An Indian reservation is a designated area of land that is governed by a federally recognized Indian tribe. Motivated by “Manifest Destiny,” a doctrine that served as a rationalization for settlers to expand westward, colonists continually overtook land inhabited by Native Americans. Moreover, while some tribes accepted the colonists’ expansion, most resisted, resulting in the colonists acquiring the land by force. For example, upon the ratification of the Indian Removal Act of 1930, colonists coerced Native Americans to march further away from populated colonial cities to present-day Oklahoma in an event known as the Trail of Tears. After being pushed out of their home and being forced to live in a new area, many tribes began to clash with one another while others struggled living in a new environment due to the lack of resources. As a result, the colonists established Indian reservations for the natives to live. As the Americans took more land, the population of Native Americans decreased drastically; in fact, by 1900, there were less than 300,000 Native Americans. By stealing the natives’ homes, sending them on deadly marches, and introducing them to new diseases, the settlers, killing about 90% of natives, caused a genocide. In 1934, under the leadership of John Collier, an advocate for Native Americans, the United States government invested in healthcare, infrastructure, and education for the reservations.

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, about 22% of 5.2 million Native Americans live on federal Indian reservations. In these reservations, living conditions are so challenging that they are often cited as comparable to that of a “third world country” (May 5 2004, Gallup Independent). There are currently 326 Indian reserves in the United States, but because there are not enough to support the 567 federally recognized Native American tribes, these reservations are sometimes shared by different tribes. Furthermore, most of these areas are unevenly distributed throughout the United States; most, which have been established by treaty or grants, are located west of the Mississippi River. While there are many factors that are responsible for the difficult life of Native Americans on these reservations, among them the most significant are unemployment, housing, and health.

Native Americans on Indian reservations are currently facing an economic crisis. The availability of jobs within the reservations are scant, and the people who do have jobs are typically paid lower than the federal poverty line. In fact, the 2008 U.S. census indicated that from 2008-2013, the unemployment rate of Native Americans has remained above 10%, which is the highest of all demographic groups living in the United States. Consequently, the leaders of each family often leave the reservations in search of a higher paying job. Due to the low income of these families, they tend to be more frugal and cautious when expending resources than the average American family.

Last year, President Trump’s budget proposal planned to cut the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development by 6.2 million dollars. What would this mean for America’s poorer citizens? More specifically, what would this mean for Native Americans on Indian reservations, which are federally funded? According to a study in 2004, about 90,000 Native American families were homeless and about 30% of homes were overpopulated (Indian Country Today). It was not unusual for Native Americans to bring in extended family members who did not have homes to live in their house; moreover, some homes had 2 or more generations of the same family living in a two or three bedroom home. Not only were these homes overpopulated, but they also do not share the same luxuries that the average American has in his or her home. For example, in a standard American home, we have a sewage system, electricity, and heat. The lack of these resources serves as a potential health risk for Native Americans, especially because they do not have adequate healthcare.

The Indian Health Service (IHS) is a division within the United States Department of Health and Human Services. About 55% of Native Americans rely on this form of healthcare; however, due to the lack of funds towards IHS, the people living on reservations do not receive adequate treatment. As depicted in the graph to the right, Native Americans suffer more from prominent chronic diseases than American citizens. Furthermore, the rate of suicide and depression is higher than that of the American population, reaching almost 17% in 2010.

There are many other factors that contribute to the poor living conditions of Native Americans, but I personally believe that the United States government should focus more on unemployment, housing, and health and implement policies to improve life on reservations. Although I am proud to be American, I am still bothered by our country’s history of maltreatment towards Native Americans and our current lack of efforts to address their issues. What are your thoughts on our history with the Native Americans? Do you think that we could have handled it differently and still be able to become the powerful country we are today? Was the genocide, regardless of morality, necessary to the foundation of our nation?

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/may/04/us-stolen-land-indian-tribes-un

worldwithoutgenocide.org/genocides-and-conflicts/american-indian.

http://www.nativepartnership.org/site/PageServer?pagename=naa_livingconditions

In late April of last year, Caucasian American Keziah Daum dressed in a qipao for her senior prom. After posting pictures on Twitter, a user of Asian descent, Jeremy Lam, replied by stating, “My culture is not your goddam* prom dress.” This ignited a public furore, with Lam gaining over forty thousand retweets and almost one hundred eighty thousand likes. According to Lam, a qipao is a traditional Chinese dress that was made for Chinese women to complete domestic work such as cleaning. However, upon the addition of embroidery and other design, Chinese woman were not allowed to wear these publicly due to the patriarchal oppression at the time. Thus, the qipao became a symbol of activism. Moreover, Lam declares that the qipao “embraces femininity, confidence and gender equality through its beautiful, eye-catching appearance.” In fact, Lam brings up a fairly interesting point: for his culture to be subject to American consumerism and cater to a white audience is parallel to colonial ideology. The dress itself is a physical representation of the hardships and persecution of Chinese woman, and that is something Kenziah does not represent.

