Since the discovery of America Indigenous, hate and discrimination has been an overwhelming issue. Even in present day, Native American people experience race driven hate crimes every single day. Native American people have experienced genocide, displacement, seclusion, removal and ongoing oppression and intergenerational trauma over the last 500 years of colonization. Native American youth have the lowest high school completion rates of any other group in the U.S. and highest rates of teen suicide than any other ethnic group. Native American women are one of the most at risk group to sexual violence and harassment. The FBI’s National Crime Information Center reported 5,203 missing indigenous girls and women in 2021 alone with those numbers always rising. Indigenous women are also two times more likely to be victims of rape compared to white women. Nearly a third of all Native American victims of race related violence are between ages 18 and 24 about one violent crime for every four persons of this age. This group of people experienced the highest per capita rate of violence of any racial group considered by age in the entirety of the United States. This is not an issue that can go unseen any longer. Majority of hate crimes that indigenous people face they never report and if they do they are often brushed over and seen as unimportant. Majority of these Native American based hate crimes are dealt with briefly by local police, even though hate crimes are a federal crime that should be dealt with by the FBI and the FBI only. In majority of these hate crime cases there is always one thing in common, where the government overlooks these violent attacks and say it has nothing to do with their race even if substantial evidence is provided. Indigenous hate is truly a plague that has been sweeping the U.S. for decades. Reservations which are one of the few places where Native Americans feel safe and welcome are hugely underfunded and often have horrible living conditions. Many reservations are constantly shrinking with the majority having limited access to clean running water, sewage and electricity due to lack of federal funding. Not to mention the lack of quality healthcare and employment opportunities. Forcing Native people to leave their family or community in order to find employment. Separating native people from each other once again. Another major issue is our history books which are frequently flawed with misinformation surrounding the Indigenous community. For generations our history books have been swarmed with hurtful and vile misinformation on the indigenous people. Depicting these people as inhumane, hostile, violent and savages. Since the day Christopher Columbus set foot on what’s now U.S. soil they have documented the “discovery of America ” all from a one sided frequently incorrect point of view. Historians of today try to write the truth including both sides of the story but usually fail to seek accurate sources of information and build on the misinformation instead of putting a stop to it. This also builds on the mistrust Native American people and historians have for each other. This makes communication extremely difficult especially considering much of Native American history is told orally through storytelling and without the storytellers there is nothing they can do to retrieve the information. Many stories of what truly happened have been lost in time by the mass genocide of Native American people. The few groups of native communities who are willing to speak about the past and help tell the truth about native history will never have the opportunity for. This issue right here is a prime example of how oppression and colonization continues to haunt our textbooks. Even among their own children they are taught misinformation in the years 1869 through the 1960s, hundreds of thousands of Native American children were removed from their homes and families and placed in boarding schools operated by the federal government forcibly removing them from their communities, languages, religions and cultural beliefs. To basically wipe away indigenous culture. Native American history and culture has been lost and destroyed over generations of oppression and hatred. Cultural Appropriation is a leading issue in the Native American community with their image being mocked on a large scale from the NFL to children’s Halloween costumes and movies. Their culture is not your costume. Their culture is not your mascot. Indigenous hate needs to be stopped. It is so important to stress the fact that the U.S. is not the land for immigrants to come and dream big but it is a settler colony taken from the hands of the people who have been here. Native people did not come from anywhere, their origin is this land. They have always been here. This is Native and indigenous Land. There is an ongoing and living history of Native American and Indigenous people that needs to be heard. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the injustices the Indigenous community faces. I hope that bringing some light to this issue can help push for change. Although fighting for Indigenous rights is a constant and ongoing battle every single person makes a difference. The more educated we are on the truth of the past the better off we are for the future.
Categories:
Indigenous Insight
Livee Mott, OP-ED Editor
May 23, 2024
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About the Contributor
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Livee Mott, OP-ED Editor
My name is Livee. This is my first year on staff. I am a freshman and did Journalism 1 for a jump start course as an 8th grader. I am in multiple clubs such as speech and debate along with being on the track and field team. I am also a proud choir member of four years.