“Is it because people want to feel like they are more American? . . . Or is it because there is some perceived benefit that they can exploit?”
I think they want to feel more American, since not everyone who claim they are Native American receive the benefits.
Cherokee enrollment offices have used censuses, pension records, court filings, and a wealth of other archival materials to make determinations of belonging.
The Cherokee Nations are doing the same as what United States did during the 20 century. If there are no proper documentation that prove you are Native American then you are not recognize as Native.
Kiel argued that Warren’s actions, unwittingly or not, reinforce notions that tribes are merely racial genetic groups.
I think tribal recognition is less about the DNA test result, it is more about one's history and background. There is also a culture heritage and relationship that DNA test can be replace.
and only tribes determine tribal citizenship
How do we determine Native identities? Is it based on their tribal citizenships or is it based on one's history?
could find no records of this heritage.
Records relate to Native American were always a mess since the Dawes act. It is understandable that the record can not represents everything
would boast that they had Native American heritage. “They all descend from full-blooded Cherokee great-grandmothers,”
Why would only white students claim that they have Native blood? Why not black students? Is that a racial phenomenon?
But can money alone solve the problems that American Indian nations face?
I do not think money can solve the problems that Indians are facing, but i think for some part it could help some of the tribes to increase their living condition and their employee rate, and gain some wealth for each individuals.
Prior to gaming, tribes in Southern California lived like many of the poorest tribes in the nation.
The casino wealthy Indian is a stereotype of the Indians. The fact is there are still large number of people live under poverty
Proposition
Proposition 5 : Changes Requirements For Certain Property Owners To Transfer Their Property Tax Base To Replacement Property. Initiative Constitutional Amendment And Statute.
Several factors have determined the economic wealth of the California casinos: small tribes, location, and proximity to wealth.
The small population of California Indians allows them share the wealth from the casinos and the location of the tribes also generate the numbers of the visitors to their casinos
n some cases the non- Indian community is jealous of the wealth. ere is an underlying racist perception that American Indians should not be wealthy.
I think the jealousy have something to do with the race of the non-Indian community. I think this is a backlash of the long existence race tension in United States and the benefits policies for the Indian nations.
fake Indians” and aiming for recognition only to cash in on casino proÌts
Regardless these new recognized tribes are real or fake. Again, this reflects the large profits for the casino industry.
is is just a small example of the types of hate that happen in the Northern Plains and reservation border towns
Why would white Americans against Indians? Is is because of their racial superiority or they believe they believe the existence of Native reservation are slowing down the economic development.
Later, he testiÌed about mob involvement in a number of Indian casinos throughout the country. Some of what he said has been substantiated.
One reason that gaming brings so many organized crime is due the potential profitable value of gaming industry. As a result, so many criminal organization wants to share the profits of the gaming industry.
Many of those opposed to Indian gaming have argued that Indian gaming causes crime rates in their non- Indian communities to rise
In my opinion, gaming is one of the huge entertainment industry for the U.S economy. If U.S government does not legalize Indian gaming, more people will find the illegal gambling place. Similarity to the 1920 prohibition era, the U.S government banned alcohol but it did not decrease the consumer demand for alcohol, instead it increase the crime rate.
reviously impoverished tribes living in third- world conditions, without running water and electricity, struggling to survive, are now major players in politics, government, and economic growth.
The Indian gaming industry provide a good economic development for the tribes which help to improve their living condition and gain more advantage in political rights
he Indian Gaming Regulatory Act
According to Wikipedia The purposes of the act is to provide a legislative basis for the operation of Indian gaming, protecting gaming as a means of generating revenue for the tribes, encouraging economic development of these tribes.
We will unite and in the strength of our unity, our voices will be heard by those whose ears and hearts have been as stone.
It is impractical to start a self-rule government that share the land with the Untied States. The citizen act already recognize Natives as U.S citizens, a independent government will only view as treaty by the government
o break all of our cultural ties with earth and tribe is the means now being used to destroy our people.
I think the family ties and the culture ties were a significant to keep the Natives together. I think one of the purposes for the Dawes act, the boarding school programs and the termination was to break up the ties and make them full American.
