Illness Within Native Americans

References

Synthesis and Reflection

1. Bear, C. (2008, May 12). American Indian Boarding Schools Haunt Many. Retrieved November 10, 2017, from https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16516865

2. H. (Ed.). (2009). Native American Cultures. Retrieved November 10, 2017, from http://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/native-american-cultures

3. Native Americans Facing Highest Suicide Rates • Lakota People's Law Project. (2016, May 5). Retrieved November 10, 2017, from https://www.lakotalaw.org/news/2016-05-12/native-americans-facing-highest-suicide-rates

4. Native American Students Face Ongoing Crises in Education. (2017, September 03). Retrieved November 10, 2017, from https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/education/native-education/native-american-students-face-ongoing-crises-education/

5. Racial and Ethnic Disparities. (n.d.). Retrieved November 10, 2017, from http://www.sprc.org/racial-ethnic-disparities

6. QuickFacts. (n.d.). Retrieved November 10, 2017, from https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/RHI325216#viewtop

Putting everything together:

From experienced physical and emotional abuse by the U.S. it is understandable why these individuals feel distrust.

The poverty leads to unequal access to healthcare and education. This becomes a reason for lack of adequate health and access to upward mobility.

The part that shocked me the most was how much trauma these individuals had experienced. Alexie's book taught me about his experience as a young boy on a reservation. His experience with poverty, physical and emotional abuse, death, & illness made him resilient.

The movie Dakota 38 taught me about the reality of how the U.S. tried to rid themselves of Native Americans.

It saddened me to see how unfortunate their background had been and how little importance U.S. history gives to their experience.

What I felt was most rewarding:

Their culture and spirituality are inspiring. They give off a sense of welcoming and love. They show how dance and singing can lead to healing the soul. The assignment as a whole made me feel sympathy for the Native American people

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Drummers

San Manuel Pow Wow

Hosted by the San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians

October 13, 2017

Spirit of togetherness and sharing culture

• singers, dancers, and drummers from different

tribes around the U.S. and Canada come together

to share their culture

Interview was with a young man from the Pow Wow.

• His uncle is a drummer in a band called Black Stone
• Grandfather was a Purple Heart veteran

Children to older adults danced and sang the entire night

Regalia:

• Warbonnets, moccasins, braid wraps, ribbon shirts etc.

Different types of foods and arts

Dakota 38

Based on Jim Miller's Vision in 2005

Follows the men and women who embark on a horse ridden journey to Mankato (320 miles). They are seeking to heal from the murders of the 38 Dakota leaders.

• The importance of the ride is to heal and reunify
• strong connection to earth, the creator, and people

6 directions of a horse: Most sacred and healing power

• Give it a man or woman you get 7th direction and get balance
• Trip allows you to think clearly to reach healing & reunification

A strong theme of distrust of White people

• Specifically from a young man named BillyRay Dumarce
• on the journey white people were the ones that offered food and shelter
• After the journey he felt thankful and that he could take the experience home
• Committed suicide a few weeks after the filming

Deep genetically embedded depression

Indians lost everything and fell into a depression

You Don't Have to Say You Love Me

By Sherman Alexie: Spokane Tribe

To walk in peace and harmony with every living thing

Themes in Memoir

Education

• White teachers on Reservations
• Left reservation to get better education (only one from his family to do this)
• Top of his class went on to get bachelors degree

Reservation Trauma

• Exposed to violence and deaths on reservation (when classmate died it was the first for his classmates but not for him)
• Rape as a normal event on reservation
• He himself was assaulted by an individual who later raped a young girl

Illnesses

• Mother died of lung cancer (Blamed dad), sister died of cancer, father of alcoholism, author had surgery as a child and has seizures

Resentment towards mother

• Felt she did not love him enough (normal that dad showed no sentiment went on drinking binges and disappeared for days)
• Mother was product of a rape and Sherman got characteristics of rapists

Interview Continued

You said you wanted to dance for your mom. What is the significance of it?

