Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Indian Education
Although sometimes it goes unrecognized, ethnicity or other superficial prejudices can help to determine an individual's role in a group or community. For example, in a community that is predominately white, those who are among this majority will often receive the most opportunities. Although this does not necessarily guarantee their success, those individuals in the majority will often have the first chance to fulfill the desirable roles. By contrast, individuals within the minority might commonly receive a mediocre education as well as more obstacles to have the same opportunities as other groups; sometimes these obstacles are virtually insurmountable. The feeling of unfairness and inequality can led many students who are disadvantaged to give up or drop out and their futures do not have the same probability for success. In the short story "Indian Education" by Sherman Alexie, the author tells a story in which the stereotypes that people acquire, simply on the basis of their ethnicity, stifle their educational opportunities and result in Native American students on the reservation to get left behind.
In the story, the education the Indian children receive is second-rate, to say the least. In the story's depiction of the second grade, it portrays how the second grade students are treated unequally even at a young age. There is a general sense that these students do not belong in the school which is exemplified by the fact that they are punished irrespective to their actual behavior and are not given equal treatment in classroom tests among other things. For example, "Betty Towle…made me stay in for recess fourteen days straight .Tell me you're sorry, she said. Sorry for what? I asked. Everything, she said and made me stand straight for fifteen minutes, eagle armed with books in each hand" (483). Standing straight eagle armed will result is your shoulder burning as they fill with lactic acid and cause a significant amount of pain.
Furthermore, Betty punishes Junior for seemingly random reasons that have no basis in his actual behavior....
The teacher doesn't even give junior a legitimate reason or any kind of explanation as to why he is being punished in the first place. Rather, it is evident that she simply has a prejudice against him and acts in an immoral manner based on her disposition towards Indians. The story also illustrates the teacher's desire for Junior to fail. For example, she gives Junior a harder test, one that is more difficult than the other students receive, in a specific manner so that he will most likely fail it. However, somehow Junior actually manages to pass the test. Instead of receiving any kind of praise or recognition for passing the test, Junior is punished and the teacher makes Junior actually eat the paper. Betty wants him to fail so badly that she is actually actively trying to create excuses that would give her the grounds to make him flunk out of school. Instead of giving Junior any kind of opportunity, Betty is trying her best to ensure Junior's failure in while he is in her classroom.
The story portrays the seventh grade children's transition from the Indian reservation to the white farm town. "…kissed the white girl, I felt the good-byes I was saying to my entire tribe."(485).When he kisses the white it makes him feel disconnected from his own culture and his tribe in something of a moment that works to define his personal evolution. By kissing the white girl, he is metaphorically leaving much of his culture behind. Then after this event he physically leaves his tribe and makes the move to a white farm town. This has drastic implications, not only for him personally, but as he leaves the reservation to move to a white farm town an opportunity for success presents itself for him and his future. He will now be able to receive a better education as a result of this move because at this location there will be a predominately white school that he will be able to attend.
In the story, the twelfth grade is also important because the story contrasts some of the differences between the educations the students receive at the Indian reservation with the ones…
Native Americans A strong connection between the Iroquois and the framers of the U.S. Constitution is now considered to be a historical fact. While many Americans still believe that the U.S. Constitution was based on Christian beliefs and tenets, leading founding figures like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson were closely associated with the Iroquois, which makes sense considering how closely the U.S. Constitution is to the Iroquois Constitution -- also called
Native Americans: Separate and Unequal Native American Isolation Native Americans have continued to represent a marginalized ethnic minority in the United States, despite repeated efforts at assimilation. No one argues publicly anymore that Native Americans are inferior to Whites, but the taint of racism seems to remain embedded in public policy decisions concerning this demographic. Accordingly, Native Americans have attempted to insulate themselves from the influence of what can only be described
Native Americans are the indigenous people of Northern America. They are composed of numerous distinct ethnic groups and people from varying origins. They are found within the boundaries of continental United States, parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii. Lewis and Clark (2011) note that there are nearly 50 native American tribes including Arikaras, Assiniboins, Blackfeet, Chinooks, Clatsop's, Hidatsa, Mandans, Missouris, Nezperces, Otos, Shoshones, Teton, Sioux, Tillamooks, Walla wallas,
Native American Culture The Native American people occupied the Americas before the arrival of the Europeans in the 15th century and have long been known as Indians because when Columbus reached the shores he believed he had landed in the Indies (Natives Pp). It is generally agreed by most scholars that the Native Americans came to the Western Hemisphere from Asia via the Bering Strait or along the North Pacific coast in
Instead, children were allowed to roam freely throughout the community and were free to ask questions when and where they pleased (Indian Treaties, 1999). Children worked alongside adults, learning life skills through pay and imitation. In addition, grandparents played a pivotal role in educating children. Grandmothers taught their granddaughters the tribal traditions and how to engage in the subtleties of daily life. Grandparents were frequently responsible for teaching children about
While this right applied to American settlers, who engaged in a variety of religions, from Puritanism to Deism, and spoke freely about them in publications and public forums. Native Americans, on the other hand, were denied their freedom of religion. American settlers saw Native American religions as uncivilized, so they encouraged missionaries to convert the tribes. Missionaries can be both beneficial and harmful to a culture. Some come excited