race relations chapter 6

Colonialism on worldwide level

Pattern of land seizure, subjugation, assimilation, and resistance to domination has been repeated with Indigenous peoples on an international level, not just in the US

European contact with Native Americans

• European immigrants who followed Columbus didn't understand the Native Americans

• Europeans had superior weaponry and brought diseases that wiped out populations of Native Americans throughout the Western Hemisphere

• Native American population north of Rio Grande decreased when the Europeans came because their food sources disappeared, and they became diseased by measles, smallpox, influenza

• The US does not bear total responsibility; Spaniards, French, and English colonists also do

• Missionaries traveled in effort to Christianize Native Americans before they came in contact with Europeans

• Fur trappers learned Native American customs but established routes of commerce that Europeans followed

*Contact of Europeans with Native Americans became characterized by land seizure, subjugation, and warfare

US policy and Native Americans

• US policy formulated toward Native Americans during the 19th century so that White Americans could have precedence against Native Americans if they interfered with needs/whims of Europeans

• Tribes were viewed as separate nations to be dealt with via treaties between them and the federal government; the government would deal harshly with them in negotiations when they refused to agree to the treaty, clearly in favor of Europeans

• The government's primary emphasis was to maintain peace and friendly relations while protecting the growing number of Europeans arriving, but as they settled more westward they encroached more on Native American land, causing conflict

Indian Removal Act (1830)

called for relocation of all Indigenous people west of the Mississippi River; opened more land for settlement through annexation for Europeans

*Europeans felt the Native Americans had no right to block their progress; any notions of sovereignty of their nations were ignored

*Governmental priorities set on allowing settlers to live and work, minimal negotiation efforts

*Moved many nations using the Trail of Tears to reserves

*limited functions of tribal leaders to force easier assimilation

*military force used for genocide

*Poor planning, corrupt officials, little attention to diseased Native Americans, inadequate supplies, and deaths of thousands were characterized by this forced movement

*Disrupted their cultures

Allotment Act (1887)

bypassed tribal leaders and proposed making individual landowners of tribal members; each family was given 160 acres under the government's assumption that Native Americans would assimilate to become more like White settlers

*Prohibited Native Americans from selling the land for 25 years so they would remain homesteaders, and gave them no guidance on cultivating the land or assistance in adapting to homesteading

*Homesteading is the act of living self sufficiently by practicing subsistence agriculture, producing textiles/clothing, and craftwork for sale

*Subjected them to capitalism and American economy

*Severed Native American's intimate relationship with the land and weakened their sense of roots, culture, and worldview

Indian Reorganization Act (1934)

Benefited Native Americans by allowing tribes to adopt a written constitution and elect a tribal council containing a head; imposed foreign values and structures by making the elected head representative of an entire reservation that included several tribes (some of which were enemies)

*leader had to be elected by majority rule, forced democracy (which wasn’t previously practiced by tribes)

*mixed blood had full voting rights

*facilitated tribal dealings with government agencies but included forced assimilation because it was making their systems more like the dominant group’s systems; tribes absorbed within the political and economic structure of larger society

*solidified tribal identity but maintained non-Indigenous control over reservations, so tribal governments rested at the bottom of a large administrative hierarchy

Reservation development and issues

*A Native American living on a reservation has their life mainly controlled by the federal government, including road conditions, level of fire protection, educational quality, etc.

*instead of creating economy more familiar and in line with tribal practices, such as from fiber production, jewelry making, art trading, etc., newer industries employed members into coal and uranium mining; this led to health problems, but they were stuck with these jobs

*Although the Navajo used coal and uranium to produce cheap electricity for US states, the reservation itself was devoid of utility services and electricity

*Navajo people and leadership refused to bring gambling casinos to the reservation due to seeing gambling as not in line with their cultural traditions, concerns about addiction, and other social problems accompanying it; despite this, the tribe had to yield due to economic stagnation and received very little revenue compared to other tribes with casinos

*Another serious problem arose from federal government's conscious decision to locate enemy tribes to the same reservation

Legal claims and grievances

Native Americans want to recover their land rather than accept financial settlements; for instance, after legal decisions and US Supreme Court ruling favoring Sioux Nation, Congress paid $106 million for the land that was previously illegally seized, but they rejected the financial offer and instead lobbied for Congress to return their tribal authority

*Despite the need for housing, food, healthcare, and education, the Sioux would rather regain the land lost

Termination Act (1953)

proposed greater autonomy while simultaneously reducing federal expenditures (a goal among taxpayers); the services the tribes received were fulfilled treaty obligations (the bare minimum), which included subsidized medical care and college scholarships

*The affected Native Americans viewed this policy as a threat to reduce services rather than a release from arbitrary authority, with greater self-governance coming at an expensive fee

*Emphasized cost reduction rather than their actual individual needs and recommendations for a period of tax immunity were dropped; federal services such as medical care, schools, and road equipment were supposed to be withdrawn gradually but instead stopped immediately

*There was no coordination between local government agencies and the tribes to determine whether services could be continued, which resulted in major economic upheaval, missing road repair and fire protection previously provided, etc.

