Native American Issues Are More Than A Mascot

Wenona Wolf, who grew up on the St.Croix Chippewa Reservation in northwest Wisconsin, says, "More likely than not, when we're talking about health,or talking about the justice system the Native American Population is being affected, and in big ways."

What Wolf is saying is that we often fail to discuss problems and issues facing Native Americans. Since the 1500's when colonization of the Americas began, the Native population has decreased, and in 2010, the United States Census concluded that only 2.9 million out of the total US population of 308.7 million is American Indian or Native Alaskan alone. This is only 0.9% of the total population. Because they're such a small minority their problems are often overlooked. Most of the recent headlines about Native Americans have to to with a certain football team's mascot or a casino such as the one operated by the fictional Ugaya tribe on House of Cards. While these are legitimate and important issues, there are much more serious problems that face the Native population.

 

      Partly because of the Black Lives Matter Movement, that demands and insists equality for the black community, there is an increasing momentum in the discussion about the issues of police and mass incarceration. In July of 2015, Paul Castaway, a mentally ill Rosebud Sioux citizen was killed by police in Denver, Colorado. Castaway's death gave reason for protests and has shed light on the rate at which police kill Native Americans. In addition, over representation of Native Americans in the criminal justice system is entirely proportionate to their representation in media. In the states of Alaska, South Dakota, and Hawaii Native Americans make up less thank 15% of the total population, but over 29% of the prison population. Mass incarceration in Native communities is further complicated by unresolved conflicts between tribes and state and federal jurisdictions. Consequently, aside from domestic violence, under the Major Crimes Act, tribal courts are not allowed to try major crimes. Because of this,  felony crimes are tried under federal courts, where sentencing tends to be more harsh.

   

 In 2014, President Barack Obama visited the Standing Rock Sioux on the border between North and South Dakota where the poverty rate is 43.2%, which is almost 3x the national average. In 2012, three out of the top five and five out of the top ten poorest counties in the United States bordered Sioux reservation in North and South Dakota. According the US Census Bureau, 27% of Native Americans and Alaska Natives live impoverished.

    Native American women are 3.5 time more likely to sexually abused or assaulted than women of other races. The 22% rate of Native American children suffering Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a rate equal to that of Afghanistan or Iraq veterans. The source of this violence often come from outside the community, Though progress has been made. In 2015, tribe won the right to prosecute non-native men. Despite opposition from state, local, and federal lawmakers, tribes are pushing for control over justice systems on sovereign land.

   These are only a few of the serious and prevalent problems facing the Native population. Recent event have sparked discussions on racial and ethnic discrimination and though we're moving forward, we often discount the voices and conflicts of smaller groups. In addition to and unfair justice system and poverty, Native Americans face an unjust education system that misrepresents and greatly under-represents and provides less than adequate funding for schools on reservations. They also face underfunded reservations. Reservations are not owned by tribes, but by the US government and programs to help reservations are historically underfunded and often disregarded.