The Sociological Problem

Superior Essays
Dominic Tedesco Video Paper 2

1. The sociological problem that this video addressed was the issue of discrimination based on a person’s ethnicity. More specifically, the video covered the struggles faced by the Native American population and the indigenous Hawaiian population. These two groups of people have had many injustices done to them. They faced similar types of discrimination and in both situations there have been attempts to take the culture and history away from these people. The video also focused heavily on the aspect of land. Both groups, Hawaiians and Native Americans, were settled on their respective land long before white settlers occupied
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The sociological theory to describe this problem would definitely be conflict theory. There is a clear lack of resources, in this case land, that groups of people are struggling to gain. This dates back all the way to the beginning of the colonization of our country. Back when the first settlers arrived here, their first goal was to claim land. However, Native American populations already inhabited the land, which obviously led to conflict. Many view land to be the most important resource. To the indigenous people of mainland America and the indigenous people of Hawaii, land was viewed as much more than a resource. To them, their land was sacred. It was the basis for their culture and their way of life. Now they are struggling to reclaim some of the land that was taken from them in order to preserve their rich and proud …show more content…
A feasible solution to this problem is far from obvious and simple. The main issue being faced in this sociological problem is the aspect of unequal distribution of land. The indigenous populations of the country believe that their land was unfairly taken away, and the people in power in the country believe just the opposite. While we would all like to say just give them their land back because it was basically stolen from them, the harsh truth is that it is simply not going to happen. Having land is a simple of power; no person, group, or country is ever going to like giving up land. We still see nations going into armed conflict over acquiring land, most prevalently the Palestinian conflict. Especially now, with centuries of having this land under the control of the United States government, they are not going to have any inclination to give the land up. It has become too ingrained in our society. However, a solution that is entirely possible is to simply make the land allotted to indigenous populations better. The United States government can improve the living conditions of these people without giving up any land at all. The video showed vividly that the homes in which these indigenous populations live are not in the greatest shape, their cars are far from new and luxurious, and their communities do not have that much to offer. What these people do have is a proud culture. What the government, or even a non-profit organization, can do is help to raise money to improve

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