An agreement was made between the American Government and Native American communities. This agreement allowed the Indigenous people to be on reservations. Reservations are land reserved for the use of the tribe it is occupied by.
It’s a twisted concept that these people were being “allowed” to be on land that belonged to them until it was conquered and taken over.
Despite the injustice already stated, this was considered fair because the Native American people were allowed to continue their practices and govern themselves independently. While this is believed by many, this is not true. The Department of Indian Affairs has stated that tribal sovereignty is limited today by the United States.
Many people remain oblivious to problems that elude them. Just because you may have a water source that is stable and reliable doesn’t disregard the fact that people living on the reservation can have available water one day and then next week there could be no water at all.
Many of my family members live on the reservation and when my family and I go to visit those living on the reservation we bring lots of bottled water. This is because they experience time periods where, without warning, the water will be shut off and they will have no water to drink, or water for their animals to drink.
Native Americans were also forced to assimilate. Along with the books and documentaries I’ve viewed, I also have heard terrible stories from my tribal members of how they were stripped of their culture in boarding schools. They were given soap and told to wash away their brown skin. They were hit if they spoke their native tongue. Their hair was cut short. Hair holds a very special meaning in many indigenous cultures, it can represent one’s spirit, one’s memory and more. They were ridiculed for being who they were.
Our society accepted that a piece of land was a fair consolation for people taking away Native land and stripping indigenous peoples of their culture to this day. Because of this Native people have to struggle to gain their culture back. Many won’t be able to hear their families stories because in this oppression they were lost. Instead of learning their Native language as a child they’ll have to find other ways.
While I could continue to talk about the many ways that Native Americans are oppressed and overlooked, I believe that recognizing the problem is just as important as finding a solution.
Being oblivious to circumstances that don’t affect you doesn’t make them go away. In some cases it makes the problem you’re ignorant to become worse. Instead of choosing ignorance, choose to recognize what you’re ignoring and try to make a change that will improve this situation.
