American Indians Today - Assimilation of NDNs

Whew... sorry for the delay folks, I left town over spring break and just got back!

Well, here I am... this is the last section of the PREVIEW of everything to come - after this post, we're heading back to the beginning, and we're going to start with the Doctrine of Discovery, and then move on from there in more detail on everything.

Okay, the Assimilation of Indians.
Federal indian policy has always dealt with one core issue... whether and to what extent the US should permit/encourage/FORCE the assimilation of indians into the main society of the United States. Should we have reservations? Why or why not?

Obviously, there are a lot of reasons the US would love to see the indians assimilated, or blended into the mainstream; losing their special status and rights. For starters, the indian land and resources (like timber, minerals, the LAND they could be taxing) are pretty strong incentives.

A lot of non-indians who don't know much about the issue presume indians would benefit by leaving tribal life behind and sharing in the larger society. This mindset is kind of a spinoff of the same "we are better than them" mentality you're going to see in the next post about the doctrine of discovery. People who don't know any indians don't GET the reality of the situation, and that's one of the things I hope this blog can educate people on. It's so easy to tell another group of people to conform to your culture if you don't understand where they are "coming from" or what their life and values and culture are really about. And people who don't know squat about indians should probably not be making decisions regarding the future of indians... but on the other side, indians should probably not be telling everyone who is not full-blooded indian that they don't know what they are talking about and not hear what they have to say.

Both sides (or actually the many sides.. this is not an issue where people fall into ONLY camp 1 or camp 2, there are MANY different viewpoints and perspectives and mindsets and levels of experience and education) should listen to the other. That's all I am saying. I wish people would all hear each other out and THINK about what they learn before they make decisions. We need to stop making uninformed decisions and all learn as much about an issue as we can before acting, EVERYWHERE in life.

Ok, enough of the sermon. Let's get on with the basics...
Contemporary indian reservations have a pretty bad rep. They're hotbeds of extreme poverty. The poorest area in the nation, I believe, is the Pine Ridge Rez in South Dakota, for example. There are all sorts of other social problems like alcohol and drug issues and violence. Many indians are reliant on welfare.
So why are indians so determined to hold on to these reservations? Justice Black, of the Supreme Court summed it up best in Federal Power Commission v. Tuscarora Indian Nation - (362 u.s. 99, 142). He said...

"It may be hard for us to understand why these Indians cling so tenaciously to their lands and traditional tribal way of life. The record does not leave the impression that the lands of their reservation are the most fertile, the landscape the most beautiful or their homes the most splendid specimens of architecture. But this is their home -- their ancestral home. There, they, their children, and their forebears were born. They, too, have their memories and their loves. Some things are worth more than money and the costs of a new enterprise."

Should indian reservations and tribes be kept wholly separate from the rest of the country? That's a topic we're going to get into. And in a nutshell, the answer should vary for EVERY INDIAN, depending on not only circumstances, but their person. Indians should not have to live in poverty just because they choose to remain in a unified group. But how much should they mix with the non-indian world? And should they leave the rez when they become adults? Or should they stay? And how much should the US be giving to the tribes or reservations? How much control should they have over these reservations, especially if they are paying for them?

Lots of questions, people, but we have a shortage of answers. I'd love to hear your thoughts...