Employment assistance program (1962)

primary provision was to relocate Native Americans (either at individual or familial level) at the government's expense to urban areas where job opportunities were greater than those on the reservations

• Depressed economic conditions of reservation life could be mitigated by government initiatives to attract businesses and industries to locate themselves on or near reservations, provided tax incentives that would pay for themselves, etc.

• Rather than take jobs to Native Americans, the federal government decided to lead highly motivated Native Americans away from their reservation, further destroying economic potential

*BIA stressed that this policy was necessary, but many Native Americans felt compelled to leave the reservations given the lack of viable economic alternatives available; this program was not suitable for those who didn't want the urban experience, so many people in this policy eventually returned home to their reservations

movement of Native Americans into urban areas

further reduced labor force on the reservation (more educated people leave)

• The city became the new meeting place of Indigenous people, who learned that their struggles were similar to those of other POC

• Government agencies developed a policy of continued assistance to nonreservation Native Americans, but the problems they face in cities still persist

Pan-indianism

refers to the intertribal social movements in which several tribes, joined by political goals but not by kinship, unite in common identity; historically, unions like this were meant to resist military incursion in their lands, but today they're used for cultural efforts and political protests of government policies

*Native Americans collectively work through tribal or reservation government action and across tribal lines

*proponents of movements see tribes as captive nations/colonies, and viewed as enemies by federal government; efforts usually fail to overcome cultural differences and distrust among nations

National Congress of American Indians (1944)

the first national organization representing Native Americans, registered as a lobby in Washington DC to make their perspectives heard after the Indian Reorganization Act

American Indian Movement (1968)

one of the most visible pan-Indian organizations, it was to create a patrol to monitor police actions and document charges of police brutality; eventually it also promoted alcohol rehab and school reform programs

Fish-ins

protested interference by Washington state officials with Native Americans, who argued that they were fishing in accordance with the 1854 Treaty of Medicine Creek and therefore not subject to fine or imprisonment despite violating White society law; the fish-ins included protesters fishing in restricted waterways, a form of civil disobedience to gain attention to grievances with government

*raised awareness

Battle of Wounded Knee (1973)

AIM leader Russell Means tried to impeach Richard Wilson as tribal chairman of Oglala Sioux tribe; supported by 300 supporters, a 70 day occupation of the land began, which gained coverage

*Negotiations between AIM and the federal government regarding the occupation led to prosecutions against the participants

*Russell Means and Dennis Banks faced prosecution on several felony charges, with both men imprisoned so AIM had less visibility as an organization

*AIM activities have decreased over time as the organization has disagreed over how to prioritize different issues and organizational leadership

Solidarity and Powwows

• Protest activities have created solidarity among Native Americans as they seek solutions to common grievances; research shows that Indigenous people born since collective-action efforts began in the 1960s are more likely to reject the negative and stereotypical representations of themselves than those born before self-determination efforts

• Pan-Indian developments through NCAI or AIM have awakened White people to their grievances, but have also caused plains tribes to dominate national organizations via politics and cultural practices such as dancing, singing, and costuming styles

• Powwows: Native American gatherings of dancing, singing, music playing, and visiting accompanied by competitions as a celebration of culture

Sovereignty

tribal self-rule; recognition that tribes have vibrant economic and cultural lives

*The Supreme Court continues to clarify to what extent a recognized tribe may rule itself and to what degree it's subject to state and federal laws

*A tribe has the inherent right to prosecute all Native Americans, regardless of affiliation, for crimes that occur on the reservation; but lower courts chip away at tribal self-government

*Tribal members must always pay federal income, Social Security, unemployment, and property taxes, but do not pay income tax if they live and work only on the reservation

*Controversial if members on reservations pay sales, gasoline, cigarette, or motor vehicle taxes is controversial and varies by reservation

*Sovereignty remains linked to both the actions of the federal government and the actions of individual Native Americans; the government ultimately determines which tribes are recognized and self-declaration carries no regal recognition

occurs on macro level (recognition of tribes) and micro level (how individuals view themselves as Native American and how this perception is recognized)

federal government gatekeeps sovereignty

Alaska Native Claims Settlement (1971)

