The Lifeblood of Native America
Written by Daniel Brown
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| 13 issues facing Native People Beyond Mascots And Casinos. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/GETTY IMAGES. 2015. |
In
this blog, we are going to discuss how Native American have been exploited out
of many of their own natural resources. Today, their lands, water reserves, and
livestock are all under danger of being no more. This a problem in need of
discussion because Native Americans have an extreme bond to their lands. The exploitation of their
lands has happened in many parts of America, such as Alaska, Montana, Dakota,
and Nevada and even goes as far as Canada. Native Americans are terrified that if
their lands cease to be theirs, how will they live ?For not only are Americans
taking away valuable resources needed for Native American survival, they are
taking away the lifeblood and very soul of Native Americans.
In fact, Native American society is based
around the land they own. The Native American religion, food, and basic
necessities of life can not be carried out without access to their land. “The first resource extracted from indigenous
Americans was gold. When the (extinct) Arawak ran out of gold to bring
Christopher Columbus, he turned to the people themselves as the resource,
garnering the majority of his profits by selling them as slaves”(1,2017). The exploitation
of the Native Americans go all the way back to the days of America’s founding. This
set the tone for all other European dealings with Native Americans. Countless
of innocent Native Americans were
destroyed, and their homes now in the possession of the conquering, white Europeans.
All the food and water resources once known to Native Americans were now but a
distant memory.
Come into the 18th and 19th century,
Native Americans still had to deal with exploitation of land. They were forced
to march away from their homes on treks such as the Oregon Trail, and had to
deal with the constant depletion of their food resources by white hunters. The
old adage is that things will always get better given enough time. If you ask
any Native American this adage is a complete lie. For centuries upon centuries,
Native Americans have had to deal with not only the depletion of the resources
, always missing out on the benefits reaped from the resources. “They’ve
received little to none of the profit or benefit from those resources. Often
they’ve been forced to give them away to survive wars and modern economies. Or,
to embrace extraction industries as a sole source of capital after traditional
territory and means of subsistence has been taken from them”(1,2017). In other
words , how are Native Americans expected to live when everything is taken from
them? Could you live without your job, food, or car? The answer was probably
no, so how can we expect others to do the same?
We go now to 2005 Alaska and Canada where the
development of natural pipelines and tar sands have the potential to destroy the
Native American ecosystem and very fabric of life. “The Alaska and
McKenzie Valley natural gas pipelines have the intention of expand” the oil
sands development into a multi-region operation capable of providing the U.S.
with enough oil and gas to diversify its energy supply and further solidify its
energy security”(1,2005). American are using Native American lands to
accomplish this feat, and by no means ok it with them at all. Americans are exploiting
the land for their own purposes, and see no need to consider the feelings and livelihood
of Native Americans. Moreover, the Dene people of Alberta and Northeast Canada have
had their land fragmented and destroyed by the tar sands development. “The
waste ponds created by this toxic process covers vast tracks of land in the
heart of the Dene territory and can even be seen from outer space. Most of the
oil taken from Dene lands is sold directly to the U.S. market”(1,2005). Once
again we see exploitation of Native American land. While being used to boost
American business, the tar sands are also being used to destroy the very
essence of Native Americans. They are having their livelihood ripped from them,
and without it, how can Native Americans expect to exist? Without ones livelihood,
one will just fade away from existence. Out of memory, out of history.
In
Montana, we see the same exploitation occurring. Indigenous tribes in Montana
have had to deal with the coal bed “methane industry promoting CBM development
as an economic solution for tribes. This fossil fuel raises serious concerns
about the protection of surface and ground water supplies, irrigation systems,
wildlife, and the health and welfare of Indigenous communities, plus, the
social and cultural impacts”(1,2005). Life as the Native Americans know it is
being threaten by whites. A development of this size took thousands, even tens
of thousands miles to make. In addition, thousands of miles of electric power
lines, pipelines, and roads encroach on Native American territory, decreasing
it little by little as every day goes by. Do Native Americans not have a right
to live in peace? Are they not humans like you and me? By taking over their
lands and using it for white purposes, we are basically denying them life. We are
stating that our lives and needs trump Native American lives and needs.
Finally
we come to Nevada. Here the Moapa Band of Paiute Indians were under attack from
coal ash from a nearby plant. Coal ash is basically the deposit of material
left over when coal is burned. It is compacted with pollutants that it is not
covered under any federal law. This coal ash is making Native Americans afraid
of death. Surita Hernandez , a mother of five and someone who lives close by to
this coal -powered plant, is terrified for her children’s lives, each who have
respiratory problems. “We have inhalers, we have nebulizers. My son takes a
steroid at night to help control his asthma. My daughter has headache
medication because she gets these headaches and they just don’t go
away”(2,2014). Basically, this coal ash is toxic. It is only affecting Native
Americans, but their children as well. That’s right even the Native American’s generation of tomorrow is being threatened by
this unrelenting, all consuming coal ash. How would you feel if the roles were
reversed and your children were suffering? Would you do everything in your
power to stop this coal powered plant? Even though the coal powered plant was
shut down it was not until 2017, and not after a multitude of severe battles. The
suit from William Anderson, former chairmen of the Moapa band of Paiute Indians
“finally got the attention of political leaders by providing evidence that
waste from the plant was contaminating the ground water way above federal
regulations”(4,2014). In other words. This battle was won by the Native
Americans, but if you ask me, I’d say it was won way too late. The federal
government only really started to care about the coal-powered plant when it was
poisoning the ground water above federal drinking standards. The US government
did not seem to mind when it was harming Native American children, or
destroying their land. Yet another example of how `Native Americans come second
to all the almighty whites, and yet another example how the exploitation of
Native American resources take their livelihood away.
All
in all, the constant exploitation of Native American natural resources are etching
them away from life as they know it. They have had to deal with poising coal
ash to methane companies to pipelines destroying the very fabric of their lives.
Furthermore, they have had to deal with sick children , and fearing about the
death of themselves and the land they have had since ancient times. The
constant exploitation has put a hold on Native American life, and is draining
the very lifeblood that makes Native American who they are. Without the blood
that gives us life, we are reduced to nothing but an eventual pile of bones. Desolate,
and destined to be a distant memory.
Works Cited
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