Beyond
Mascots and Casinos #NativeLivesMatter
By Trace
This
is one of the if not the very best article on Indigenous peoples in Indian
and/or Native American Country that I am honored to Re-Blog!
If
I may have your attention for a few moments?
Respecting
our ancestors.
As my
close friends and followers know, I have spent all of my adult life fighting
for the thousands of "NON-RECONIZED" Native Americans all over New
England, New York and lately east of the Mississippi whose family members often
came to my grandfathers/fathers meetings, many helping to teach me about their
way.
This should also include all of the
hemisphere!
Because
they are alive, and even if now dead, they are descendents, live in Indian and
Native American Country, just as poor as any on Government Reservations and all
of them are being shunned by this government, state and federal and even most
of their brothers and sisters on those reservations!
Also
before we get into the meat of my comment, my close friends and followers know
that I gave my word to two of the most important family members, at the time,
to first my grandfather (Shechaim Ohjieshan Tallfox) in a ceremony that I
would turn my back on Bingo and my father (Shechaim Ohjieshan Zeak) in a
ceremony to turn my back on Government controlled Casinos!
So, this one as with just about every story about our
people, the only thing written about is some number of Government Controlled
Reservation Indians, in this article, 567
tribes, including 229
Alaska Native communities?
This
number cuts at the heart of my friends, myself and Kiehtan our Creator.
Native
Lives Matter!
Next
If
President Obama is going to open up the Federal Government to his people, the
Hawaiian Natives, why not also the ones that were Native Tribes of this land
long before Hawaii became a state in the United States of America!
All
Native Lives Matter!
Native
Hawaiians, and members of many other Native communities throughout the U.S.,
have never received federal recognition of their rights as Native peoples.
This
deprives them of basic services, and even of the limited rights of
self-governance available to other Native communities. Many tribes spend
decades wading through Bureau of Indian Affairs paperwork, only to lose their
petitions for recognition.
This is
not a media bash or “poverty porn.” This story reflects how things are… As
sovereigns, it’s up to the tribes to decide what to tackle, fix or change. Have
a good weekend everyone! XOX
13
Issues Facing Native People Beyond Mascots And Casinos
Most of the recent headlines about indigenous Americans
have had to do with a
certain D.C. football team, or a surpassingly
dumb Adam
Sandler movie, or casinos of the kind operated by the fictional Ugaya
tribe on “House of Cards.” And we’re not
saying these issues don’t matter. But beyond the slot machines, the movie sets
and the football fields, there are other problems facing Native communities —
insidious, systemic, life-or-death problems; the kinds of problems it takes
years and votes and marches to resolve — that aren’t getting nearly as much
attention.
There are 567
tribes, including 229
Alaska Native communities, currently recognized
by the federal government. The Bureau of Indian Affairs — the primary federal
agency in charge of relations with indigenous communities — is also considering
extending federal status to Native
Hawaiians.
Only 51
percent of Native Americans in the class of 2010
graduated high school. Native Hawaiians fare better, but still underperform
compared to their peers — as best we can tell from the limited data, anyway. In
the mid-’00s, about 70 percent
of Native Hawaiians attending Hawaiian public
schools graduated in four years, as compared to 78 percent of students
statewide.
For Native Americans, at least, these disparities are in
large part the result of inadequate federal funding, to the point where some
schools on Indian reservations are deteriorated
and structurally dangerous.
Beyond
Mascots and Casinos #NativeLivesMatter
