Kohl's recommended film

This movie was very touching because the Native American Activist, who I can't remember his name, said that Native American's still have their culture and that's what makes them breathe life. He noted that the modern day "Americans" don't have culture and that he is lucky to have his own culture and he feels lucky about that. I thought it was touching that he was so proud of his culture. I thought it was sad that some of the families wish that the president could see what happens on these reservations and what kind of living conditions they have so he could do something about these conditions and hopefully, this could make the life expentancy of Native Americans a lot longer than 47 years old. I thought it was interesting that one of the men in the film said that health care for Native Americans is set up to fail. In the novel by Sherman Alexie we read for class, Junior says the health care of Natives was basically horrible. For example, Junior said that Natives were only given half the Novican for procedures because the dentist said that Indians could feel only half the pain as everyone else. And in the movie, the man said the dentist pulled the wrong tooth because she mixed up the xrays with another Native American. This just shows how some people don't care about Native Americans and this is a sad realization of mine as a result of the information I have learned thoughout this quarter so far.

Native American Whaling

I am doing my research project on Native American Whaling. I was going to focus on the Makah tribe but then I decided to have a larger range of tribes in my research. So far, I have learned that whales were hunted in the early 1600's, mainly for cultural purposes or to sell the whale to the Europeans for material goods and trinkets. A lot of what I found was basically the same information from any other book or website I found. I found that the Makah tribe said they wouldn't whale anymore due to conservation purposes but commercial whaling was the issue of the almost extinct population of whales. I think the Natives purposes for hunting whales were a lot more logical because it was cultural, the whales are respected for what they give to the tribe, and they are a source of food, just like fish is to us. I'd like to know what peoples views are on Native American whaling verse commercial whaling and whether or not you think that what they Makah tribes, and any other tribes you know about that whale, are doing is okay. I'm just curious as to what others opinions are on the subject.

Documentary

Watching the documentary, I felt like a lot of what we were hearing and seeing is mostly very repetative because I feel l ike we learned and heard lots of these things. For example, they kept saying that the white people were trying to make the Native's civilized and that they took over their land and that their culture is becoming extinct and they feel they need to keep up with their traditions because it is a dying tradition. They respect animals and the charish them and when they take something from the earth, they put something back in replacement of it. They are very sacred people and I respect them, but a lot of what we're learning is becoming a little too much. I have learned throughout this quarter so far that a lot of the Natives on reservations live poor, live with many diseases and addictions, they cherish the earth and every part of it, etc. Is there anything else to learn about them that we already haven't?

How does this happen?

Looking at the website, http://www.nativevillage.org/Messages%20from%20the%20People/the%20arrogance%20of%20ignorance.htm,I found that the average income on the Pine Ridge Reservation is approximately $2,600 to $3,500 per year.
The question came into my head as to, "how does anyone ever survive off so little in this kind of world today?" I thought my family was struggling with only 50,000 a year. But then again we have car payments, 5 people in a 3 bedroom household and many mouths to feed and people to enertain. Looking at these shocking facts, it makes me realize how well I really do have it. A lot of people struggle but this is insane.
I also didn't understand how anyone in the world could be unemployed and still survive. I learned that you have to work at least 20 a week in order to recieve food stamps or anything of the sort. So this is very puzzling and worrying. It is sadly understandable that the teenagers of this reservation are those of the 150% of people that commit suicide in the U.S. It does make sense on why sucide would occur in these areas but it is devistating. The likelyhood of diabetes is 800% higher than the rest of the U.S., which doesn't make sense because most of them barely eat throughout the year. The school dropout rate is over 70%. You would think that they would want to make sure they lived better than they have before and recieve an education rather than dropping out. Basically, this whole website is very eye opening and I recommed it to others who know nothing about the people who came before us.

Statistics and Facts

When I was researching for evidence of alcoholism and poverty for my analysis paper of Sherman Alexie's novel, I found shocking facts that really made me think:
- "Indians face grim statistivs for most diseases...4.9 times higher for liver disease and cirrhosis, more than 7 times higher for death due to alcoholism, 3 times higher for accidental deaths, and more than 6 times higher for tuberculosis" (West 93).
- "Many reservations...continue...with very high levels of poverty and unemployment amond residents, few economic oppurtunities, and high incidences of alcohol and drug abuse" (West 124).

West, Rick. Do All Indians Live In Tipis? New York: Collins, In Association with the National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, 2007. Print.

All other facts I found on Native Americans were very similar on the topics of alcoholism and poverty. I think that these statistics may be very accurate but I do not think that all Natives are like this. It was just a big eye opener on topics I never thought about before.