Historical Report on Race
Historical Report on Race
As we look back to the life and journey of the Native American people, we can see a passed littered with racism. From stolen lands to modern police department’s lack of help, the Indian community has had more than its share of heartache. As a reporter, it is my hope that people will begin to understand the struggles of the Native American people and learn to think twice about how their actions affect others.
If we look back to a time that was before the “discovery” of American, we can see the beginnings of racism by Christopher Columbus. This man came to these lands and forced the Native American to leave their land, so his “white” people could have it instead; Then again in 1830 with the Indian Removal Act. This removal included many members of the Cherokee, Muscogee, Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctaw nations, among others in the United States. These people were forced to leave their homelands and be put on reservation in so called, Indian Territories, which were located in the eastern sections of what is now called Oklahoma. Many Native Americans suffered from diseases and starvation en route to their destinations; causing many deaths- including 4,000 of the 15,000 relocated Cherokee. Furthermore, when we think of slavery, our minds create images of black men and women, even children, cruelly shoved aboard ships from Africa, or of them stooped over picking cotton in a Southern field. But, what we are missing is the thousands of American Indians in shackles, marching to ports in Boston, Charleston, and other areas; then shipped to other ports throughout the world. The Indian slave trade was ever-present in early America.
We can fast-forward to present American, and we will still see the same actions, though not as pronounced. According to the United States Department of Justice, Native Americans experience, per capita, more than twice the rates of violence as the average American citizen. More than 70% of the attacks on American
As we look back to the life and journey of the Native American people, we can see a passed littered with racism. From stolen lands to modern police department’s lack of help, the Indian community has had more than its share of heartache. As a reporter, it is my hope that people will begin to understand the struggles of the Native American people and learn to think twice about how their actions affect others.
If we look back to a time that was before the “discovery” of American, we can see the beginnings of racism by Christopher Columbus. This man came to these lands and forced the Native American to leave their land, so his “white” people could have it instead; Then again in 1830 with the Indian Removal Act. This removal included many members of the Cherokee, Muscogee, Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctaw nations, among others in the United States. These people were forced to leave their homelands and be put on reservation in so called, Indian Territories, which were located in the eastern sections of what is now called Oklahoma. Many Native Americans suffered from diseases and starvation en route to their destinations; causing many deaths- including 4,000 of the 15,000 relocated Cherokee. Furthermore, when we think of slavery, our minds create images of black men and women, even children, cruelly shoved aboard ships from Africa, or of them stooped over picking cotton in a Southern field. But, what we are missing is the thousands of American Indians in shackles, marching to ports in Boston, Charleston, and other areas; then shipped to other ports throughout the world. The Indian slave trade was ever-present in early America.
We can fast-forward to present American, and we will still see the same actions, though not as pronounced. According to the United States Department of Justice, Native Americans experience, per capita, more than twice the rates of violence as the average American citizen. More than 70% of the attacks on American
References: Brown, D., & Boteach, M. (n.d.). Poverty in the United States Today. Retrieved from http://halfinten.org/uploads/support_files/2_Indicators_chapter_1.pdf Emayzine. (n.d.). Native Americans, 1945. Retrieved from http://www.emayzine.com/lectures/native1945.htm Stannard, D. E. (1992). American Holocaust. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. The Expresso Stalinist. (2012). Native American Genocide. Retrieved from http://expressostalinist.wordpress.com/genocide/native-american-genocide/ United States Department of Justice. (2012-2016). Overview of Major Issues and Trends. Retrieved from http://www.justice.gov/jmd/strategic2012-2016/overview.pdf Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. (n.d.). Native American in the United States. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_Americans_in_the_United_States