The Voice of a Native American on the American Indian Movement

The quest for full recognition of fundamental human rights relating culture for Native Americans remains an emotive issue even today. One such manifestation is seen in the works of Michele Rene Weston. In her article, "Ampo Camp and the American Indian Movement: Native Resistance in the U.S. Pacific Northwest," the author details the toils of Native Americans in seeking justice for the apparent disrespect of the culture of Indian tribes by the federal government. Throughout the article, Weston propagates the idea that native tribes must bear arms not because it helps them fight for their rights as indigenous communities but also a manifestation of the cultural norms of Indians that have thrived for centuries.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Right from the onset, Weston clarifies to the audience the reason for the political struggle among Native Americans as epitomized by the activities of the American Indian Movement (AIM). Colonialism is a form of oppression. To the Native Americans, the federal government has continued to perpetuate the oppression these indigenous communities have endured since European settlement began in North America more than five hundred years ago. When people are oppressed in the form of limitation of their fundamental rights, they have all the liberty to initiate a struggle (peaceful or otherwise) against the oppressor to reclaim their dignity a people (253). These revelations are critical to the understanding of the primary message of the article. Notably, they help the reader to appreciate the background of the struggle by creating a logical basis upon which the struggle is based. Oppression is a severe violation of fundamental human rights and, therefore, should be fought by all means possible. This way, she creates a justification for the armed struggle among Native Americans. Since most rational people in society disapprove of any form of oppression, such structure of ideas helps the author to create a logical appeal to the audience on the need for Native Americans' political cause to be supported by those who value human dignity.

Disrespect of the cultural practices of Indians is an example of the various forms of oppression meted out on indigenous communities. Weston cites disrespect for the tradition of carrying. Carrying of arms is the way of life of the indigenous communities practiced since generations of yore. Given this, any attempt by the federal government to limit arms ownership among the Indians is an effrontery to their culture. Consequently, the author asserts that staying armed does not need any federal approval whatsoever as it is meant to sustain Indian culture and doing so amidst the extensive surveillance of federal agencies is a clear a manifestation of cultural determination and defense of cultural identity. Provision of the above facts and observations builds a convincing argument on the need for the protection of the cultural rights of the native communities. As a result, the author enhances the chances of wooing the audience to her side on the issue of cultural rights for the Indians.

Besides the attack on the culture, uncontrolled exploitation of natural resources is one of the issues raised by the author regarding the necessity of bearing arms. For instance, she cites the destruction of the physical environment by corporations seeking to put up new investments in their land. While providing statistics, the exploitation of land, the author notes, has not only polluted the environment in which native Americans live but also created favorable conditions for the exploitation of women through rape and sex trafficking. This according to the author has eroded the position of women in the native culture as leaders of families and communities as well as disrupted the role women played in the socio-economic growth of the Indian tribes. The provision of facts and statistics appeals to the logos in that readers can rationalize the reasons for the existence of the IAM in so far as the issues of the native communities are concerned. In trying to woo the audience, the author makes some statements and assumptions which could weaken her argument before some audiences.

Some may view the author's post that the exploitation of natural resources belonging to the Indian tribes as a source of crimes such as rape and trafficking to be contestable. Stating that the presence of oil investments has destroyed the moral fabric of women fails to acknowledge that these women often make decisions individually and, therefore, the blame for the cases of sexual exploitation should be attributed to the oil and mineral extraction companies. Further assertion resources, women and children are being stolen faster by settlers, 'the colonial government,' and corporations, places blanket blame on all Americans, including blacks who have endured similar experiences. Even a significant part of Americans of European descent may not necessarily be in support of the violations done on Indian tribes. To a non-native audience, such description may fail to convince them regarding the need for increased advocacy for the rights of Native Americans. However, such generalization does not erase the fact that rights of Indians continue to be violated as evidence abounds on pollution of traditionally Indian land, cases of violence on Indians, and limitation of Indian cultural practices.

If the intention of Weston was to advocate for the respect the rights of Indian tribes and their sovereignty by the federal government, she succeeds in doing so based on the argument presented in the article. Although there instances where the author generalizes actions and behaviors, the message in the article is not diluted by such a strategy. Thus, she convincingly highlights issues of cultural and economic violations which can cause impact on an objective audience on the need for more efforts to bring redress to the Indian tribes after centuries of oppression perpetuated by the federal government and formerly by colonial governments of England and Spain.