Nationwide Misrepresentation of Native Americans: Politically and Historically Explained
As a nationwide problem in the United States, Native Americans are widely misrepresented and misidentified as a group and race of people. Both in the past and in the present, Native Americans have been looked upon as people as well as an ethnical group. Native Americans often have a lower social status in the United States, they are often looked at as people who are exceedingly poor, have many health problems, and are people struggling to make a living for themselves and their families. However, this is not the case. Historically and politically, it can be proven that Native Americans are more than just a ethnic group living in the United States, and …show more content…
However, that it is unfortunately not the case. It is not true that all the pilgrims and Indians sat at big long table and gave thanks to one another for their prosperity and so called friendship. There really was not a Thanksgiving meal between the pilgrims and Indians; in fact, there was a continuous amount of violence between the two groups causing tremendous harm. “European contact decimated the indigenous populations of [Native Americans in] this hemisphere. The impact upon the Native American psyche may be understood as a ‘colonization of the life world’” (Duran 62). In stories that people grow up listening to or watching animated films are often glorified versions of what actually happened. Stories such as Pocahontas create a perfect example. “Disney’s animated heroine Pocahontas has been touted as a new type of protagonist differing from her predecessors whose lives revolve around men. Pocahontas’[s] romance eventually does become her subordinate to her role in protecting the social fabric of her village” (Dundes 353). While it is true about what Pocahontas did for her people in her village and her family, it is extremely glorified how Pocahontas’s romance(s) came to be, giving people the wrong idea about the …show more content…
“...the first peoples to inhabit the North American continent crossed over from Asia to what is now Alaska on the Bering Land Bridge sometime between 12,000 and 25,000 years ago” (Gall & Hobby 1). When Europeans began to civilized and colonize America, it is most likely believable that they thought they were the first people to discover America. That is, until they crossed paths with Native Americans. Because Europeans thought they were the first to inhabit America, they believed that Native Americans must abide by their rules and religion. “They were subject to English rule and were required to convert to Christianity” (Gall & Hobby 2). Due to the colonization rules and regulations that were being enforced by the Europeans, it is natural that Native Americans may resist to these jurassic changes. Fortunately, court cases were recorded by European and American government(s), whereas Native Americans didn’t write anything down due to changes in different Native dialects. Speeches to foreign government were created and presented by Native American tribal leader's, “Speech to Governor La Barre of New France, 1684” (Young
As a nationwide problem in the United States, Native Americans are widely misrepresented and misidentified as a group and race of people. Both in the past and in the present, Native Americans have been looked upon as people as well as an ethnical group. Native Americans often have a lower social status in the United States, they are often looked at as people who are exceedingly poor, have many health problems, and are people struggling to make a living for themselves and their families. However, this is not the case. Historically and politically, it can be proven that Native Americans are more than just a ethnic group living in the United States, and …show more content…
However, that it is unfortunately not the case. It is not true that all the pilgrims and Indians sat at big long table and gave thanks to one another for their prosperity and so called friendship. There really was not a Thanksgiving meal between the pilgrims and Indians; in fact, there was a continuous amount of violence between the two groups causing tremendous harm. “European contact decimated the indigenous populations of [Native Americans in] this hemisphere. The impact upon the Native American psyche may be understood as a ‘colonization of the life world’” (Duran 62). In stories that people grow up listening to or watching animated films are often glorified versions of what actually happened. Stories such as Pocahontas create a perfect example. “Disney’s animated heroine Pocahontas has been touted as a new type of protagonist differing from her predecessors whose lives revolve around men. Pocahontas’[s] romance eventually does become her subordinate to her role in protecting the social fabric of her village” (Dundes 353). While it is true about what Pocahontas did for her people in her village and her family, it is extremely glorified how Pocahontas’s romance(s) came to be, giving people the wrong idea about the …show more content…
“...the first peoples to inhabit the North American continent crossed over from Asia to what is now Alaska on the Bering Land Bridge sometime between 12,000 and 25,000 years ago” (Gall & Hobby 1). When Europeans began to civilized and colonize America, it is most likely believable that they thought they were the first people to discover America. That is, until they crossed paths with Native Americans. Because Europeans thought they were the first to inhabit America, they believed that Native Americans must abide by their rules and religion. “They were subject to English rule and were required to convert to Christianity” (Gall & Hobby 2). Due to the colonization rules and regulations that were being enforced by the Europeans, it is natural that Native Americans may resist to these jurassic changes. Fortunately, court cases were recorded by European and American government(s), whereas Native Americans didn’t write anything down due to changes in different Native dialects. Speeches to foreign government were created and presented by Native American tribal leader's, “Speech to Governor La Barre of New France, 1684” (Young