The Demographic Threat to American Indians - Essay Example

CHALLENGES IN PRESERVING AMERICAN INDIAN HERITAGE

The American Indian population is composed of “’Old’ Native Americans” and the “’New’ Native American.” The “’Old’ Native Americans” still have a strong attachment to their Indian culture where they speak and still participate in various cultural ceremonies. However, the e “’New’ Native American” have abandoned have little or no attachment to their tribal identities. The American Indians are facing a new demographic threat in the twenty-first century. The danger of losing American Indian heritage arises from factors such as urbanization and intermarriages. The community has increasingly intermarried with non-Indians as a result of an increase in contact with whites, blacks and other communities. According to Sandefur and McKinnell (1986), sixty percent of Native Americans had intermarried with partners from other communities. Consequently, the census of 1970 found out that twenty percent of the American Indians did not show any tribal affiliation. The great proportion of those who did not show affiliation lived in the urbanized region. Further, the examination of the community by the US Bureau of the Census (1990) showed that less than 25% of American Indian does not speak Indian language in their homes with urban homes less likely to speak or partake in any cultural event. Therefore, it is evident that urbanization has had a huge impact in the disintegration of American Indian heritage. The trend at which the American Indian population is being reduced is worrying and requires the intervention of those concerned to preserve it. The failure to preserve American Indian culture would lead to its extinction in future (Thornton, 1998).

The American Indian tribe being considered natives of America before the invasion by other communities brings the discussion of their sovereignty and participation in politics. The sovereignty and political power are always regarded as being vested in the legal and rightful inhabitant of a given country or region. The same is echoed by Strickland (1998) where he stated that American Indians is a domestic dependent nation having features of power (Sovereignty). The American constitution allowed the courts to consider legal aspects derived from Indian Laws to be used in courts. Therefore, It is evident that native American had sort of recognition in American soil. The privilege of sovereignty was until 1871 when laws were enacted by Congress to strip off the powers that tribes had and thus ending the capability of Indian American to negotiate treaties with the United States. However, the tribe had become disorganized before the passing of the disbarment of tribal sovereignty bill into law. It is therefore not imperative to link the loss of influence to American politics to changes in laws since organization within the community had issues already (Smelser, Neil J, et al.). The disorganization was as a result of the move to allocate land to American Indian citizens which were marred with controversies as consequence of legislation passed in 1800 on the land allotment.

Despite challenges that stripped of American Indian sovereignty and political influence, the community was able to champion for the enactment of Indian Reorganization Act that was passed into law in 1934 (Thornton, 1998). The law allowed the community to organize for common welfare but did not reconsider giving them legal privileges and the federal government stopped acknowledging Indian legislation in the determination of its relations. The elimination or reduction of political powers and influence of American Indians led to debates and legal battle for self-determination. The American Indians wanted to split from the rest of United States, the federal government under the tenure of President Nixon in 1976 of which they created seven obligatory guidelines for the community to achieve national recognition. However, the burden of proof was placed on the group itself (Thornton, 1998). The federal recognition criteria must establish that the individual has been American Indian as from historical until the present time on the noticeably continuous basis (Thornton, 1998). Secondly, the regions where a significant number of inhabitant are American Indian and is distinct from other areas. Also, the member must prove that he/she is a descendant of an Indian tribe concerning a specific area. Thirdly, the individual must show that he/she has upheld tribal political influence or exercised some form of leadership up to present. Fourthly, the group needs to present a copy of governing document or procedures that govern the affairs of the tribe and its members. The fifth consideration is the maintenance of current and former member list as per the tribe’s guidelines. Sixth, the individual must be solely a member of one tribe at a time. Lastly, the petitioners must not be subject to any legislation that denies the privilege of federal relationship (Thornton, 1998). The guidelines above are not conclusive in the determination of own legitimacy as an American Indian since the courts allow the tribe to grant, qualify or revoke once membership to the tribe. Despite the confusion of laws and its interpretation, the community is retracing its rightful path and seeks to conserve its heritage. Therefore, it is evident that the federal laws have provided sufficient support to preserve culture through recognition and influence political landscape. Interestingly, the Native American has shown resilience for more than five hundred years in their struggle for sovereign survival. American Indian community is unique; it is the only tribe that with different legal recognition as a group or individually.

The American Indian tribe was dominant minority group until late 19th Century. However, it did not have political powers of a minority group but possessed high morals as compared to other groupings. Therefore, legal recognition of American Indian group as an entity in the 1970s acted as a boost to already existing organization system of the society. The importance of the tribe is evident from how it plays its role as political actors and economic drivers. There is the disgruntled proportion of scholars that are of the view that the federal government robs the privileges granted to the tribe in the constitution by putting checks and micromanaging the group.

