American indians

[returntosender]

Why did we segregate indians? It seems a cruel and unusual punishment. Who's to say they are less then us? We all should be living together in all regions.

 

[returntosender]

I realize how it came about. But i think it's terrible. A terrible choice given but mostly made by the higher ups then the individuals and not in their best interest

 

[Occams Barber]

Why did we segregate indians? It seems a cruel and unusual punishment. Who's to say they are less then us? We all should be living together in all regions.

You've raised an interesting question which raises issues which affect many groups as well as American Indians. The difficulty is that it takes more than the 'short and sweet' answer you want to do it justice. There are many minefields.

Segregation is an issue which often confronts First Nations (i.e. indigenous) populations or any ethno-cultural minority group trying to retain its own culture in the midst of a cultural majority. American and Canadian First Peoples, Australian and New Zealand First Nations, Karen minorities and Uigurs all share a similar problem.

The problem I'm talking about isn't just the effects of forced segregation but the difficulty in deciding whether, or to what extent, to employ a degree of voluntary segregation as a means of preserving culture and language.

At the extremes, these cultures have two basic choices;

• Fully integrate into the dominant culture. This may result in the minority culture being swamped by the dominant culture and effectively lost. On the other hand full integration can also mean that the minority is better able to succeed within the broader culture

• Largely segregate by withdrawal into a Homeland or similar. This allows for much easier retention of the minority culture - particularly language. The problem here is that eventual success in the larger culture is dependant on aspects of that culture (like language or schools) being imported into the Homeland situation. There is also the issue of those raised in the Homeland culture being at a disdvantage as a result of unfamiliarity with the broader culture.

Effective solutions probably lie somewhere between the two extremes but experience has shown that the answers are not easy and wrong choices can impact for generations.

I've voted no because forced segregation is never right. Voluntary segregation can sometimes be justified.

There is more but I'll stop here.

OB

 

[returntosender]

Nice OB, the Indians suffer here. I realize money allotment so i don't understand their struggles for food and shelter. Even their people are lost in death. We have police, etc investigating among other races but the Indians can die or disappear and no one pursues answers in a timely manner if they do at all. It's a crime. It's understandable their drinking problems. Even the Mexicans are better taken care of even with illegal status. Jumping subject, they are the majority over us white minorities.

 

[Occams Barber]

Nice OB, the Indians suffer here. I realize money allotment so i don't understand their struggles for food and shelter. Even their people are lost in death. We have police, etc investigating among other races but the Indians can die or disappear and no one pursues answers in a timely manner if they do at all. It's a crime. It's understandable their drinking problems. Even the Mexicans are better taken care of even with illegal status. Jumping subject, they are the majority over us white minorities.

Unfortunately, it's something which is common to many First Nation groups. The causes are complex and relate to treatment in the past and in the present. I don't think there's a quick fix.

I wish I had an answer.

OB

 

[Maria Billingsley]

Why did we segregate indians? It seems a cruel and unusual punishment. Who's to say they are less then us? We all should be living together in all regions.

Segregation of Indians is illegal. It is discrimination.
Blessings.

 

[dogs4thewin]

Segregation of Indians is illegal. It is discrimination.
Blessings.

I think the person is currently talking about reservations which is still a thing ( though it is no longer mandatory that they live just on the reservations.

 

[returntosender]

I think the person is currently talking about reservations which is still a thing ( though it is no longer mandatory that they live just on the reservations.

Unfortunately, what else do they know? It would have to be forced integration to get them back with society.

 

[Blade]

Whos gonna say yes lol. It was to keep them apart from the white settlers aka reservations. No BLM groups or reparations for the American Indians. No use looking back nothing to do about it now. This coming from a Nez Perce family.. I will fight no more forever.

 

[returntosender]

Whos gonna say yes lol. It was to keep them apart from the white settlers aka reservations. No BLM groups or reparations for the American Indians. No use looking back nothing to do about it now. This coming from a Nez Perce family.. I will fight no more forever.

