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In most American families parents are overjoyed as a result of the happiness and success of their teenage children. Across America teenager are enjoying their “rite of passage”, such as friends, after school activities, sports, vacations with their families and their first car. At the same time, little is known of the extreme poverty and despondency existing within the reservations of the Native American communities. Many Native American families are still struggling with the pain and anguish their ancestors suffered during the ethnic cleansing and forced relocation of the 1800’s such as the Trail of Tears. A long family tree of mistreatment and undue suffering in addition to present lack of resources and poverty has resulted in considerable distress among tribal members and families living within the majority of reservations today. As a result of such distress and despair, many Native American families living in reservations have been torn apart as alcohol, drugs and family violence have become rampant within their communities. Furthermore, the inaccessibility of most reservations combined with lack of resources proves challenging to provide proper housing for families. In addition, the American Indians make up a minority of the least educated, sickest and poorest people within our country. Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for Native American youths in the 15-24 age group and 2.5 times the national rate. Why do Native American teenagers have the highest suicide rate in the country? Poverty, alcohol/drug addiction and finally isolation are the contributing factors that lead to Native American teenagers having the highest suicide rate in the country. American reservations are among the poorest in the country. High u... ... middle of paper ... ...es low self-esteem and decreased self-worth. Moreover, lack of positive future prospects and healthy leisure time activities may promote boredom resulting in psychologically imbalanced teenagers. Negative life stressors have been found to place all youth at risk for suicide. However, excessive addictions, long term poverty, few economic opportunities and feelings of inadequacy are more prevalent in the lives of American Indian youths (Metha, 1996). Works Cited Ghosh, R. P. (2012, February 11). Native Americans: The Tragedy of Alcoholism. Retrieved May 21, 2014, from International Business Times: http://www.ibtimes.com/native-americans-tragedy-alcoholism-214046 Metha, A. &. (1996). Suicide among American indian youth: the role of schools in prevention. Journal of American Indian Education, 36(1). Retrieved May 21, 2014, from http://jaie.asu.edu/v36/V36S1sui.htm
The systematic racism and discrimination in America has long lasting effects that began back when Europeans first stepped foot on American soil is still visible today but only not written into the law. This racism has lead to very specific consequences on the Native people in today’s modern world, and while the racism is maybe not as obvious it is still very present. These modern Native peoples fight against the feeling of community as a Native person, and feeling entirely alone and not a part of it. The poem “The Reservation” by Susan Cloud and “The Real Indian Leans Against” by Chrystos examine the different effects and different settings of how their cultures survived but also how so much was lost for them within their own identity.
In our day and age where our youth are becoming more aware of the history of the country and the people who inhabit it, the culture of Native Americans has become more accessible and sparks an interest in many people young and old. Recent events, like the Dakota Access Pipeline, grab the attention of people, both protesters and supporters, as the Sioux tribe and their allies refuse to stay quiet and fight to protect their land and their water. Many Native people are unashamed of their heritage, proud of their culture and their ancestors. There is pride in being Native, and their connection with their culture may be just as important today as it was in the 1800’s and before, proving that the boarding school’s ultimate goal of complete Native assimilation to western culture has
American Indians have had health disparities as result of unmet needs and historical traumatic experiences that have lasted over 500 hundred years.1(p99) Since first contact American Indians have been exposed to infectious disease and death2(p19), more importantly, a legacy of genocide, legislated forcible removal, reservation, termination, allotment, and assimilation3. This catastrophic history had led to generational historical traumas and contributes to the worst health in the United States.2 American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) represent 0.9 percent of the United States population4(p3) or 1.9 million AI/AN of 566 federally recognized tribes/nations.5 American Indians/Alaska Natives have significantly higher mortality rates of intentional and unintentional injuries, chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease and chronic lower respiratory disease than other American.6
Historical trauma has brought psychological effects on the Native American community. Many suffer from alcohol and drug abuse, depression, and poverty. I wondered why they do not get help from the government and after watching the documentary California’s “Lost” Tribes I began to understand that in any reservation the tribe is the government, so they do not have the same rights as a city outside the reservation. Many of the the reservations were placed in areas where they could not do any form of agriculture, so they did not have a source of income. Many of this reservations have to find ways to get themselves out of poverty and many of the reservations within California have found a way to get out of their poverty by creating casinos
Robert s. Young, Jennie R. Joe. “ Some Thoughts About Epidemiology of Alcohol and Drug Use Among American Indian Population”. Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse. Vol. 8 Iss 3:(2009) 223
Native Americans have undergone a horrific past of genocide, discrimination, forced acculturation, miscommunication, and misunderstanding. They were frequently dehumanized and stripped of basic human rights. Treated as “savages” they were herded into areas of confinement and robbed of their language, culture, and way of life. In many instances of genocide, experts have noted a type of historical trauma that may be passed down through families, known as generational trauma. While the potential effects of this concept are not proven, the stories, images, and memories of thousands of Native Americans continue to be shared with their children, thus perpetuating, and never forgetting the pain and embarrassment that their people have experienced.