Reservation and urban needs, the return of our treaty-guaranteed lands, and other lands illegally taken from us, a new educational process for our children; these are but a few of our goals
Cultural and properties needs to be resorted by the Native tribes. The education will provide cultural unity to the young generation. Once the properties and culture in restored, the unity will come along.
Let yesterday’s leaders be a source of wisdom and moral strength, but let youth be the fire of positive action in this new and lasting demand for self-determination.
I found a lot of similarities between the black power movement and the Red power movement. These is a shift of power or leadership in both movement from one generation to another generation. In addition, the change of leaderships also indicates to change of methods
It has become apparent that these many organizations lacked the basic concept of unity;
I disagree with this, I think the only reason that caused these organization to lost their popularity is due to the lack of progress from the federal governments
The time has come for all Indians to unite into one brotherhood and to demonstrate, by this unity, the immediate needs of all our people
Similar to the black power movement, it calls upon the unity with in the race to against the unequal treatments from the U.S government
For your children learn from watching their elders, and if you want your children to do what is right, then it is up to you to set the example.
This speech really reminds me of MLK's "I have Dream Speech" The audience for both speech are White Americans. Reputations were used through out the speech, and the arguments relate to future generation were also occurs in the speech.
Put your energies and money now being expended for the suppression of Indian people at Wounded Knee into a real effort to understand why they are there.
Instead of sending military to press the Native at Wounded Knee, The U.S government should spend that money on improve on Native living conditions. The U.S should solve the root of the problem.
When will you cease your violence against our people? Where is your concern for us?What about the destruction of our properties?
The U.S government only priorities its own profits, and only reviews the positive result and hide away what negative process to achieve that result.
We are an honorable people—can you say the same?
After United State government broke so many treaties with the Native tribes. This is a very powerful statement
resort to such extremes to gain some recognition of our desperate situation
Similar to the black power movement. I think it is mainly due to the frustration. After so many legislations the condition of the natives still remains the same, since the legislative way can no bring any progress then violence is the only option.
We number less than 1 per cent of this country’s population: now why is it so hard to take care of the obligations to our people that have been promised and promised and promised
This corresponds to the Nixon campaign on Indian affair. Natives are the "safe" group to help due to its population and more easy to help
We cite the poor health conditions, education, welfare, illegal drafting of our people, and the utter disregard for the treaties that we have paid for with our lives as examples of these conditions
The purpose of the AIM was to help Natives who are living under these poor conditions. Although the movement ends up to a militant resistance against the federal government, the movement still draws the public attention these issues.
What upset us was the priority that it had in its relationship to other programs. Our concern was that the government needed to spend more time developing the human and natural resources on reservations and put relocation in its proper place.
The argument is they do not want to be removed from the reservation, instead they government should spend money on the reservation make it better.
Before relocation, many people had unsanitary conditions on the reservation. Their houses did not have screens on windows, and they did not take care of garbage. When they came back after relocation, they had a little higher standard of living. People put screens on their windows and elevated their living standard as a result of relocation experience.
He is saying that the worst scenario of relocation would be the elevation of the basic living conditions for the native people. I think they can achieve that through small education programs within the reservation. Is the relocation program really valuable ?
. We favored economic and personal development programs for residents who lived on or off reservations, depending on their individual choice.
All other Native American policies claim to give the rights for naives to self determination, however, in addition to those policies, there are numbers of rules that limited the choice of the natives.
Large numbers of Indians were in the armed forces, and the Indian agencies were stripped of personnel. Building programs of every kind stopped. At the end of the war, John Collier resigned under the most painful circumstances
After FDR's death the who Indian Affair program were in a mess, and many natives were still remain in poverty in the reservation. This exams the self government program that introduced by the John Collier was not a such effective program.
lonesomeness.
The same cases happened during the boarding school era, where kids were also experience lonesomeness. This portrays the significant family value in the native culture.
The Employment Security Commission funds the state employ-ment services. My first relocation effort at the Bureau of Indian Affairs was to get the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska interested in securing employment for people living on reservations.
The relocation almost sounds like the second great migration, where African American are migrating to the north
First of all, it relocated people from the reservation areas where jobs were not available to areas where there were jobs. The other phase of the program was to relocate people from reservation areas to pri-marily urban areas
Comparing the relocation program with the trail of tears. The trail of tears was design to increase the land of the America, and the relocation program is to increase the work force for the American society.
