Blog Post- The Native American Community
The community I decided to blog about throughout this class is the Native American community. I am from a Native American background, and I feel it is crucial to bring up our culture, past, and struggles. Recently indigenous people have been silent, but that does not mean they do not need a voice. Native Americans have the highest suicide rate of any racial/ethnic group in the United States. Due to residential and social status, the Native American community ranks among one of the lowest classes in our nation. Since they are known as the first Americans, this community is not talked about as much as other minority groups. Statistically, they struggle with alcoholism, social class, unemployment, violence against women, and many more issues that push them to a point where they commit suicide at the highest rate in all of America. So why not support the Native American community?
The Native American community has many ongoing issues that have been continuing for decades. They have a high unemployment rate due to the Great Depression, and 33% of the Native American community is living in poverty. Many live on reservations funded by the government, and while they have many systemic and historical issues, Covid-19 took a considerable toll on the community. Although Covid-19 effects have died down over the past few months, I learned how much of an effect it took on the Native American community after much research. According to the CDC, “American Indian and Alaskan Natives are among the racial and ethnic minority groups at higher risk for severe COVID-19 outcomes. Persisting racial inequity and historical trauma have contributed to disparities in health and socioeconomic factors between AI/AN and white populations that have adversely affected tribal communities.” This also reflects differences in reliance on shared transportation, limited access to running water, household size, and other factors that might facilitate community transmission.
Another significant issue in the Native American community that needs to be discussed is violence against women and children. Over 400 indigenous women have been reported missing in the past ten years, and no one in the media has covered these stories, along with how 80% of physical abuse and rape that Native American women experience is by a non-native. So why are these issues not covered in the news, social media, and other platforms? Just imagine if more people worked together to raise awareness for women in the Native American community. Unfortunately, this topic often goes undiscussed, along with many Native Americans being unable to exercise their voting rights; this is because they do not technically have a street address like many other U.S. citizens; as a result of living on a reservation, many applications for voting cards may get rejected. This restriction puts the indigenous people at a disadvantage with voting compared to other citizens of the United States, including Caucasians, African Americans, Mexicans, Asian Americans, and many more.
The Native American languages are becoming extinct; only more than half of the 300 original languages still exist today. Many Native Americans have tried their hardest to keep their languages alive to keep their native languages from becoming obsolete forever. However, due to limited financial institutions and the struggles that they experience in the community, it would be very challenging to keep all the languages alive. It is estimated that only about twenty out of the three hundred original languages will still be around in the next twenty-five to thirty years. There are so many issues that the Native American community faces every day; to make a change in this community, I believe these issues should be discussed more and more every day, whether that be through news coverage, social media posts, blogging, lectures in school, or even casual conversation. It would be disappointing for the Native American cultures, beliefs, and fascinating history to not be discussed amongst our future generation of people, not only within the United States but maybe even across the world.
There are plenty of issues that are going on in the Native American community. Whether that be unemployment, violence against women, having less educational opportunities, less mental/health care, ongoing complications with voting rights, and even their languages being threatened. My goal at the end of these blogs is to reflect on my research into the Native American community and to show different perspectives on how they have suffered many years through many levels of discrimination. The Native American community is essential, and they must become more discussed and shown throughout the United States to keep their culture, language, and rights alive.