Re: ?? Pet Peeves of the AC
We have some of that here, mainly in the western states, although the Native population is all across the country.
My husband's father denied their Native ancestry for many years. He was born and raised in the South where, in his hometown, it was preferable to be black than Indian. My husband and his sibs did not find out about their heritage until the late '70's. Since that time, my husband had done hundreds of hours of genealogy research and has been successful in tracing his lineage as far back as Pocahontas, seriously. He is a direct decendant and has found multiple docs to support it.
His tribe is the Eastern Cherokee who were subjected to forced removal in the 1800's. The government forced them on a march halfway across the country, with only the clothes on their backs, in the dead of winter. Many, many did not survive. It's a long story in our country that spans hundreds of years of abuse and degradation. There are a lot of Native people integrated into society, but there are many that are still on reservations, especially out West. The reservations are depressing places of poverty, drugs and alcohol, child abuse and neglect. Women suffer mental and physical abuse from partners and spouses on a higher level than any other group. The reservations are considered sovereign nations and have their own Tribal Court and Police force on each reservation.
In the current political atmosphere here today, they can expect little help to change their situation for the better. The militant arm of the Native American movement, AIM, had been virtually obliterated after they tried to take a stand against the government in the 70's. One of their leaders is still in jail with no hope of parole.
It seems that this is the fate of most Indigenous people around the world, day to day. The political will is just not there to change their world for the better. They are also caught in the cycle of despair, which leads to the drug and alcohol abuse, which then leads to the abuse towards woman and children. With little education and no jobs, the cycle repeats itself generation after generation.
Caucasian people would find their plight intolerable if the tables were turned.
The people with the least power have the fewest opportunities to make positive changes in their world. I would change an old saying to... Those that can, do. Those that can't, wither away.
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