It simply sought to open opportunities for a small number of Indians capable of entering college or attending an advanced trade school.
I wonder if the special education program would only benefits the upper class natives or the "mixed-blood" since they have more a better chance to pursue a higher education compare to the full blood natives.
With respect to newly created reservations where individual Indians came to live, there would have been considerable confu-sion regarding whether they brought some rights and powers exercised by Lheir former tribe that they had seemingly aban-doned.
The historical background of each Natives were also caused this confusion. Due to the lack of professional during the Dawes act era, the historical background of each member were some record with mistake.
But the Secretary of the Interior would also have well-defined responsibilities for monitoring Indian activities and intervening in Indian matters by exercising a trustee or supervisory function for the new government and economic ventures.
The Howard Wheeler Bill provided more fund to the program, however it add more restrictions to the self government, the funds probably towards to the Education program and the for the land.
proposal incorporating both self-government and economic development. The proposal was introduced in two Congresses but was never passed into law. It was regarded as too radical
The U.S government might fear that after thee Natives become economic dependence they might come together to rebel the Federal government.
to allow Indians the right to nominate their own agents
This bill provided Native people some political freedom to choose their own agents. The agents would do more favor towards the native tribes side in order to get the job.
"that would allow the tribes to sue the United States." After 1900 this movement became a deluge as lawyers saw an opportunity to garner large fees for successful prosecution of these cases.
If they can sue United States does that mean they are still under the control of the United State. In a sense they can be view as a state government within their land.
Actually the lndians did not need the approval of the Commissioner, but when their decision affected treaty annuities or educational services, the Com-missioner had to be infonned so that the bureau could make changes.
It mentioned once their decision affected the educational service they have to get approval from the bureau. This shows even the Congress approved the native to self regulate themselves, but they still want Native kids to receive the same white education to insure them to not to go back their old life. This reminds me of the other U.S colonization countries, after the country claimed independent, they still adopt the U.S education system. Is this strategy can be seen as another form of colonization.
United States abide by their treaties even where most of the treaty promises had been unfulfilled or even breached.
It is difficult for U.S government to reestablish trust with the native tribe after so many treaties has been broke by the U.S government, in addition the act does no significant improve each individual navies life, other than tribe recognized from the U.S government and self-governing with the U.S government supervise.
Many Indian spokesmen made clear to Collier that while they wanted education for their children and better medical care, they were not prepared to welcome mixed bloods back into the tribal community in those instances in which they had sold their lands and tried to adjust to life away from the reservation.
It is ironic how U.S congress passed the Indian Reorganization Act after the Dawes Act. They forced the native to adopt the White life. After the U.S government destroyed their social structure and system now they want them to get back to their original tribe life.
as Christians hear me for my downtrodden peo-ple! Their form of government is as dear to them as yours is precious to you. Quite as warmly as you love your country, so they love theirs.
It is quite ironic for American to share their Christian believes and "violently" taking properties from another nation.
the people of the Islands have no voice in determining their future, but are virtually relegated to the condition of the aborigines of the American continent.
The Native American tribes also do not have the rights to determine their own land. Treaties been broke by the U.S government. And the voice of the native folks being ignored by the government.
I refer to the chil-dren of the soil—the native inhabitants of the Hawaiian Islands and their descendants. Two delegations claiming to represent Hawai‘i have visited Washington at intervals during the past four years in the cause of annex-ation, besides which other individuals have been sent on to assist in this attempt to defraud an aboriginal people of their birthrights
In this article Queen Lili emphasizes the significant of the Native Hawaiian citizenship and denied to recognize the white foreigners as Hawaiians.
This was to ask President [Grover] Cleveland that the former form of government unjustly taken from us by the persons who in 1892 and 1893 represented the United States should be restored, and that this restoration should undo the wrong which had been done to the Hawaiian people, and returned to them the queen, to whom constitution-ally, and also by their own choice, they had a perfect right
It is unconstitutional for United States to take from United States. The nation came together as whole to support their Queen to gain back the land that they lost
without becoming naturalized, and reserving to himself the privilege of protection under the guns of a foreign man-of-war at any moment when he should quarrel with the government under which he lived
She made a strong argument about the voting right, comparing to the United State's suffrage right during that period. African American and Unrecognized Native American do not have the right to vote. And white missionaries and business man claim they have the right to vote at Hawaiian nation
Every possible embarrassment and humiliation were heaped upon my brother.
