October 12 has traditionally been known as Columbus Day in the United States, celebrating the arrival of Christopher Columbus to the Americas. However, in 1992, Indigenous People’s Day was instituted to coincide with Columbus Day. The hope was that the holiday would honor the victims of colonization. Indigenous People’s Day has been somewhat controversial in the United States, with some states like Nebraska and Iowa refusing to observe the holiday.
While the holiday calls attention to the harms of colonization, we need to go further to address the consequences of colonialism. Citizens and residents of the United States often fail to recognize how Native nations impact our ways of life, and how our public institutions continue to marginalize Native communities. It is crucial for Americans to preserve Indigenous culture and protect Native nations and individual rights.
Native American Cultural Impact
When many people think about Native Americans in U.S. culture, they often consider Thanksgiving. However, outside of this mythical peace between the Native Americans and the Pilgrims, Native agriculture still influences our own diet now. The three sisters’ agriculture system of beans, squash, and corn heavily impacted the way that many colonists farmed when settling in the South. Native Americans also introduced crops like potatoes, melons, peppers, and tomatoes, all of which are very familiar in our diets today.
Many scholars and anthropologists have found that the U.S. Constitution following the Revolutionary War was inspired by a combination of traditional European government and Native governments. The Iroquois Confederation in particular was a major source of inspiration for Benjamin Franklin and other Founding Fathers. TheIroquois Confederation and the way that Native nations practiced government served as the source of the idea to separate the rights and powers of states and the federal government. The idea of the United States as a union was influenced both by the mistrust of central governments and the example already set by Native Leagues in North America. However, this influence is not typically recognized, and Native governments and sovereignty are a point of contention in U.S. politics today.
In addition to Native American influencing the institutions of the U.S. government, Native activities and sports have heavily impacted American sports and traditions. Although Native Americans have faced tokenization as mascots for U.S. sports teams, Native sports have expanded into common American culture. For example, stickball, a game popular in Southeastern tribes such as the Choctaws, evolved into lacrosse. Stickball is still played in many tribes, while lacrosse has been adapted as a popular college and high school sport, particularly in the Northeast.
Other outdoor activities such as kayaking and canoeing gained popularity because of Native Americans. There are a number of paddling clubs situated across the U.S., and many Boy and Girl Scout organizations, as well as the YMCA, promote kayaking as a skill and sport. In Arctic regions of North America, sports such as dogsledding, and snowshoeing were pioneered by the Eskimo-Indian tribes. Native Hawaiians were the first to popularize surfing, which is now a famously competitive sport in coastal cities. When thinking about popular sports and culture, it is important to remember how different tribal traditions have shaped our own lives.
Current Native Status
Despite their influence on our society, the United States government has unintentionally mistreated the Native American population. Andrew Jackson and the Trail of Tears reflect common knowledge of the mistreatment of Native peoples, but many remain unaware that the abuse of Native Americans persists to this day.
The two million Native Americans in the U.S. today experience the highest poverty rate out of every ethnic group in the country. Native reservations are plagued with poverty, and have inadequate living conditions with little funding for education or healthcare. This poverty rate correlates with a very high suicide rate and increasing reports of rape on reservations. Although abuse of Native nations often seems to be in the past, existing policies perpetuate these issues on reservations and among Native American communities.
One major issue that Native Americans on reservations have faced is the government trust for Native land. Although reservation land is held in government trusts for the purpose of preserving this land, this means that Native people are not able to own this land themselves. The inability to own land prevents Native people from gaining equity or other benefits of ownership. According to the Journal of Energy Law and Resources, reservations “contain almost 30 percent of the nation’s coal reserves, 50 percent of the nation’s potential uranium reserves, and 20 percent of known oil and gas reserves.” If reservations were able to lease or sell this land for the purpose of extracting resources, this would give tribes available income to combat their mounting debt. However, because the government keeps this land in trust, they are not able to utilize it.
Legal policies further restrict opportunities for economic growth, even when individuals or reservations can own Native land. In the late 1700s, the government created allotment policies, which allowed for some land to be owned by the Native Americans. However, the way that the legal system is structured requires this land to be divided between multiple heirs each generation, which then creates very little room for property investment or economic growth in these areas.
The United States government also historically mishandled Native assets. Tribes have almost no control over their own assets, and many of the agreements made between tribes and the U.S. government took advantage of Native tribes. In 2009, the Obama administration settled a class action lawsuit for almost $3.4 billion to redress Interior Department mismanagement of the Native American land trusts. However, many Native advocates argued that this settlement should be much higher, given the economic losses that the government forced upon Native Americans.
So, What Can You Do?
It is encouraging to see how Native Americans have positively impacted our society, and disappointing to see how the American government has allocated its resources to keep Native people in poverty. Although Indigenous Peoples’ day should be a celebration of Native culture, it should also serve as a reminder of how far we still have to go in order to achieve equity.
While more work must be done to fix legislation, there are several ways that individuals can support reservations. Donations to reservations and other Native organizations are a great way to support initiatives that empower Native Americans. Organizations including the Native American Rights Fund and the Native American Heritage Association are fantastic resources that would benefit from your donations. Buying Native-made products also helps to fund Native-owned businesses and help to economically stimulate reservations. Finally, volunteering on reservations offers opportunities to learn more about Native culture and become a better advocate and educator for others. The Navajo and Blackfoot reservations provide many volunteer opportunities.
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