Who Am I?


Written by Kara Teipen


(Kachinas that are viewed at divine spirits)


That is the question that thousands of Native American’s and Indigenous people living in America ask themselves every day. This nation state that we live in is supposed to be the place on this planet where anyone from any culture, race, and religion can live in peace and freedom. Native Hope believes that the Native American and Indigenous cultures are “often overlooked and neglected.” (Native Hope) This is baffling because these cultures predate the modern American culture literally by thousands of years. These people and their traditions have been on this continent far longer than Europeans have, but yet they have no respect from our governments or corporations.

            In high school, we are all taught the stories about the ‘Trail of Tears’ and how the United States government took advantage of these peoples lands and homes. If you think about it, that’s all that we were taught. The conversation about Native Americans was over, the conversation halted by the bell, and never to be touched again. Native Hope is frustrated at this and they comment on the current situation.  Native Hope states, “We remain ignorant to the fact that the devastating effects of this historical trauma have been passed on from generation to generation and still haunt the daily existence of Native American people today.” These groups around our country have not healed from the experience our government has put them through and no one seems to be talking about it.

            Now I want you to try something as your reading this. Stop and think about the number 573. Imagine that you have 573 ants, or 573 pies, or maybe 573 cars. If you have 573 ants, that is not that many when thinking about how small they are. But what if you have 573 cars? Well for one, that is going to take up space and it’s going to take a lot of time and effort to care for all of your cars’ needs. According to NCSL, our federal government recognizes 573 tribes. All of those tribes are groups of people that makes up over 5 million people. They all have individual needs just like owing a car. Their conditions deserve to be met, and when they are not, there is going to be negative side effects. Just like a car, if the need of gas isn’t met, then your car isn’t going to run.

            The Federal and State governments have neglected the needs of Native Americans living in this country and many of them have lost their cultural identity because of it. They have lost their traditions, land, languages and much more. Native Hope defines why culture is so important. “Culture is a way for traditions and shared values to be conveyed and preserved. The cultural values we hold as individuals and a community serve as the founding principles that greatly shape our thinking, behavior, and personalities.” (Native Hope)

            This issue and lack of identity is manifesting itself in devastating ways. Suicide. An article on ‘Youth Today,’ talks about the news that Robert G. McSwain has shared with congress. McSwain was a former Director of the Indian Health Service. He states, “suicide is the second-leading cause of death, behind unintentional injuries, for American Indian youth ages 15 to 25. This is a red flag but what he says next tells us that there is a deeper story behind these deaths. “The suicide rate for this age group is four times higher than the national average.” He got that information from the National Center for Health Statistics. The news only gets worse. Huffington Post puts this into a percentage for us. They conclude that 40 percent of Native Americans who die by suicide are between the ages of 15 and 24. The suicide rate for Native American females of all age groups grew an astounding 89 percent in just 15 years. This is the largest rate of increase of suicide for any age or cultural group in the nation.  “Native Americans have higher rates of suicide than any other ethnicity, and higher than the general population.” (Huffington Post) The article also discusses that alcohol abuse and alcohol related deaths are higher. The health issues in the community are worse than average and have especially high rates of diabetes and tuberculosis. This group of people also suffer from poverty and unemployment.

            Native Hope knows that this information is hard to take in, but they want people to know that there is change coming. There are groups that are working together to bring back the feelings of ‘hope and pride’ to these Native American peoples. They want to help tribes get back what they have lost so they can find their cultural identity again. They want to reach out and fix that high school narrative of ending the conversation when the bell rings. This organization has a group called the Native Hope Fellowship program. They mention some of their goals, “determined to break the bonds of historical trauma, they are resolved to show that Native culture is not just a part of the past, but current and dynamic entity of today.” (Native Hope) There are many people facing these harsh realities, but there is hope after all.

 



Work cited
      
Dastagir, Alia E. “She Worked in Suicide Prevention. Then One Day She Had to Save Herself.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 17 Dec. 2018, www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/investigations/surviving-suicide/2018/11/28/native-american-suicides-coping-historical-trauma-suicide-prevention/972282002/.
 

Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., kids.britannica.com/students/assembly/view/136496.

 
Hope, Native. “February Spotlight: the Native American Identity Crisis and the Rise of Suicide.” Native Hope Blog,   blog.nativehope.org/february-spotlight-native-american-identity.
 

NAA. “Native American Aid.” Native American Living Conditions on Reservations - Native American Aid, 2015, www.nativepartnership.org/site/PageServer?pagename=naa_livingconditions.
 

NoiseCat, Julian Brave. “13 Issues Facing Native People Beyond Mascots And Casinos.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 31 Aug. 2015, www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/13-native-american-issues_us_55b7d801e4b0074ba5a6869c.
 

Sunshine, Gregory, and Aila Hoss. “Emergency Declarations and Tribes: Mechanisms Under Tribal and Federal Law.” 2017, doi:10.31228/osf.io/6f8ce. (phot

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