Well I believe my mom found out last year she has stage four cervical cancer. It wasn't looking good (Windy looked down) and the significance is that she was the one who taught me how to sing and how to dance she taught me to be a grass dancer. So I guess the significance is just to be a part of what my mom and dad introduced to me as a kid and something I ran away from so in a way I dance so that my mom can see me.. So that hopefully one day my mom will have enough strength to get out there and dance cause she's my favorite dancer.

Speaking of his regalia:

I'm going to build my own so my mom can teach me how to bead. I was just too impatient as a kid... I'll just dance and now that she's sick I have to look at it as my life without her in a sense. I have to accept that maybe she wasn't going to be here. So that's what really woke me up.

Personal Interview

Windy P. 24 year old male

Boarding Schools

1870s: Sent to boarding schools to become assimilated to White culture

Richard Pratt was the first to develop these schools.

• Stripped the children of Indian culture & values completely
• Forbidden to express culture
• Cut their hair & bathed them in Kerosene
• Couldn't speak their language
• Children were beaten, malnourished, and overworked
• Focus on discipline and punishment
• Spiritual/religious services illegal until 1978

The American-Indian Holocaust

U.S. Gov't took over 90 million acres of land from tribes

Forced to live on reservations as part of the treaties

• Reservation conditions were often compared to those of concentration camps
• No shelter or basic necessities such as food and water
• Lived in wretched conditions
• High poverty rates
• Physically abused and even killed

What brings you here today?

My heart. I honestly dance for my mom. She's sick right now in Colorado. I promised her when I took off from home that I'd sing and dance until one day she regained the strength to dance again... I'm just grateful to be here at this Pow Wow of San Manuel. I'm honored to be with my uncles and I'm just thankful for God the Creator because he saved my life, he gave me another chance...

We noticed there's a lot of dancing and music playing. What does that mean to you?

Well speaking for myself the drum is my heartbeat so if you hear the heart beat right now its like a singing... its healing music for natives. The drum people come out here to celebrate on weekends... and that way we enjoy our way of life from our culture and share it with not only natives but people of all races because I truly believe we were all created equal just different... One day I'll be going home to heaven or happy hunting grounds as long as I live a good life and I practice it.

Over 100 Indian Massacres

Last massacre was in 1911

• Cut off genitals, stomped on their heads with boots, decorated horses with scalps & body parts, or even cut out fetuses

Population Demographics

Brief History

Pre-1492: Nomadic ancestors of modern Native Americans hiked over Bering land bridge from Asia to what is now Alaska more than 12,000 years ago. (2)

Indian Nations are sovereign governments (3)

1828-1887: U.S. went on an aggressive military campaign to take land from the Native American people. Signed a "treaty" to trade large amounts of land to remain sovereign. Indian Wars

• 1838 Indian Removal Act : Trail of Tears
• 1862: In response to maltreatment, harsh conditions, and frustration Native tribes waged war with White settlers. Abraham Lincoln approved the gathering of 300 Indians and of those, 38 leaders were executed in what is known as the largest mass execution in the US (3).
• Made Native Americans march to Mankato, hung them, buried them in mass grave, Dr.s dug them up and used them for science

1887-1934: Continued desire for land in reservation. Forced Assimilation and boarding schools.

1975 Indian Self-Determination Act.

• 1.7% of U.S. population (1)
• 5.2 million Alaska-Natives/American-Indians in the US
• 562 federally recognized Indian Nations
• Approximately 229 of these diverse nations are located in Alaska; the rest are located in 33 other states.
• More than a 25% of Indian People live in poverty (6)
• Worst health status of any group in U.S. (6)
• Have Indian Health Services to provide services
• 29-36% drop out of high school (4)
• culturally incompetent education
• 13% with a bachelors degree or higher
• Twice as likely to be exposed to domestic violence,

sexual abuse, substance abuse, and poverty (3)

• Youth have similar PTSD levels as to those who returned from Afghanistan (3)
• Highest suicide rates 19.89 per 100,000

Significance of Population

Why I selected the Population

I have a personal interest in spirituality. I myself am spiritual.

The Native American communities highly value spirituality and how it serves as a healing mechanism.

Part of the reason why I decided to focus on illness and healing was because of the interview I conducted with the Native American individual

Illness, Spirituality, & Health Within Native American Communities