Recommended Activism: America's Native Prisoners of War

Since the arrival of the Europeans to the Americas, Native Americans have been subjected to incredible abuse, ranging from simple neglect to relocation, and even extermination. The made up notion of "manifest destiny" has allowed the US government to successfully complete an ethnic cleansing. However, do not be mistaken. This dilemma is not only an occurrence of the past, but also proceeds the present.

Native Americans had their land stolen and were forced to live on "reservations", or more adequately put: prisoner war camps. Frequently, prisoner war camps were strategically placed in areas of land not valuable, making it difficult for Native Americans to survive.

Today, many reservations are considered ghettos. The quality of life on some reservations is comparable to the poorest of developing countries. Issues of infant mortality, life expectancy, nutrition and poverty, and alcohol and drug abuse has a strong presence. For example, Shannon County, South Dakota, home of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, is routinely described as one of the poorest counties in the nation.¹

In Aaron Huey's study of the Lokata people of the Pine Ridge Reservation, he further documents the unjust acts of the US government. Definitely check out his Ted talk. Prepare yourself because it is powerful video, but it will leave you completely stunned.

Modern Native American inequalities are also evident in Sherman Alexie's The Lone Ranger and the Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven. One of the central themes highlighted in Alexie's text are the difficulties of leaving the reservation. Past the expected discrimination outside the reservation, there is a psychological barrier the city poses for some Native Americans. As one character describes, "It's like a bad dream you never wake up from. Stuck in one of those revolving doors, going round and round while the white people are laughing. Stuck in an elevator between floors with a white woman who keeps wanting to touch my hair. There are some things that Indians would've never invented if given the chance." ²The majority of Native Americans continue to live on reservations.

We must not merely except the unjust acts of European ancestors, but become inspired to adopt different policies and change for a better future for the natives of this land we call our own. Please visit the following websites:

NAAP
DLN Coalition
AIM