Native Americans: Struggling for Equality & Justice - Research Paper

Introduction

Despite the increased equality and equal sharing of resources awareness, native Americans continue to face extraordinary struggles. The struggles result from broad range factors such as economic, historical, environmental, cultural and social and affect them both as individuals and as communities. Native tribes in the US suffered due to discriminatory and cruel policies, violence and dislocation, biological warfare through the introduction of diseases, banning of their spiritual and cultural expressions, and open discrimination among others. Despite the establishment of the United States constitution and implementation of other policies that recognize human rights, the Seminole tribe in Florida continues to face multiple life challenges, including poverty, access to inadequate education facilities, violence, limited healthcare resources, and racial discrimination.

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Disputes over land territories have consistently subjected the Seminole tribe to various issues such as trauma and other health issues and economic hardships. According to Towers, Seminole Wars resulted from white people's attempts to dislodge natives from their homes (26). During this period, lives were lost as the natives were determined to protect their country and culture. As a result of this violence, people's perception regarding this tribe based on their historical background has continued to impact the community's today lives. The Indian Removal Act and the following treaties caused most of the Seminoles to leave their homes, crops, livestock and significant spiritual places (Erdoes and Alfonso 77). Also, the dislocation was characterized by deaths from exhaustion and starvation, outbreaks of cholera, and inadequate supplies. Regardless of these issues, Towers indicated that the Seminole tribe is perceived as violent and savage (57). Stereotypes based on these historical contexts and stigmatization affects the people's ability to interact with the rest of the population. Consequently, such conditions result in mental pressure thus causing psychological issues among the native Americans.

Healthcare inequalities in the United States among native communities is a primary challenge affecting people's wellbeing. Bailey et al. stated that structural racism continues to cause discriminatory values, beliefs, and distribution of resources thus contributing to adverse health outcomes in America (1454). For4 instance, the scholars noted that in 2014, 28.3% of native Americans below 65 years have no health insurance, and 14.1% have poor or fair health compared to whites at 13.3% without insurance and 8.9% with poor health (1455). These health conditions have adverse impacts on the general wellbeing of the native communities. Despite increased healthcare programs and policies, native Americans continue to suffer from healthcare disparities.

Although there has been an increase in the Seminole tribe's wealth accumulation, the community poverty level is still high compared to the rest of the US population. According to Bailey et al., 28.3% of all ages and 35.0% of children below 18 years among Native Americans live below the poverty line (1455). However, only 14.8% of non-Hispanic whites of all ages and their corresponding 21.0% of children lived below the poverty line. Culture, ethnicity, and race play a significant role in resource distribution in America. During the Seminole Wars, the tribe lost a lot of its wealth, which adversely impacted its economic growth (Covington 73). They had to rebuild their economy after attaining freedom, which slowed their growth. Also, the US practice of disassociating the native tribes from money logics continues to hinder them from economic progress.

The United States continues to practice institutional and structural racism through residential segregation. Native Americans continued to live economically and racialized segregated neighborhoods, which consequently affects development. During the transition to Reservations, the federal residential development programs constructed identical buildings to help people transit from the traditional Seminole clan camps ("Seminole Tribe of Florida"). However, the new building had poor circulation, few windows and no air conditioning which made them uncomfortable and stifling. Over the years, increased population and worsening affected the environment and living conditions. Although gaming has significantly improved the natives' financial situations, Bailey et al. noted that the aftermath of historical segregation still affects development. For instance, segregated areas are often characterized by limited access to high-quality education and job opportunities, exposure to environmental and air pollutants, and limited access to healthcare resources (Ertz 421). These poor living conditions in these neighborhoods lower the people's capabilities to initiate and participate in development programs.

However, Garbarino and Robert argued that Florida Seminoles have continuously managed to improve their economic conditions through an expansion of gaming businesses and increased local administrative control (78). When Seminoles developed the gaming business, revenues from casinos would be deposited in tribal coffers and later converted to personal checks. These funds allowed people access to better services and enhanced economic progress. However, with modern industrial environments and policies in the US, ultimate dependency on gaming revenues can't solve native's problems. Howard identified the perception of American Indians as vibrant due to their exclusive privileges to run casinos as a mistaken notion (21). Few successful tribal ventures overshadow the actual conditions of this native community. Although tribes are allowed to run gaming facilities per congressional oversight facilitated through the Indian gaming regulatory act (IGRA), native Americans still languish in poverty. Cases related to state sovereignty and federal policies also adversely impacted the indigenous tribes' ability to expand their gaming businesses to most of US economic hubs. Competition from private investors has also significantly affected the native's financial activities thus influencing their profitability and, therefore, economic stability. Despite government funding and development of the private sector, the Seminoles continue to suffer from unemployment, low wages and slow economic growth compared to the rest of the US population.

