The Reservation Land For Native Americans

In a Bill Moyer’s interview “Sherman Alexie on Living Outside Borders”, Moyer’s interviews Native American author and poet Sherman Alexie. In the Moyer’s and Company interview, Alexie shares his story about the struggles that he endured during his time on a Native American reservation located at Wellpinit, Washington. During the interview, Alexie goes in-depth about his conflicts that plagued the reservation. In an award-winning book by Sherman Alexie called “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian”, Alexie writes semi-autobiography that reveals his harsh life on the reservation through a fictional character named Arnold Spirit Junior. In Alexie’s semi-autobiography, Alexie shares his struggles of a poor and alcoholic family, the

Shanice Britton is a young Native American writer who grew up inside the Round Valley Indian Reservation in a small town where she knew everyone. Britton grew up learning about Native American traditions and customs. She was taught from a young age that she should always respect adults, support that tribal leaders, and have pride in her culture by keeping alive the traditions of her ancestors. Therefore, it was a little bit of a shock when she moved to Davis, California to attend the University of California. In an article that Britton wrote for Scholastic Choices, Britton recounts a comical and illustrative incident shortly after she moved there: “I was eating in a cafeteria with some other high school students, and this one girl asks me: ‘Do you live in a teepee?’” (Britton & Bianchi 2015). This anecdote is a perfect representation of some of the misconceptions or, simply, widespread lack of knowledge of the Native American population when it comes to people who are not part of that community. There are many aspects of Native American life that are not understood correctly by the general

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a book about a young boy just entering high school who leaves his best friend and family to go to school mostly occupied by white people. This whole book follows him through his first year in this school where he tries to get a better education than he can get on the Rez, in the hopes that he will one day get off that reservation and out of his soul crushing poverty. “The Absolutely True diary of a Part-Time Indian” ATD, Sherman Alexie uses unfortunate events, social class and conversations to show that not everyone gets the support they need to follow their dreams.

When the settlers invaded the Indian’s homeland, they weren’t happy about it. They were very angry. Some were forced out of their homeland, and others decided to stay because they were afraid to leave. The people who stayed were put into reservations. Reservations still exist today; it is land that is reserved for Indians under a treaty or an agreement. The Indians didn’t want to be put into reservations, but they had no other option but to agree with the government. I looked into the reservations and they still exist today. The Indian Country Today states that there is a housing crisis in Indian country. Despite the Indian Housing Authority's (IHAs) recent efforts, the need for adequate housing on reservations remains acute. I think that it is horrible what they’re going through after all of these years, you would think that they’re living conditions would have gotten better, but sadly it hasn’t improved.

Native Americans are entitled to the same Constitutional protections that guard other citizens from federal government infringement. Plenary power and the accompanying seizure and use of indigenous land bases have violated the rights of Native Americans and demonstrated the inability of the federal government to manage Indian affairs. The United States should give ownership and control of original, non-privately owned land bases back to tribes. This course of action would end treaty violation, compensate tribes for land takings, prevent bureaucrats from implementing policies that obstruct the ability of Native Americans to participate in their

Lives for Native Americans on reservations have never quite been easy. There are many struggles that most outsiders are completely oblivious about. In her book The Roundhouse, Louise Erdrich brings those problems to light. She gives her readers a feel of what it is like to be Native American by illustrating the struggles through the life of Joe, a 13-year-old Native American boy living on a North Dakota reservation. This book explores an avenue of advocacy against social injustices. The most observable plight Joe suffers is figuring out how to deal with the injustice acted against his mother, which has caused strife within his entire family and within

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,

Ever since white men came to the New World, they were never at peace with the native peoples. One of the first white men to come to North America was Sir Walter Raleigh, who took the Indians he met as slaves as early as 1584. In the years that followed, settlers forced the Native Americans further and further west. By the year 1850, there had been many attempts at peaceful negotiations and uprisings on both sides, but the government eventually decided that reservations were the only way to contain the Indians and have peace. These reservations took away their pride, freedom, and way of life. Native Americans in reservations today are still plagued by lack of food and shelter, health and

Ever since the very first colonies were formed, the Native Americans have been forced out of their beloved inveterate lands in order for the Americans to be able to expand their new found territory. Yet, nothing ever changed and the same economic policies continued, bringing nothing but destruction to the Native people. Meanwhile, the political and social policies were dramatically distorted, deceiving the tribes into losing land and cultural values. Jackson’s efforts to remove any and all Cherokee Indians to territory west of the Mississippi in the 1830’s maintained the same economical attitudes as before but changed the social and political policies set by the previous colonies and the United States government towards the Native Americans.

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

Sherman J. Alexie, is a short story written in the first person focusing on two Native American Men who grew up together on a Reservation for Native Americans but have been estranged from each other since they were teenagers. Victor who is the narrator of this story is a young man who lost faith in his culture and its traditions, while Thomas our second main character is a deeply rooted traditional storyteller. In the beginning of the story Victor, our Native American narrator learns the death of his father. Jobless and penniless, his only wish is to go to Phoenix, Arizona and bring back his father’s ashes and belongings to the reservation in Spokane. The death of Victor’s father leads him and Thomas to a journey filled with childhood

Under the custom of Native American tribes that lived in what would become Vermont, land was used by the community, and not owned by individuals or families. They believed that land was a living being, and that people should live in harmony with the land, not dominate it. In contrast, the European settlers thought that people have a moral right to rule over the land. (Hands on the Land, page 70) Samuel D. Champlain in 1609 was the first explorer to sail through the lake between Vermont and New York, that he would be named after. He represented the French, who were the first to want to claim the land.

With the federal government’s support, many Native tribes have constructed Native Governments and Corporations where the rights to land and money are placed to their own responsibility. What this actually means is that the rights of the people’s land and monetary bonds are transferred from governmental trust to

Since the settlement of America, Native Americans have received the short end of the stick. Settlers continuously encroached upon Native American land, completely disregarding the fact the Indians were there first. After years of displacing the Indians and fighting with them, the government allotted reservations for the Indians to call their own. Now that tribes have been finally given a chance at economic development, many reservations have taken advantage of casinos to provide a better life for tribal members. Moral issues have been brought up, from government to non Native Americans. Even tribal members argue the moral issues. "People who are fighting this are fighting it for a variety of reasons. It's just how it would change the whole community, the flavor. Having a 24-7 bright-lights, honky-tonk feel, it's just not what people want." Says Susie Dewberry, a Suislaw tribal member. (Pittenger)

Racial identity is defined as the contributing factors to a race’s culture, pride, teachings, and history. Racial attitudes and the legal and political status of American Indian nations and Indian people influenced Native American identity. During its early history, the US often made treaties with the leaders of Native peoples and established a government to people relationship with Native tribes. With the increasing volume of movement westward, the United States began a common policy of “relocation” and “removal” of some of those tribes with whom treaties had already been signed. To this day, Natives haven’t recovered. It can be seen in statistics regarding poverty rates, Reservation Indians have a 39% poverty rate while