canceled

Presentation_NativeAmericans_1_2.pptx

Home >Social Science homework help >Sociology homework help >canceled

Native Americans

Domestic Colonialism to Americanization

Native Americans and Initial Contact

The development of legal institutions in America corresponds to the development of racist ideologies and the oppression of Native Americans

The Arawaks in the West Indies were the first Indians that Columbus met

Within two years of this initial contact, about half of the 250,000 Indians in Haiti were dead.

By 1515 there were about 50,000 Arawak remaining

By 1550 there were approximately 500 Arawaks

By 1650, none of the original Arawaks were left

It has been estimated that nearly 3 million indians perished in the West indies between 1492 and 1508

(Zinn, 2005)

Initial Contact, Law, and Native American

The laws and legal systems supported the wholesale confiscation of Native American land throughout the nation and the genocide committed against them.

The logic of European law maintained that the Indians had only a natural right to the land, but not a civil right.

Natural right had no legal standing – from the point of view from American conquerors.

Indian land was confiscated through trickery by use of the legal term title – which was foreign to the native language and an invention of the capitalist money economy

Related Case Law

Johnson v Macintosh, 1823

The Court held that “discovery gave exclusive rights to those who made it” – thus upholding the claim that Whites discovered America

Merely as a result of conquest, native lands became the property of the U.S. government, therefore the Indians were to be considered occupants ( de Yoanna an Langeland, 2001)

Lone Wolf v Hitchcock, 1903 (187 U.S. 553, 23 S. Ct. 216, 47)

The U.S. Supreme Court laid down the principle that the tribes had no right to the land at all.

Rather the land was held by the United States an the tribes had mere occupancy rights.

Population Statistics

American Indian and Alaskan Native Population Data

The 2010 Census reveal the population in 2010 was 308.7 million.

Of the total U.S. population, 2.9 million people, or 0.9%, were American Indian and Alaska Native alone.

An additional 2.3 million people, or another 0.7%, reported American Indian and Alaska Native in combination with one or more other races.

Together, these two groups totaled 5.2 million people, or 1.6% of all people in the United States

The total U.S. population grew by 9.7%, from 281.4 million in 2000 to 308.7 million in 2010. In comparison, the American Indian and Alaska Native alone population increased almost twice as fast as the total U.S.

POPULATION STATISTICS by TRIBAL GROUP

US Census Report on Native American Population Growth between 2000 and 2010

Largest Population Concentration in U.S. Cities

Gender and Age Distribution

Gender Statistics

49.5% of the native population is male

50.5% of the population is female

Representation under age 18,

Males represent 51.2% of the population

Females represent 48.8%

Striking Trend:

Female adolescent (15 – 24 years) suicide rates are 3.6 times higher than non-Hispanic whites

Age Statistics

National Average Age (2014) for American Indians and Alaskan Natives is 31.4 years

The U.S. population as a whole had an average age of 37.7 years in 2014

Represents a 0.5 year increase from 2010

Documented Causes of Despair

Health Disparities (compared to Caucasians)

5 times more likely to suffer from alcoholism

2.29 times more likely to be in a vehicular accident

1.89 times more likely to suffer from diabetes

1.5 times more likely to be injured accidentally

60% higher infant mortality rate

2.3 times more likely to commit suicide during youth (15-19 years)

Identified causes include geographic isolation, cultural barriers, inadequate sewage disposal, and low income

In 2012, it was reported that 22.6% had no health insurance compared to 12% of the general population.

Employment/Unemployment Trends

Employment Rates

Native Americans made up less than 1% of the labor force

Had the lowest participation rate of 59.3% closely trailing Blacks/African Americans who stood at 61.5%.

Employment Rates, 2012

Data reflects the regional breakdown between Native Americans and whites.

Lack of investment opportunities maintain Native Americans unemployment trend.

Employment Rates – Rate of Change

Economic Outlook/Indicators

Home Ownership & Income

54% of American Indian and Alaska Native householders who owned their own home in 2010 – compared with 65% of the overall population and 74% for white.

More than 40% of Native Americans live in rural minority counties.

The median home value of homes owned by Native Americans in these rural counties is $36,800 compared to $71,300 for white median home values in these counties.

The median income of American Indian and Alaska Native households was $35,062 – compared with $50,046 for the nation as a whole.

Economic Outlook

28.4% of American Indians and Alaska Natives were in poverty in 2010.

The nation rate for poverty among all Americans was 15.3 percent.

29.2% of American Indians and Alaska Natives lacked health insurance coverage.

The national average for U.S. citizens without healthcare was 15.5 percent.

"5 Ways the Government Keeps Native Americans in Poverty"

A 2014 Forbes article lists and explains the government's role:

Indian lands are owned and managed by the federal government

Nearly every aspect of economic development is controlled by federal agencies

Reservations have a complex legal framework that hinders economic growth

Energy regulations make it difficult for tribes to develop their resources

The federal government has repeatedly mismanaged Indian assets

Education and Marital Status

Native American Educational Attainment

Education Attainment

Marital Status

Of the 3.6 million adults who got married in 2013,

58% of American Indians,

28% of Asians,

19% of blacks and

7% of whites have a spouse whose race was different from their own.