The Seminoles of Florida suffers from education inequality. Desegregating and assigning schools to all students regardless of their ethnic, cultural, and racial backgrounds, will significantly contribute towards academic integration in the United States. However, Norwood noted that the US had lost its dream to provide quality and integrated education, terming it as impossible to achieve in the 21st century (72). Lack of proper knowledge among the native Americans significantly affects the community's capability to develop. Skinner stated that without adequate education, the Seminoles have access to limited job opportunities and their incomes are considerably low compared to the whites (118). After Seminoles' dislocation to a new place, the mandate of a provision of education resources was given to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (Garbarino 42). However, Towers indicated that BIA failed to provide organized academic systems despite the congress' appropriated funding (93). The natives required education to overcome their challenges and match development pace experienced in the US and the rest of the world, therefore, inadequate education facilities were a huge obstacle. Issues such as federal building programs that supported segregation were a great contributor to education inequalities among the marginalized communities in the united states.

Exposure to various social domains such as families, labor markets, and neighborhoods influence the skills acquired by the people. Low levels of powers among the marginalized communities in the US results in long-term economic problems (Walker 27). For instance, modern labor markets value performance and high skill levels which shape the amount of compensation. Low incomes among native people result in low living standards. Consequently, children raised in these families are frequently under pressure, which affects their cognitive abilities thus adversely influencing their academic performance. The environment around the school also often determine educational outcomes. Although education levels among the Seminoles are consistently rising, as a result of increased economic, social and political power, the community still has a long way before competent literacy is achieved.

Racial discrimination of marginalized communities in the US, such as the Seminoles, is a sensitive issue. Although policies to mitigate bias based on people's ethnicities, race, religion or skin color have been established, the minority groups still face the challenge (Settle 83). This issue results in unequal access to opportunities and benefits both in public and private sectors between the whites and other marginalized communities. Aumer stated that issues related to racism in the academic circles are fragmented since they challenge the traditional hierarchy of racial categorization, the process of setting forth policies used in funds allocation, and various racial constructions (456). Despite the increased racial integration awareness campaigns, the recognition of multicultural individuals and groups in the US is yet to yield recognizable outcomes. For instance, native Americans are identified as the poorest among minority groups (Bailey et al. 1455). The unequal distribution of resources among this racial group is a significant contributor to this extreme situation.

Racial identity actively shapes racial discrimination discussions consequently affecting the nature of programs and policies implemented. For instance, multiracials who surpass the racial labels and identify with the middle class are likely to adopt a "colorblind racial philosophy," which may consequently support white supremacy (Aumer 456). As a result, people from various minority cultures lack real protection and equal rights. Immigration continues to diversify the American population thus influencing native cultures. As a result, the majority of the young generations continue to suffer from identity struggles as they try to fit in this contemporary society. However, due to the perceived power hold of the white population in the United States, the majority of the minority groups attempt to imitate its culture (Norwood 93). In an attempt to improve their living standards, the Seminoles of Florida have to associate with other non-Seminole tribes. The implications of these relationships have multiple impacts on the natives' culture and traditional practices.

Consequently, such impacts result in identity issues among some natives. However, in cases where physical looks differ from those of the imitated population, multicultural are likely to face discrimination. Towers indicated that new minority groups are struggling to find their historical backgrounds due to the increased cultural diversity which has significantly changed primary cultures (102). The Seminoles should, therefore, enhance measures of protecting their culture and practices to avoid issues identity loss in the future. Further awareness campaigns and implementation of integration and equality policies should be encouraged in the US to create a favorable environment for all.

Whereas the Native Americans have managed to maintain their cultural pride, multiple challenges undermine their ability to live comfortable lives. Despite federal and state governments' initiative to solve inequality issues, the Seminoles continue to suffer from unequal access to healthcare and education resources,...