By Apre’shana Page
Author Ned Blackhawk uses the article “ I Can Carry on From Here: The Relocation of American Indians to Los Angeles” to reveal some of the experiences that a majority of the American Indians who were mentally and financially forced to leave their traditional homes due to the lack of government and resources went through during this transition. Although leaving was the best option many American Indians several preferred staying on the reservations as the only thing they knew as home. The main objective for them was preserving their culture and traditions wherever they ended up at. In the video related to this article we can see that they took everything from home with them. They came together and performed the normal rituals, like dances, as they would if they were on the reservations still. I am quite sure that the individual experiences they encountered differed greatly but also had some comparisons since they all were put into a new environment than they have ever been exposed to. Gas running stoves, running water, and other appliances that we depend on daily were all new and interesting to them. Those that had been born and raised on the reservation were used to seeing people that look like them, act like them, and have all of the same opportunities as them in the small populated place they come from. It is understandable how hard their transition to one of the most popular places in the United States, Los Angeles, California, may have been. Los Angeles is fairly big and diverse.
Ned,
the author of this article, made a valid statement he says “the experiences of
urban American Indians clearly remain marginalized in the study of American
Indian history.” (Ned Blackhawk. Pp.19)
Based off this quote my question is what is an urban Indian? One thing I picked up from this article and
the video watched in class is there are not just one or two types of Indians.
We have American Indians, Native Indians, and I am sure there’s more but I was
not aware of the differences before this article. I also wasn’t aware that some
Indians get offended by things that we Americans refer to sometimes. For
example, a woman in the video stated that she got offended when we tell
children to sit down Indian style mostly because, that is not a thing and we
use the term without knowing the true meaning behind it. I agree with her one hundred percent, a lot
of things are taken from different cultures not just the Indian culture and
used out of context. I think we should learn the true meaning behind it before
trying to turn it into our own.
One
perspective to answer my question according to The National Urban Indian Family
Coalition: “Urban Indians are those
Native Americans who now live in the United States in urban areas.” Those Indians who left the reservation and
came to the U.S for better opportunities and living conditions did so to help
themselves and their family. However, to those who decided to stay at the
reservation and use the little resources they have had access to for a period
of time are looked upon as traders or outsiders I can say if they ever decide
to return home. Many people who left didn’t decide to go back to their
reservation until years later if ever. While others who tried hard to adapt to
the new living environment which was better and challenging at the same time
decided early on that the American Dream was not for them and they wanted to
return home. I can understand why they
thought it would be a better choice and what they thought life living in
California would be like based on the perception that we give them. The United
States is seen as the best place for opportunity. We have government assistance
and rights a lot of places don’t have. What they don’t show is how much people
rely on this assistance and how hard once you get on it, that it is to get off
of it. That is what many Indians faced when they came to us. They were promised
assistance and then cut off of it leaving them almost in the same position that
they had been in while staying on the reservations. The only difference now was
that they were in a completely different environment now with a bigger amount
of people struggling like them.
Urban
Indians represent the growing population of Indians in America today. I personally feel like they are being deprived
of their culture since they can’t experience what their ancestors did back when
they stayed on reservations this is why they are referred to as “Urban Indians”.
Works cited
American Indian Policy Review
Commission. (1976). Report on urban and rural Non-reservations Indians.
Washington, DC: U. S. Government Printing Office.
I Can Carry on from Here: The Relocation
of American Indians to Los Angeles Ned Blackhawk Wicazo Sa Review, Vol. 11, No.
2. (Autumn, 1995), pp. 16-30.
22 comments:
I enjoyed reading the article. Native Americans were forced to leave the reservations and move to a whole different world. They faced many challenges such as adapting to a new culture "the American culture" and also they discriminated by the Americans.
-Aide Gonzalez
This was amazing article about the Native Americans. Although they had to leave the reservation and being force to live a new world. However, I realized they had no choice but to be concern the American culture and do American things.
After this film and article for this topic it was interesting to know that there are different types of indians I always thought their was just one type of Indian.
-Apre'shana Page
I find anything involving Native Americans to be interesting. Their struggles, way of life, past and current lives are truly unique and should be understood and accepted by others better.
I can see why some Native Americans wanted to return home, but I can also see that why some wanted to stay. We as in Americans never considered Native Americans as equal like she said in the article we say sit Indian style and do not know the meaning of it. On the other hand we also have football teams that miss represent what the Indians stand for as the Kansas City Chiefs or the Washington redskins. We always miss treat and miss use the native Americans and everything they stand for. It’s not right and we don’t say or do anything about it. As for some Native Americans wanting to stay in America I can see why because we give them a little piece of land that they call home, which has no real income and most have casinos but do more damage then helping the Native Americans.