Indigenous people gave up collective claims in exchange for $62.5 million and 44 million acres, and new for-profit corporations owned by Alaskan Natives were established; did not include treaties to govern any settlement

*Economic progress remains uneven

*Act didn't address Native hunting and fishing rights, or question of Native government

Acknowledgement Process (1978)

deciding whether individual tribes should have government-to-government relationship with the US federal government

ICWA

intends to preserve Native American families, tribes, and cultures by regulating the adoption of Native American children if the potential adoptee has any Native American heritage

*many children removed from Native American households and sent to be raised by non-Indigenous families

Native American children disproportionately enter the child welfare system and were removed from their homes triple the rate of that of White children; courts regularly hear adoptions trying to circumvent ICWA, with cases reaching the Supreme Court when the baby or toddler is ready for school and may be eligible for a change in custody

Blood quantum

the degree of American Indian or Alaska Native blood from a federally recognized tribe; a standard of ancestry defined by legalistic language

* BIA insisted on a certificate to determine whether a particular tribe's members were eligible to receive benefits; tribes specify the degree of tribal ancestry one needs

*Determined by biological ancestry, with the blood quantum of children adopted by Native Americans is based on birth parents alone

*Process may lead some individuals or extended families to be disenrolled; disputes have arisen when the individual considers themselves worthy but is rejected

*This process has occurred for generations but has become more contentious recently for tribes that profit from casino gambling and must determine who is entitled to share in the profits that could be distributed to those on tribal rolls

Modern Native Americans

• US has taken most land originally occupied by Native Americans, restricted their movement, unilaterally severed agreements, created a special legal status for them, and attempted to move them again after WW2; as a result, substantial numbers of Indigenous people live in the most populated urban areas, especially with poor economic conditions on reservations

• National survey data reveals that Native Americans have experienced discrimination in the following areas:

*Equal pay and promotion (33%)

*Applying for jobs (31%)

*Interaction with the police (29%)

*Going to doctor/health clinic (23%)

*Native Americans are more likely to perceive discrimination when living on reservations or in majority Native areas

*Stereotypes and insults continue in the form of nicknames for athletic teams

*The modern Indigenous population is split between those on and off reservations and those who live in small towns or central cities, causing generalizations on their status in the US

Economic development of Native Americans

*impoverished, especially on reservations, behind on all standards of income and occupational status from the rest of the US

*lower incomes, higher poverty rates, stuck in low paying jobs, less likely to be professionals

*tourism is income for reservation residents, such as hospitality and souvenir services; reinforces stereotypes in visitor minds, but some are also uncomfortable because they understand historical context

Casino gambling is also income and employment source, with commercial gambling a viable source of employment and revenue rather than traditional gambling

Commercial gambling and Native Americans

*States negotiate gambling agreements with reservations and cannot prohibit any gambling already allowed under state law

*Tribal governments operate variety of gambling operations, such as off-track betting, casino tables, lotteries, sports betting, etc.; casinos are a form of tribal government enterprise rather than private business operations

*Some Native Americans oppose gambling on moral grounds and because it's marketed in a form incompatible to their cultures; similar critiques are seen in sale of tobacco, liquor, cannabis, etc. since no state taxes are levied

*Gambling opponents are concerned about compulsive gambling among tribal members, and some feel casinos trivialize and cheapen their heritage

Native Americans and educational assimilation

• Government involvement in Native American education started in 1794 with the treaty with Oneida

*In the 1840s federal government and missionaries created school for Native Americans to assimilate into White culture and society

*By 1860, the missionaries were no longer involved

*BIA created boarding schools for assimilation; they were forcibly removed from their families and tribes, villages, and communities and not allowed to speak their native language or practice their cultural traditions

Native American schools today

• Nations began developing and funding their own schools, with the Cherokee tribe teaching both English and Cherokee in their system as well as systems maintained by the Creek, Chickasaw, and Seminole; this was to maintain their culture

• Federal government ensured children's education in 1930

• Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative: effort to recognize the lasting impacts of federal American Indian boarding school policies by addressing intergenerational traumas of the past

• There was controversy within Native American communities as to how much schools should invest in their language maintenance programs and whether the fluency in that language should be a job requirement; this decision is up to each nation

Assimilationist POV and disproving

Assimilationist POV argues that to succeed in society where Whites are the dominant group, Native Americans need to shed their cultures as soon as possible; but research shows that American Indian students can improve their academic performance through educational programs that are less assimilationist and use curriculum to build on what they have already learned at home and in their communities

