People For the American Way

Many people see the U.S Mexico border as a marker of territory belonging to the U.S and the territory belonging to Mexico. However, to many others the border symbolizes and means much more than that. Gloria Anzaldua, Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz and Alejandro Lugo speak of these other meanings that many times are swept under the rug. In The Homeland, Aztlan from Borderlands: La Frontera, Gloria Anzaldua speaks of the differences between the experiences of people living on the U.S side of the border and…

honoring or offending American Indians? For thousands of years, American Indians have been fighting to prove who they are. As well as proving what once belonged to them, their land, which was stolen by the Americans. The Americans will say that American Indians should feel proud that they’re being honored as a team mascot; American team names mean honor and respect. That’s just an assumption made by the person who fabricated the mascot, it was never discussed with an American Indian or any of…

horrible during the Progressive Era. As the Indians were restrained by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Montezuma stated that “Convinced that outsiders exerted too much power over life on the reservations, he insisted that self-determination was the only way for Indians to escape poverty and marginalization.” This address represents the assurance for Montezuma to influence the Indians in “We Must Free ourselves.” This quote is significant because Montezuma elaborates the value of freedom “Our…

Native american people are just like any other people. They live, breath, and eat like everyone else. Their culture is important to them just like the bible is important to us. Don't be a jerk, be a native american jerk. I believe that native american culture should be saved because they are people just like us. They just live different lives, in different places. Most of the indian population is dying down, because nobody is thinking about them and most people don't care. But if the…

The history of how America formed can be a hard story to hear. When the Europeans moved in and took the land away from people who already called it their home, the also brought plagues over to the new world. As well as enslaving natives and African Americans where they were treated like animals and property. However, this all led to the creation of the free world and created friendships with other countries. So through all the hardships there were some positives in the long run however more…

remains in the present day is the deterioration of Native religions, which can be see through the religious patterns of Native American tribes. According to the University of Baltimore, Dr. Jerry, Fremand stated that there has been a considerable drop in those who subscribe to the traditional animistic religions- in which the premise is centered around the close bonds between people, animals, and the natural environment, and the harmony that must be shared. Fremlo stated that especially amongst…

were the Aztecs “isolated”? Well, the Aztecs were isolated in quite a few ways. The first way being geographical, the Aztecs were isolated geographically because the Aztec Empire was located in the central and southern regions of present-day Mexico, this meaning that resources weren’t always as easy to get. Being isolated geographically made it difficult to know different cultures and it made it difficult to meet other people. Because they lived in the desert, it was often hard for them to…

showing good-will towards the natives he conquered. There were indeed a few rules Cortés stuck by that can be considered honorable rules of engagement, and so good-willed. An example of these rules is that Cortés does not let his soldiers pillage the people they come across. Castillo tells of a time when the Sempoallans under Cortés’ control had plundered a local town unbeknownst to him. His reaction was one of fury as he ordered them to return the items they had stolen. Cortés went on to say,…

of the British invasion was better than that of most people then living in the UK” (Gray, Saggers, and Stearne 2015, p.151). Throughout this essay I will be exploring the many effects colonization had on Aboriginal people.…

from their own government and from Ladinos. Indigenous people were like slaves to landowners and experienced a lot of injustice in the fincas. In the testimonio of I, Rigoberta Menchú: An Indian Woman in Guatemala Elisabeth Burgos-Debray narrates Rigoberta’s struggles and oppression that many Guatemalan Indian communities have experienced. In Guatemala, historically speaking Ladinos have always dominated indigenous communities and indigenous people have always lived in poverty. The government…