Never say never. I did think it had a different answer then yours.
Thanks for your response

 

[returntosender]

No

I think the person is currently talking about reservations which is still a thing ( though it is no longer mandatory that they live just on the resereserva

 

[returntosender]

This is true, they took the easier familiar road. Integrating into an unfamiliar territory is rough. No one wants to leave a place of comfort. I just feel so bad for them. They're stuck and it seems to me a sad hopeless place that their generation before made for them. i suppose that a few break out, God bless them. But i know for most there is little positive future for them.

 

[Desk trauma]

Unfortunately, what else do they know? It would have to be forced integration to get them back with society.

The majority of native Americans don’t live on reservations.

 

[J_B_]

Unfortunately, what else do they know? It would have to be forced integration to get them back with society.

That is part of it, but Indians face different challenges than other minorities. They have some amount of self-rule & sovereignty on the reservations such that the more traditional natives don't want to leave, despite the conditions.

As has been mentioned, it's a complex issue. Too many make this a "good Indian, bad Caucasian" issue, which oversimplifies the problem and creates problems of its own. Most don't realize that during the 19th century there was a major movement among whites to treat Indians better. Many white teachers went to reservation schools because they wanted to help, not because they were uptight Victorian prigs who wanted to beat the inferior culture from them. The problem in those cases was more ignorance than belligerence.

The same applies to any case where a teacher of one race teaches children of another race. I've heard white teachers talk of the struggles they have teaching Latinos, even when they want to do a good job.

Unfortunately, it's something which is common to many First Nation groups. The causes are complex and relate to treatment in the past and in the present. I don't think there's a quick fix.

True, but it goes even further than that. The Puritan character of the American church has also caused problems for Catholics, Orthodox, and Lutherans. There is still some bitterness among American Lutherans about the way they were treated during WWI & WWII. At the same time, and even though I'm Lutheran, I understand the fear of that time. It's hard even for the best-intentioned to get it right.

As such, I agree with an Indian I heard interviewed on NPR. The interviewer asked if he preferred to be called Indian or Native American. He replied that he was neither. Both of those were labels created by and applied by whites. He preferred to use the name of his people from his native tongue. But, he added, he didn't expect whites to know that name just as he didn't know if, beyond being white, his interviewer was English, French, or German, etc. As long as people treated him with respect and good intentions, it was easy to accept being called Indian, Native American, or whatever word they came up with.

 

[returntosender]

A black person once said to me that the government gave the indian a plot of land for their mistreatment so she is waiting for that reward. For the mistreatment of her ancestors. A bit of peculiar info

 

[returntosender]

The majority of native Americans don’t live on reservations.

AZ sure isn't on that list. The only Indian i see here is a drunk Indian.

 

[Rev. Adam McKay PhD]

I realize how it came about. But i think it's terrible. A terrible choice given but mostly made by the higher ups then the individuals and not in their best interest

I am assuming you mean Native Americans in the US. The US government generally treated tribes or groups within tribes as entities within US territory with whom to be negotiated. Each group had their own treaties with the US government that were often violated by one party or another. Native Americans are a race of people that spanned many different areas, tribes, and cultures. There were just a mean and cruel to each other Europeans were among their own.

Europeans had a technological advantage and had exposure to diseases that Native Americans did not, which devastated them. Many Native Americans integrated into American society. There is no simplistic, black and white history. Some tribes "accepted" settling into reservations. The British and later the US government was often at odds with Americans settling into lands which people already used. The US govern for the most part wanted them to learn English, become Christians, and integrate into society. We'd call that cultural genocide today. It has been common throughout history - to keep the people, but spread them out and make them like your own.

Native Americans are free to live wherever they want in the US. Many Americans have ancestors that are Native Americans.

 

[FireDragon76]

Why did we segregate indians? It seems a cruel and unusual punishment. Who's to say they are less then us? We all should be living together in all regions.

Indians aren't segregated by law, and have full citizenship under US law. Many choose to live on reservations, because it's land ceded to them by treaty and that's where their communities are.

Tulsa, Oklahoma, BTW, has the largest percentage of the population of Native Americans of any city in the US.

A black person once said to me that the government gave the indian a plot of land for their mistreatment so she is waiting for that reward. For the mistreatment of her ancestors. A bit of peculiar info

That's an inaccurate comparison. The land given to them was in compensation for land taken from them.