One of these factors was that the suicide rate of Native Americans was extremely low. As Junger states in his book, “Among American Indians, for example, suicide was understood to apply in vary narrow circumstances: in old age to avoid burdening the tribe, in ritual paroxysms of grief following death of a spouse…” (Junger 19). As Junger says that the application of suicide was very narrow, it is safe to say that he believes that this means that the suicide rate of Native Americans was very small. There are many peer reviewed articles that would state otherwise. In the Scholarly article Reviewing Suicide in Native American Communities, the writers state that, “In addition, the age-adjusted suicide death rate for AI/Ans (American Indians and Alaskan Natives) is 20.2 per 100,000, approximately twice as high as the U.S. all-races rate of 10.6 per 100,000, with males accounting for the majority of suicide decedents”(Alcantara, Gone 461). As one can see these two quotes have contradictory statements. The only thing that separates them is that the first comes from a book with no direct citation and the second came from a scholarly, peer reviewed article. Junger does not make references to outside sources when it comes to the claims in question until the reader reaches the back of the book with a list of resources that he used. Because of a
American Sociological Review, 3, 672-682. "Native American Youth 101." Aspen Institue. Aspen Institues, 24 July 11. Web.
Many people believe that Native Americans are a disadvantaged group of individuals in many ways. Culturally, in that many of the cultures of the various tribes across the Americas were taken from them by Europeans and their descendants. Socially, in that they are unlike other minorities in the United States because of their extra-constitutional status; and even medically, stemming from the general belief that Natives are at a higher risk for disease than other ethnicities due to tobacco and alcohol use, especially when used together (Falk, Hiller-Sturmhöfel, & Yi, 2006).
The Native American Reservation system was a complete failure. This paper focuses on the topics of relocation, Native American boarding schools, current conditions on today’s reservations, and what effects these have had on the Native American way of life.
Based on the articles that I have read about the Native American Issues today the one that seems to be the most important issue is “Youth Suicide in Native Communities”. The reason that one can say that this article is the strongest is because this is something that happens everyday. “Suicide is the second most common cause of death for Native young ages 15-24.” (NoiseCat). Being that this is the second most common death this needs to be taken very seriously and be dealt with accordingly. People are taking their lives when they have a purpose to be in this world, but they do not know it because they have feel so deep into a dark hole they can not get out and that is when they have “pulled their last straw” to commit suicide which is not the
Suicide is a misfortune that affects many people and areas around the world in a remarkably significant way. One group, the Inuit people of the territory of Nunavut in Northern Canada, are a population that experience extremely high levels of suicide. In fact, Inuit youth represent the highest group to die of suicide. In 2002, 26.4% of all Inuit deaths that occurred between the ages of 15 and 24 were attributed to suicide (Health Canada, 2011). Furthermore, a study conducted in 2012 mentioned that 23% of Inuit 18 years or older reported that they had seriously considered committing suicide at some point in their lives (Statistics Canada, 2015). The exceptional pervasiveness of Inuit suicide is shaped by numerous factors and has a drastic impact
Suicide is the sixth leading cause of death among Native Americans (Lizardi & Gearing, 2010). Over 24% of Native American youth have attempted suicide at least once in their lives (Lizardi & Gearing, 2010). Native Americans believe that everyone goes from birth to death in a cycle and when death is achieved it is the beginning of a new cycle and new life. Native Americans also believe that no one knows what will happen after death. Based off of this, it is believed that those who commit suicide want to start and new life and do not want to continue their present one. Those who have positive relationships with tribal leaders have less risk of suicide (Lizardi & Gearing, 2010). There are many factors in the Native American culture that could
The article references to data collected by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention which articulates that in the United States, Latinas have a high rate of suicidal ideation and attempts compared with other non-Hispanic groups. The data yields statistics about adolescents being at a twenty-one percent for suicide ideation and fourteen percent for suicide attempts. These numbers reflect data for Latina Adolescents between the age ten to twenty-four years of age in the United States. Among these statistics, suicide is remarked as the third leading cause of death within the same age bracket (ten to twenty-four y/o) mentioned above. The article references to numerous sources to evaluate the relationship of specific factors (i.e. family intervention,
Teen suicide as an extremely complex tragedy, that unfortunately happens all the time throughout the United States. There are friends, parents, and peers that are facing the misfortune of losing a young, close, loved one to suicide. Most people don't realize that adolescent suicide is common. They don't want to believe how often this occurs in the secure environment found in the small towns of America, as well as in its largest cities.