Historical Representativeness

1492

Christopher Columbus makes first contact with the native people

“They could easily be commanded and made to work, to sow and to do whatever might be needed, to build towns and be taught to wear clothes and adopts our ways.”

The exploration of America begins

1539

Spanish explorer, Hernando De Soto, lands at Tampa Bay, FL and defeats the Timucuans and executes 100 warriors

Known as the Napituca Massacre

First large scale massacre by Europeans on what would become American soil

1540-1541

Tiguex War fought by the army of Spanish explorer, Fancisco Vasquez de Coronado against the 12 pueblos of Tiwa Indians.

Marked the first war between Europeans and Native Americans in the American West

1758

First Indian reservation in North America established by the New Jersey Colonial Assembly

1709

Slave market erected at the foot of Wall Street in New York City

Native American men, women, and children declared property of highest bidder

1689-1697

The French and Indian War over North America

Algonquian tribes allied with French

Iroquois tribes allied with the British

Brief Timeline

Spanish Explorer, Hernando De Soto was Spanish but he lead the first European expedition through the Southern parts of America

Proclamation of 1763 – prohibited English settlement west of the Appalachian mountains. Attempt to ease tensions with Native Americans

1789

Indian Commerce Clause of the Constitution added stating, “The Congress shall have Power… to regulate the Commerce with foreign Nations, among several States, and with the Indian tribes.”

1824

U.S establishes the Office of Indian Affairs

1830

President Andrew Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act into law

1838

Cherokee are forced to march from North Carolina to Oklahoma

Thousands die

Known as the Trail of Tears

1862

Homestead Act is passed

Opened Native American land in the Midwest to settlers

1907

Charles Curtis becomes the first Native American U.S Senator

Later becomes vice president

1924

All Native American Indians are declared citizens of the United States

1786

Northwest Ordinance enacted

“the utmost good faith shall always be observed toward the Indians… In their property, rights, and liberty they shall never be disturbed.”

1789 – statement added to the Indian Commerce Clause is seen as the principal basis for the federal government’s broad power over Native Americans – legends of America

Cultural Representativeness/Appropriation

What do you think?

Cultural appropriation – the adoption or use of one culture by members of a different culture. Seen by some as controversial, especially when elements of a minority culture are used by members of the cultural majority.

“Culture is fluid, and today’s taboo may be tomorrow’s trend.”

- Elle U.K. magazine

“Where do we draw the line between cultural inspiration and cultural appropriation?”

- TIME Magazine

Pharrell wears a headdress on Elle U.K. cover

“Victoria's Secret apologizes after use of Native American headdress in fashion show draws outrage”

- Fox News Headline

Nov 7, 2012: Model Karlie Kloss wears a Native American headdress during the taping of the 2012 annual fashion show

“We have gone through the atrocities to survive and ensure our way of life continues. Any mockery, whether it’s Halloween, Victoria’s Secret – They are spitting on our culture, and it’s up setting.’’

- Navajo Nation spokesman Erny Zah

Historically, headdresses are a symbol of respect, worn by Native American war chiefs and warriors. For Great Plains tribes, for instance, each feather placed on a headdress has significance and had to be earned through an act of compassion or bravery.

Misrepresentations?

Miami Redskins changed to Miami Redhawks

“The Blackhawks face less controversy, and have argued that their team name is not a generic racial stereotype. It honors a real person, Black Hawk.”

- The Atlantic

Stanford University – from the Indians to the Cardinals (unofficial mascot is the trees) in 1972

The “Generation Gap”

Loss of language, clothing, artifacts, practices, religious traditions/commitment, traditional foods, etc.

Technological influences

Workplace attitudes

Shifted Generational consciousness

Less cultural promotion leads to less cultural knowledge, which leads to less cultural respect

Notes, what caused the generation gap – report on that

Mainstream Orientation Status

Citizenship Status

President Calvin Coolidge with four Osage Indians after Coolidge signed the bill granting Indians full citizenship. Source — LOC, LC-USZ62-111409 DLC.

Native Language Use

http://www.cogsci.indiana.edu/farg/rehling/nativeAm/ling.html

Americanization Experiences

Native Americans are incarcerated at a rate 38% higher than the national average, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Native American youths are 30% more likely than whites to be referred to juvenile court than have charges dropped, according to National Council on Crime and Delinquency.

Native Americans are more likely to be killed by police than any other racial group, according to the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice.

Native American men are incarcerated at four times the rate of white men; Native American women are incarcerated at six times the rate of white women, according to a report compiled by the Lakota People’s Law Project.

Native Americans fall victim to violent crime at more than double the rate of all other US citizens, according to Bureau of Justice Statistics reports. Eighty-eight percent of violent crime committed against Native American women is carried out by non-Native perpetrators.

Cost of Americanization and Domestic Colonialism

End of Presentation