—Monya’ Smith
I love this article, it open up my eyes I thought it was one kind of Indians did not know that it were different kinds, and where they live been in California three times never saw one- Xjavion Boyd
I thought this article and film were extremely interesting. It is unfortunate the struggles that American Indian people still have to go through today. And why some of them feel the limbo between living on/off the reservation.
-Logan Shea
I enjoyed reading the article. Its crazy how Native Americans were forced to leave the reservations and had to move to a whole new world. Once the moved they then had to get use to new cultures as well as being discriminated by Americans
-Kyla Thomas
This blog post is very accurate because while being a student at an HBCU that is very diverse I was fortunate enough to be able to hear the perspective of a young lady whom was Indian. This young lady covered this very topic while we were in class and stated that many Americans do not understand the meanings behind sitting cross legged and many other traditions such as dressing up as an Indian costumes. Doing any of that suite of costuming or behaviors is considered mildly to very offensive now, because it's based on inaccurate information and is not respecting their culture.
I enjoy reading this article and of course knowing some of this information. Many think its ok to take things away when they think they can and its not right. What makes it ok to kick someone out of their land because you don't think they are human or because whatever their doing they don't like. You can say nothing has changed because others still think they can control an have that power on someone.
I understand where a lot of American Indians are coming from, when came down to going back to their reservations. Because if you move me, out of my home because I am struggling, make me leave, with the intentions to do better, but instead my conditions are either the same or gotten worse, then send me back home. I rather be surrounded by my friends and family rather than a completely new culture and people.
Akwila Cooks
I always think that it is pretty interesting to read about American Indians. Most of the times we don't think about how other cultures went through different things like we did sometimes even worst.
While reading this article I definitely believe that the woman he spoke with is right for being upset. We as Americans definitely say racist and derogatory things without knowledge of doing it because it is so accepted in society today. Like she said we are told to sit Indian style we are also told to not be an Indian giver, giving someone something then taking it back, and we find it normal to dress up as “indians” for events like costume parties and Halloween. However, I do not believe in a such thing as an “Urban Indian”. Some of the native Americans that I have met find it extremely offensive to be called Indians because that name came from a false assumption that America was India and I don’t believe that they would like the term. I also don’t believe in Urban Indians because the word Urban has been used to mean Ghetto or Beneath. I feel like if we are going to call native Americans anything we should call them what they are and not separate them from their racial class based on where they live, it definitely encourages hate amongst their own race and it divides them.
This article is good because it makes people realize that some history things we were taught in school are wrong. A perfect example is when they said Christopher Columbus discovered America which is a lie. The native Americans had the land first and that’s when they moved them out of their own land which is wrong and this article proves it. - Jayden pullman
Since they were forced to move I realized they had no choice but to do American things. - Alexis Buford
My name is Tonii Saffore. I think that it's a good thing that the tribe still kept their traditions and rituals even after being moved off of the reservation. I have seen documents of Natives who moved off of the reservation and stop living the way that they had before because they were so used to the western lifestyle which made me sad because they were essentially losing their culture.
I connect to this blog on many ways. As a descendant of Native Ameeicam it's important to me to understand what the Natives have went through and overcame. They are such a unique group of people Nd their culture is fascinating.
i love how even though they were kicked off the reservation. The continued to keep their traditions alive. They went through a number of things, but they pushed through it.
-Kyla Thomas
I think its messed up that they were forced to move and change their ways. I have never heard of the "Urban Indians" before but I learned that they went through alot by being bullied into living a new life similar to everyone else.
-Jasmine Busby
I like how you went into derail about how indiand faced challenges when they came to us. The way they were denied assistance they were promised is very saddening.
Elaine christopher
The post emphasizes the difficult decision that many American Indians had to make between maintaining their traditions and culture on reservations and adjusting to life in strange cities. This underlines how difficult it is for indigenous peoples to manage complicated identity and belonging conflicts in the face of forcible displacement. The phrase "urban Indians" was used to provide insight into the lives of Native Americans who had relocated to American cities. It stresses the cultural and historical loss that indigenous peoples face as they struggle with assimilation and the urban pursuit of the American Dream.
The challenges and complications that American Indians who were moved from their homelands to cities. Without any benefit to the Indians, the government used them for its own selfish ends.- Brooklyn Blair
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