Being A Minority In A Country

17 Pages 4356 Words

Being a Minority in a Country
Of One Cultural Majority
The current situation races are going through right now has only changed somewhat than what it was years ago. Different races are still learning to work and coexist in our current social model. All races have to still cope with discrimination and intolerance. However, there are other cultures that deal with a lot more than others. Our social model has three different standards, which are: the current status of racism and prejudice, the current levels of economic equality and the current social (education and health) situation.
Native Americans have always experienced a lot of racism and prejudice. They were the first to be found on this land and have tried desperately to maintain their freedom to choose their own futures, culture, language, and religion, even though mainstream America is following closely behind them (Giago 287). Since these lands have become American soil, Native Americans have been exposed to assimilation. However, they were not allowed to assimilate into the dominant culture because they were thought of as being inferior. Also, if they did assimilate then the dominant culture would not be able to take their land (Race: the Power of an Illusion). Due to their strong family and cultural ties, they were seen as inferior and because of that inferiority the dominant culture was able to restrict them to designated lands, while they seized the rest of the land. As of now, the current situation related to prejudice for Native Americans has not changed a great deal. They are still seen as inferior to the dominant culture.
Currently, the Native Americans economic status is that they are the lowest of all the major ethnic groups in the United States. In a 1990 census, the average Native American family income was lower than African Americans, which was only $24,000, while their poverty rate was the highest among the different ethnic groups. Also according to the same...