The same racial discriminations were applied among the native Hawaiian. The idea of civilization were still judge by the color of the people.
The wealth and importance of the Islands
Queen Lili first argue the Hawaiian native goverment have the ability to improve their nation economy, unlike what United State claimed.
to make Indians out of Native Hawaiians.
The same stereotype from the Native American were also applied to the Native Hawaiians. In many political cartoon, the cartoon portrays the native Hawaiians shares the same characters with the "uncivilized" native tribes.
American missionaries and businessmen forced Hawai‘i’s King Kalakaua to sign the infamous “Bayonet Constitution,
How could businessmen and missionaries from another nation threat a whole kingdom to give up its ruling right ?
The hundreds of Cherokee girls who passed through its halls were profoundly influenced both positively and negatively by their experiences at the school.
It is undeniable that the seminary school do provide a good education opportunities for the Cherokees. It is significant to reconsider the purpose of the education. Is it to help the Natives? Or it is a cultural genocide for erasing the Cherokee culture for the the younger generation?
but some Cherokees protested that the academic curricula were not applicable to the needs of the students.
As we learned in lecture, they were taught how to become a industrial workers. The academic curricula does not follow what most full blood Cherokee parents expect
And, like successful students today, the girls who performed best received encouragement from their parents. Of the parents whose records could be examined, graduates' fathers had a 98 percent literacy rate and their mothers 100 percent, compared to the 82 percent and 86 percent literacy rates of the non-graduates' fathers and mothers,
Most of kids who were willing to go to the school come from a mix blood family or a wealthy family. The result shows they also perform better at school. It might due to the family influence, or they have more language advantage and more likely to get involve with other mix blood compare to full bloods.
Cherokee women's roles became less important as white men began to influence the Cherokees' social and religious values. Although many Cherokee women were expected to adopt Victorian social skills, that did not mean they all accepted their subservient roles.
The assimilation breaks the traditional Cherokee social structure and their family value. In fact the European colonization affect today's gender exceptions. For example, women were expected to do house labor and man were expected to support the family.
newspapers distributed throughout the Cherokee Nation. Even if they could not understand the English language, Cherokees could read the students' commentaries because the papers were printed in both English and Cherokee.
Newspaper were use as a propaganda to promote the work of the boarding school. What I find it interesting they print the paper both language. I think English version is for the white community in order to receive fundings, and Cherokee version is to promote to school program in order for more people to join the school.
progressed past savagery and were on their way to equality with whites.
I felt "on equality with the white " is more like what these students learned from their boarding school. Does equality means to be able to work as the lower class labor force? Or it is a fantasy that listed on the U.S constitution?
despite the fact that many of them had more "white blood" than Cherokee.28 They took every opportunity to flaunt their white ancestry.
The lighter skin Cherokee disconnect themselves with the traditional Cherokee culture. It is ironic that the importance of ancestry power in the Native religions. First they were forced to give up their religions practice, and lighter skin Cherokee are taking proud of their white ancestry.
[a]ngels are fair-haired and you are too dark for an angel.
The racial tension does not only occur as a community, it also exist within the same tribe. The darker skin girls not only don't have the advantage academically, they also have to receive judgement base on their color.
we can only interpret Sequoyah's al-phabet."18 After the 187os many of the neighborhood common schools taught in the Cherokee language for the benefit of the full-bloods;
The language difference cause the disadvantage for full blood and those who can not attend the seminary school. It is also it difficulties for those middle upper families to decide whether they want to send their kids to the common school to receive the limited education opportunities, or seminary school for not learning about the traditional culture.
At the same time, they repressed Cherokee values, thereby causing confusion among the more traditional students.
After the teacher repress the tradition values, it will also create a distance for kids to dislike the traditional value, because the teacher said it is wrong. At a smaller age kids had not develop the full ability to fully think. The negative of the traditional value will cause their view of their traditional value in the future.
