to native communities. This committee has jurisdiction to study the problems of American Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native peoples and to propose legislation to alleviate these difficulties. These issues include but are not limited to: education, health care, economic development, land management and the trust responsibilities of the United States.

Native American tribal communities are one of the most disadvantaged and socially vulnerable groups in the United States. Widespread poverty, alcoholism and lack of services are common throughout Native American tribal lands, leading to high social vulnerability on many levels. In addition, tribes and their indigenous traditions may be particularly vulnerable to damage caused by environmental change, as “tribal cultural practices and religious beliefs are rooted in the

During the late 1970’s the American Indian community acquired its greatest achievements in the battle for equal rights. But it would not have been possible to achieve without the following three major events, which gave growth and prosperity to the American Indian Nation, the Occupation of Alcatraz Island, the Siege of Wounded Knee, and the BIA take-over. These events instigated the up rise of aboriginal peoples in the quest for fair treatment. Ultimately resulting in the sovereignty of Indigenous people.

“In developing MEC, the Hobbema First Nations envisioned a center that was community-based, community-focussed, community-supported and community-directed. To address each individual’s unique needs, a program with a holistic approach that in cooperation with other programs and services addresses the employment needs of the Maskwacis people.”

Research is conducted in a variety of different ways using different methods and methodologies. How these methods are used is imperative to how clear and accurate research will be. Community needs assessment is a research method used by many researchers that assists in finding gaps within a particular target group within a particular community. Throughout this paper I will discuss what a community needs assessment is and when and how it is used. I will also discuss some of the strengths and limitations of this method. I then continue to explain some theoretical and practical perspectives when dealing with this method and how it would apply when conducting your own research in a

I wouldn’t really say my community as a whole has an impact on me as a person but people in around me have had a huge impact on me for who I am today. The people who have the biggest impact on me is defiantly my family and friends, I have done so many things with them that made me the person who I am today.