The economic development of individuals in the tribe is seen to stagnate, but the overall community welfare increased. The American Indian tribe engages in normal economic activities which range from service to extraction of natural resources to manufacturing. However, the involvement in such activities has led to a legal battle with the legality as per the regulation of the American society. The legal showdown slows the progress of the tribe which reiterates the point made earlier that despite American Indian being given special privileges, the federal government always put it in check and try to micromanage the tribe. The tribe is unable to utilize the rights granted to them by the Constitution. Therefore, individuals find it hard to prosper in business but tribe as a whole has recorded progress due to the power of bargain. The negotiation as a group with the federal government is easier and affordable than launching a petition on an individual level.

The American Indian tribe has economic activities that are commonly aligned to its cultural and identifies them as Native American or individuals in rural areas. It is common for various tribes in the world to be aligned in a common economic activity such as farming, blacksmith or hospitality. According to (Smelser, Neil J et al.), the Native American primary economic activity is tourism; they act as providers of services or objects of tourism. The tourism services provided include transportation, facilitating in the museum, performing cultural related dance and plays, gas stations, gift shops and other hospitality services.

Additionally, the American Indians were not strict on what individuals within the tribe were supposed to engage in as an economic activity. The separate legal jurisdiction did not stop other members of the tribe from venturing to forbidden business such as gambling. The famous American Indian casinos are present in Philadelphia and Mississippi and Connecticut (Smelser, Neil J et al.).

The analysis of the tribe’s economic activities and its welfare both at individual and tribes level shows that they face various obstacles. The barriers come from the federal government and within the tribe itself. The great example is the use of profits earned from their business since they face a dilemma to reinvest, contribute to the community or make a political contribution. Pequot, for instance, provided a donation to the American Indian museum as a way of preserving its culture and artifacts for future reference or attract tourism. Also, the American Indian is very supportive within the tribal circle and therefore, generously contributes in campaigns of tribesperson having political ambition for example contribution made by Southern Cheyenne of Oklahoma. It is evident that the tribe gives priority to communal economic goals over the individual goal. The importance of tribal goals results to its political stance mentioned earlier that they did not possess political powers of a minority group but possessed high morals as compared to other tribal grouping or races (Smelser, Neil J et al.). The high moral standard is reflected by the tribe’s ability to increase its welfare faster as a community rather than improvement of individual prosperity.

The tribe has their conflict resolution process and traditional value to maintain. Tribes are not immune to conflict, and thus majority if not all ethnic groups in the world have a structure used in resolving conflict and ensuring that members adhere to the accepted code as per their traditions (Thornton, 1998). The common area of contention is when it comes to the right economic activity to engage in that does not violate tribal values. For example, Cherokee Indians of Oklahoma declared gaming illegal amongst the tribespersons despite its lucrativeness or the benefit that it would have brought to the community. The decision was based on Cherokee values but not prohibited by the US federal law.

The education is another important aspect to consider in analyzing the American Indian community. The European colonialism brought education and Christianity to the Native American as part of their ‘civilization’ quest. The conversion to Christianity of the American Indians was not possible until ‘civilization’ is achieved which then lead to the abandonment of their cultural. The major religions were protestant and catholic. Therefore, European civilization plan was through the provision of education and let to the development of mission schools and colleges. The individuals who attended this school were expected to teach others on “Civilization and Salvation” (Smelser, Neil J et al.). Also, education came into play as a tool for integrating Indian and white community since a proportion of American Indians were strict in keeping their culture. Their cultural beliefs prevented them from doing economic activities such as farming and owning private property. Therefore, education was considered a soft way of reducing rigidity in deviating from their cultural values. The Presbyterian Union, Methodist New Hope Academy, and Fort Coffee were among the major players in spreading education to the American Indian community. Also, the federal government of US played a crucial role in ensuring that American Indians access education through the creation of elementary, secondary, vocational and technical training institutions in inhabited Indian areas (Thornton, 1998). The target was to integrate them with the rest of American since education is seen as a uniting factor and opens individual’s mind to critic and abandon irrelevant cultural beliefs.

In conclusion, we can note that American Indian tribe has struggled for more than 400 years to preserve its culture and seek recognition by the federal government. The maintenance of sovereignty and political influence as American Indian community is a great challenge given various legislation and checks by the federal government. Also, the preservation of deteriorating cultural fabric is proving futile due to educational advancement, increased encroachment of foreigners in their community and urbanization. Additionally, the legislation has played a role in limiting American Indian cultural practices. The convergence of cultures is inevitable and thus concerned parties must look for ways to preserve evidence such as audio and video recording of various cultural ceremonies, written records and other artifacts. Consequently, the federal government and the Native American can work out a way that ensures government and Indian interest is taken care of, for instance, federal government developing a curriculum that is American Indian based. The implementation of above recommendation would help in reducing the extinction of American Indian culture.

Work Cited

Sandefur, Gary D, and Trudy McKinnell. "American Indian Intermarriage." Social Science Research, vol 15, no. 4, 1986, pp. 347-371.

Smelser, Neil J et al. America Becoming. Washington, D.C., National Academy Press, 2001,.

Thornton, Russell. Studying Native America: Problems And Prospects. University Of Wisconsin Press, 1998,.

US Bureau of the Census. "1990 Census Of The Population: The Foreign Born Population In The United States.." 1990, https://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/p23-206.pdf.