They were left behind on social excursions, because only those in the high school grades were allowed to attend events in Tahlequah and the male seminarians' ballgames.
There family background create difficulties for the full blood girls to be lack on grade and also social activities, which these full blood girls will only work as a labor force. However, the lighter skins seems to have more activities and more bigger chance for social mobilities in the future.
But daughters of politically prominent and affluent families (Adairs, Bushyheads, Hickses, McNairs, Rosses, and Thompsons, to name a few) were always enrolled.4 These girls were from acculturated, edu-cated households, had already attended good public schools, and had no difficulty passing the written examination.
The social class determines the education level, which will create a endless cycle. This draws a parallel connection to today's society. However, I wonder whether or not these prominent families have more connection with the white societies, or they are originally prominent family in the tribe?
the schools espoused Victorian women's roles (holding women inferior to men), the success of the seminaries is measured by non-traditional Cherokee standards, not from a traditional, egalitar-ian Cherokee standpoint.
The Victorian women gender role was something differs from the Cherokee culture. The elders seems like to earn more respect than the men in families. In addition, Cherokee also value marriage different from the White communities, which form the difference in social structure. The Victorian women's teaching will create the distance between Cherokee girls with their families.
Although they had pride in being Cherokee, they did not aspire to retain traditional Cherokee values that included equality between genders. They did want to remain Cherokees, but they strove to be "white Cherokees."
I can connect this to today's immigration communities, which they have to find the balance between the American culture and their own culture. Some choose to fully involve in the American society and give up their old cultures. However, most of the immigrates choose to preserve some of their own cultures to form their own American culture.
arguing the merits of the white world and decrying the negative aspects of Cherokee culture.
This can be view as a cultural genocide, where the original Cherokee culture was being blocked to the Cherokee children. Only the white idea was being taught at school, which would significant diminish the culture value in the younger generation Cherokee and make the assimilation easier for the U.S government.
there is much evidence to suggest that the social atmosphere at the seminary contributed to the rift between Cherokee girls from progressive, mixed-blood families and those from more traditional, uneducated backgrounds.
It is controversial to speak the result of the boarding school. It did provide education opportunities and other positive effect for those family who want to send their kids to the boarding school. At the same time the violence and the reinforcement of the boarding school can also view as a significant impact for the entire Cherokee Nation.
The more acculturated Cherokees did not always have much money, but in their eyes their lighter skin and greater formal education put them in a higher cultural class. Because they were strongly pious, they believed that God favored them.
This reminds me of the process for the U.S citizenship qualification. The U.S government will prioritize the lighter skin or Mix blood, because they believe that the white blood makes the light skin Native more likely to be civilized. This racial superiority from the white communities also gives the mix blood Native racial superiority in their tribe.
It was better for them to be happy in the other world, and I wanted to be there too.
This paragraph is very emotional. The Native Americans had been suppressed by the U.S government. This demonstrates the devastating environment that most Native Americans had live under.
I saw a little baby trying to suck its mother, but she was bloody and dead.
I find this very power. The innocent baby create a sharp contrast with the bloody killing scene. In a way it symbolize the two different narrative of the event from the U.S government and the Native Americans.
not hurt at all.
There is a significant emphasis on "not hurt at all". " bullets did not hit us at all" it really demonstrates the courage of the warrior. Connecting back to the vision that he had, to an extend, it is almost his destiny to save life from the massacre.
“A thunder being nation I am, I have said.A thunder being nation I am, I have said.You shall live
I find the this song similar to the form of "ghost dance ", which in a psychological way prepare the warriors for the battle.
A little way ahead of us, just below the head of the dry gulch, there were some women and children who were huddled under a clay bank, and some cavalrymen were there pointing guns at them.
From the previous chapter and the"Celane Not Help Him" reading that we learned there are 400 people with only 100 warriors. Everyone in the band had lived in a very poor condition from their escape. Again, it shows the disadvantage of the band.
I painted my face all red, and in my hair I put one eagle feather for the One Above.
Eagle and color red not only appear on traditional clothing, they would paint their face red and put eagle feather. I look up what eagle and red symbolize for the Native American culture. They both symbolize the power, strength and success in war for the Native American warriors.