Native American Values

From the moment Columbus set foot on present-day America, the Native Americans have fought for the right to live. European-Americans came in with a lack of understanding and respect for Native American culture as they imposed their ideals on the Native American way of life. White society “saw everything in terms of freedom” to which Native Americans found no value in (Nerburn, 1994, p. 158). In turn, all white society can do to heal wounds, is to “give [freedom] back to [Native Americans] in the form of cages” (Nerburn, 1994, p. 158). In these ‘cages,’ Native Americans have lived for years, desperately trying to keep their culture alive and their fortitude strong. Therefore, white society’s lack of respect for the Native American culture causes …show more content…
In the “Mobile Chernobyl” Act of 1997, the Native American reservations were viewed as a place to bury nuclear waste. This policy was not passed through law due to the risk of transportation, not because of the concern for Native American lives (Class notes—March 27, 2018). The lack of value and respect for Native American lives can also be seen in the stance that white society takes when viewing alcohol use by Native Americans. A biased and stereotypical approach is taken in claiming alcohol abuse and fetal alcohol syndrome is uniquely a Native American problem. Such assumptions are not true and expose the lack of respect for Native Americans that is instilled into white society (Class notes—April 10, 2018) (Class Power Point …show more content…
White men promised to allow Native Americans to live peacefully on their reservations without interference only to enter into a period of termination where the U.S. government withdrew all support of Native Americans forcing them to relocate to urban settings. White men promised Native Americans the right to vote only to have such factors as voter suppression tactics, linguistic barriers, poll locations, gerrymandering, and restrictive ID requirements stand as obstacles to voting (Class notes—April 10, 2018) (Class Power Point B). White men promised to provide American Indians with free health care on reservations. Today we see that this promise has not been kept. The Indian Health Service is massively under-funded, only receiving 40-50% of its need at its highest rate of funding (Class notes—April 17, 2018) (Class Power Point C). White men promised Native Americans the right to the Black Hills only for the U.S. to force Native Americans to give back this land, violating the Fort Laramie Treaties of 1851 and 1868 (Class notes—April 24, 2018). These promises, among many others, have been broken by the U.S. leaving the Native Americans “helplessly lashed and bruised by the wreckage pounding around them,” with their life left in pieces around them (Deloria, 1998, pp.