As I was researching about the USA I came across some information regarding Native American´s. Of course I had heard about them but
never really looked into their lifestyle or how the non-natives treated them.
Native Americans are mainly constituted by different
tribes and ethnic groups and they´ve been in America since before conquerors
came and named it. In fact, when Europeans decided they wanted this
land for their own was the time in which conflict began between the so called “Old
World” and “New World”. For centuries Native Americans were forced to abandon
their beliefs and traditions in order to “fit in” with the rest of the country
and the tribes who refused to do so were given a small amount of land in which
they could live in, these are called reservations. Most natives who live there have
a difficult life; there is a high rate of poverty, alcohol abuse, heart
disease, suicide and joblessness among other issues. It´s said that the quality
of life in the reservations is comparable to that of a developing world, which
is strange considering they are part of one of the top countries in the world.
Taking all of the above into consideration, is it okay
for some people to force their beliefs on others just because they think of
themselves as superiors? Why can´t we accept others who are different from us?
And is it necessary to exclude them and make it even more difficult for them to
have a normal life? These are some of the questions that I thought of while writting this blog and maybe they could help others to reflect about the topic.
Picture 1: Native Americans vs. white settlers
Picture 2: Native Americans being pushed out of their lands
By: Rocío Loredo H.
All people have equal rights and no one should look down to others. Reprisals are unnecessary to demostrate their power. Thanks for giving us know about this topic
ResponderEliminarThank you for your comment! I agree, I don´t think that power should be used to opress people who think different or have different traditions and in my opinion everyone should be respected and seen as equals.
Eliminaris very bad that someone impose you an ideology and dont being able to do anything about it, is also sad that the native Amercians can't be accepted for the non-americans
ResponderEliminarThank you for you comment Tamara! I agree with you, it´s not nice for some people to force their ideology on others just because they think it´s better and it´s sad that in the same country there are so many conflicts between different ethnics groups, they should accept eachother.
EliminarI really liked your entry, and I couldn't avoid but relate it with the Mapuche situation today, and I made myself the same questions you wrote. But not only them, but with the native indians and original towns all around the world; they all received and suffered the discrimination, the anger, but why? Why do we hate our own "roots"? Isn't that the same as hate OURSELVES? I just really don't get it.
ResponderEliminarThank you for your entry, Rocío, I enjoyed it a lot.
Societies don't hate their own roots, they show hate towards what they regard as inferior, usually related to not-so-advanced or just different groups. Normally, the ones who hate or dicriminate see their past with pride, meaning they have a history and have developed succesfully into what they are now. For example, the mapuche people has chosen to keep traditions and a way of life that may seem outdated for today standards, and for the very same reason is that some chilean people discrminate against them. Even when they may have the same roots, discriminators consider themselves as part of the spaniard legacy, who were at the moment a conquering society with advanced technology, therefore, superior. The same happens with Native americans, who are looked down by those who deem themselves as the evolution of british colonizers.
EliminarEste comentario ha sido eliminado por el autor.
ResponderEliminar