Native American Issues
From Wiscopedia
Contents |
[edit] Where do Progressives Stand?
- The elimination of racist slogans, mascots, and other presentations of inappropriate Native American culture by schools, businesses, and other institutions is necessary.
- The Federal Government should adequately fulfill its monetary obligations to the Native American Reservations and their communities.
- Native American discrimination is a real problem throughout the United States and needs to be discovered and eliminated in all communities.
- It should be determined whether or not the tribal authorities are doing an effective job monitoring their reservations and if failures are the result of a lack of funding or other factors out of their control, or if serious reform and restructuring is needed as of yet.
[edit] Hot Topics
[edit] Failing Health Care
Due to the Federal government’s ineffective funding to the Native American reservations, the provided health care is terrible on most if all. Many are dying from preventable diseases like diabetes and this is all going on despite reservations providing universal health care to all its citizens. (See article, Dr. Donald Warne, M.D., MPH, the Progressive, 2008.05.20)
[edit] Discrimination at School
Many Native American students are signaled out in schools for disciplinary action, being the first to be suspended or expelled. In some communities it has gotten so bad that only a small fraction of the Native American students even graduate. Much work needs to be done to ensure equal treatment. Once kids start graduating from school drug abuse and alcoholism can drop, as well as crime. (See article, Mary Annette Pember, the Progressive, 2007.02)
[edit] Ending Racist Media
It took a long time, but it seems that finally many people have gotten the message that using cultural Native American images was offensive to the tradition of that culture. It is very important that everyone can see the beauty of what these objects represent and not use them in an inappropriate manner, but instead show their respects to this ancient culture. (See article, Progressive Resource, 2007.02.16)
[edit] In the News
Univ. of Illinois Ends The Use of The "Chief": Anti-"Chief" Org. Sees Victory of Grassroots Action. On the morning of Friday, February 16th, University of Illinois Board chairman Lawrence Eppley announced the end of the racist “Chief Illiniwek” tradition. The “Chief” has served as the symbol and mascot of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for eighty years. In 1989, a grassroots movement began for the complete elimination of the inappropriate tradition and the use of race-based imagery. After a long struggle, both the University’s academic and athletic credentials were challenged for carrying on such a tradition. Most recently, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) put the University of a short list of schools who could not host post-season tournaments due to the NCAA’s restrictions on the use of Native American imagery. Progressive Resource, 2007.02.16
Native American health suffers due to inequality. The lack of federal funds from the United States has allowed the Native American health care budget to go under-funded and unable to provide essential care. Dr. Donald Warne, M.D., MPH, the Progressive, 2008.05.20
Graduating to Prison: Native Americans Sue School District. The racial rift between the Indian and non-Indian communities here in this town bordering the Rosebud Sioux (Lakota) reservation recently emerged in the form of a class action lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of the Dakotas and the attorney general of the Rosebud Sioux tribe against the Winner, South Dakota, school district. The organization claims to have identified a disturbing trend in which public schools disproportionately target children of color for criminal prosecution for minor school code violations. About 30 percent of Winner elementary school students are Native American, yet only 1 percent makes it to high school graduation. Native students are three times more likely to be suspended from school and ten times more likely to be referred to law enforcement than white students. Mary Annette Pember, the Progressive, 2007.02
[edit] Facts and Statistics
- Nearly a third of Native Americans live in poverty, compared to approximately 12 percent of the rest of the country.
- American Indians are the only population born with a legal right to health care in this country.
- Native Americans 19 years and younger are at greater risk of preventable injury-related deaths than others in the same age group in the United States (Wallace 2003).
- Injuries and violence account for 75% of all deaths among Native Americans ages 1 to 19 (Wallace 2000).
- Tribal membership is determined by the enrollment criteria of the tribe from which Indian blood may be derived, and this varies with each tribe. Generally, if linkage to an identified tribal member is far removed, one would not qualify for membership.
- There are more than 550 federally recognized tribes in the United States, including 223 village groups in Alaska.
- Approximately 56.2 million acres of land are held in trust by the United States for various Indian tribes and individuals.
- On Indian reservations only federal and tribal laws apply to members of the tribe unless the Congress provides otherwise.
- In federal law, the Assimilative Crimes Act makes any violation of state criminal law a federal offense on reservations.
- The Gaming Regulatory Act allows traditional Indian gaming as well as bingo, pull tabs, lotto, punch boards, tip jars, and certain card games on tribal land.
[edit] Organizations
Teaching Tolerance Dedicated to reducing prejudice, improving inter-group relations and supporting equitable school experiences for our nation's children.
Native Americans Contains general information on the history and culture of the Native Americans.
Native American Heritage Foundation Established to provide relief services to Indian people nationwide and to build bridges of understanding and friendship between Indian and non-Indian people.
DreamCatchers Incorporated A non-profit, charitable organization fostering the creation of Native American feature films, documentaries and other events to promote cross cultural communications.
National Indian Education Association The National Indian Education Association (NIEA) is the largest and oldest Indian education organization in the nation and advocates for Indian control of Indian education.
National Indian Health Board The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) is a nonprofit organization representing tribal governments that advocates for improvements in health care for Indian communities.
National Congress of Indians The National Congress of Indians provides national leadership on issues facing tribal communities throughout the United States. Services include legislative alerts and lobbying.