*It was found that students who lived a more traditional life among Navajo succeeded in school just as well and were as committed to school/college as high schoolers who were assimilated

*Therefore there is no connection between culture and failing educationally- rather it's the hostility of the environment because of their diverse culture that forces them to leave

Indigenous people and college

• Economic and educational backgrounds of students, especially those on reservations, make entering predominantly White colleges difficult; they may feel isolated and discouraged, especially if college doesn't help them understand American culture/content or connect with a Native American role model (advisors, faculty, etc)

*To combat this tribally controlled, two-year community colleges were created, such as the Navajo Community College

*Tribal colleges enable students to simultaneously maintain their cultural identity while training them to succeed in society- helping with job placement, which many tribal colleges struggle to do due to their economic status

Native Americans and healthcare

• Health care is a broken promise for many Indigenous peoples; compared to other groups, they are more likely to have poor health and unmet medical needs, and be unable to afford health care

*More likely to have diabetes, hearing issues, activity limitations, and psychological distress

*Native Americans who have moved some distance from a reservation and not near a limited number of Urban Indian Health Centers have little opportunity to access direct or contracted services

*Their overall health is comparatively far behind all the other segments of the population

1976 Indian Health Care Improvement Act

• 1976 Indian Health Care Improvement Act: allowed tribes to recover costs from private health insurance companies Medicare and Medicaid; permitted the sharing of facilities with veterans' hospitals, created scholarships for Native Americans to get medical degrees if they returned to serve their tribes, and established community health representatives

Set to expire in 2000 but later bundled with the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)

reservation crime rates and health

• High rates of crime on reservations are not always reported and contribute to health problems/mortality; Native Americans are twice as likely to die annually from homicide than the general population

*Isolation and vastness of some reservations make them susceptible to crime

religious and spiritual expression of Native Americans

• Religious expression is diverse in Native American culture, reflecting the variety of tribal traditions and assimilationist pressure from Europeans; missionaries and settlers expected Indigenous people to give up their traditions for Christianity, and sometimes used force (for instance, repressing the Ghost Dance)

*Many Protestant and Roman Catholic parishes with large Native American congregations incorporate traditional customs (sacred pipe ceremony, incenses, sweat lodges, ceremonies affirming care for Earth, services and hymns in native languages, etc.)

*Native people embrace a broad world of spirituality; they see considerably more relevance in the whole world, including animals, water, and wind

*Native Americans are asking that their traditions be recognized as an expression of pluralist rather than assimilationist coexistence; the traditions are closely tied to religion and many sites sacred to them, as well as their practices, are under attack

American Indian Religious Freedom Act (1978)

declared that it's the government's policy to protect and preserve inherent right of American Indians to believe, express, and practice their traditional religions; vague because it contains no penalties or methods of enforcement

*Native Americans are seeking to protect religious worship services for military people and incarcerated Native Americans, as well as better access to relics and safeguards against exploitation of sacred lands

American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (1990)

requires inventory of such collections and provides return of materials if a claim can be substantiated

*Native Americans want their ancestors' remains, artifacts, and relics returned, which causes conflict with museums and archaeologists

Native Americans and environmental justice

• Environmental literature depicts stereotypes of Indigenous peoples as the last defense against the encroachment of civilization; it trivializes native cultures and makes them "New Age savages"

• Indigenous people have used natural resources strategically for survival, such as fishing, hunting, and irrigating crops; environment is not thought of as purely an economic resource to be exploited by their results

• Many environmental issues are rooted in continual land disputes arising from treaties and agreements that are very old, and colonial land relations continue

*Reservations contain many natural resources and scenic beauty; in the past Indigenous people didn't know how to negotiate beneficial agreements with private corporations, and even when they did the federal government interfered, making the final agreements more beneficial to non-Native Americans than to reservation residents

• Environmental issues reinforce the tendency to treat Native Americans as inferior; for instance, reservations lack environmental justice because they serve as dumping grounds for hazardous waste, ruining both the land Indigenous people were forced to live on and ruining their health

• Environmental concerns coming from Native Americans are balanced against economic development needs, just as in larger society; on some reservations, for instance, authorizing timber companies' access to hardwood forests can help them economically but gives Native Americans mixed feelings because they are forced to exploit their land out of desperate need

• Spiritual needs must be balanced against demands on the environment; numerous sacred sites lie in public areas and parks like the Grand Canyon, which are still accessible to outsiders; Indigenous groups have sought to restrict entry

*Dakota Access Pipeline protests