In an attempt to prevent further negativity, Kenziah deleted the post and public apologized. She did not mean to disrespect the Chinese culture, but instead show appreciation for it. To put it simply, Kenziah thought the dress was beautiful, and she wanted to wear it to prom. However, just because she deleted the posts, it does not mean the debate is over. One twitter user stated that although he is Asian, he would not wear any other Asian ethnic clothing because there is “a lot of history” behind the clothing. According to this person, under no circumstances should a person ever be allowed to dress in another culture’s historical apparel publicly.

Although I identify myself as Asian American, there is no question that I have been brought up in a predominantly non-Asian community. Growing up, I have made many friends of ethnicities from around the globe. In my opinion, I believe that people should be allowed to embrace others’ cultures. For example, my sister, who is Asian American, is engaged to someone who is of Irish, Italian, and German descent. If he were to wear a barong, a traditional, formal shirt of the Philippines, then I would be fine with it—so long as he wears it at an appropriate time (ex. weddings). If I saw him wearing a barong, I would not be infuriated that he is not a “proper representative” of Filipino culture; instead, I would be proud that he is displaying interest. When I first heard of the “My Culture is Not Your Prom Dress” trend, I admit that I was initially taken aback by the ignorance of our uncultured society. But the more I read about, the more I began to contradict myself. America is a melting pot; it is a culture within itself. Observing diversity is almost inevitable in today’s world, and I personally believe that there is nothing wrong with wearing attire of a culture that is not of one’s own. In the the proper setting.

At the end of October, many people like to dress up to celebrate Halloween. Some people choose to become werewolves, TV show characters, etc. However, some people use this as an excuse to dress up as another culture, some of which are definitely perceived as offensive. In 2012, a poster campaign was started that all sported the following label: “We’re A Culture. Not a Costume.” When I was looking over these posters, I could not help but notice that some of the people donning costumes were people of their OWN race. Take the poster to the left. One colored person is sitting down, staring irritatedly at the camera, with a message above him that reads: “You wear the costume for ONE NIGHT. I wear the sitgma for LIFE.” Standing next to him is another colored person who is wearing an outfit that could likely be a representation of the “gangster” stereotype of black Americans. Another poster featured a blonde white male in the same position as the colored person sitting down in the other one. Next to him was another white male dressed in a plaid shirt and camouflage hat playing a banjo. While the spotlight of cultural appropriation tends to fall on more obvious ethnicities (which is justifiable because these are usually ethnicities that have been largely discriminated against in the past), the public often forgets that no matter our skin color, we all have our culture. To me personally, I am offended by the various racial costumes that people put on to encourage humor, which remind me of my previous posts regarding Black Face and Asian American representation in Hollywood. I believe that it is okay to wear another culture’s apparel, as long as you are appreciative and considerate while doing so. What are your thoughts? Can the same be applied to tattoos, or someone of one ethnicity serving food of another ethnicity?

Since the beginning of my college search, affirmative action was a term I frequently came across during the process. In 1961, President Nixon issued a provision in which government contractors “take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin”, and it has since been amended to include sex.

Many people believe America to be the “land of equal opportunity,” meaning that if one were to work hard enough, he or she could be as successful as others. However, that is often not the case; moreover, in a system separated by class and wealth, there is no doubt that certain individuals are given various advantages on the path to success. In an attempt to provide equal opportunity in regards to race, on the other hand, affirmative action has been instituted in many universities’ application processes. This ensures that anyone who identifies as a racial minority is given special opportunities or favored consideration in education and the workforce. To the right is a graph that displays data collected by the National Study of College Experience. In the graph, a trend that black and hispanic applicants are given a small boost compared to white applicants is identified. In addition, a penalty is given to Asian Americans compared to white applicants’ scores. This implies that if a black person scored a 1100, a Hispanic person scored a 1280, a white person scored a 1410, and an Asian person scored a 1550, all respective applicants would have an equal chance of admission into that university without reference to any other criteria influencing the decision. im

While this may be a step towards resolving racial inequality, affirmative action promotes it at the same time too. In 2006, an investigation opened on Princeton University’s bias against Asian Americans in the application process. This case continued under nine years until 2015 when the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights cleared Princeton University’s charges. In Princeton’s defense, it had always adhered to the Supreme Court’s rulings and in no way limited Asian Americans by their race. According to Princeton, they receive so many applicants each year that they have no choice but to reject many stellar or even perfect applications—and some of those applications included are Asian Americans. To many competitive universities, there is little concrete evidence of discrimination of applicants, but that does not mean they do not have reason to.

Diversity unquestionably plays an important role to colleges. Although sometimes overlooked, embracing multiculturalism on a college campus is perceived as welcoming and open. For example, Penn State, infamously known for its label as a P.W.I (Public White Institution), initiated a four goal action plan to improving diversity on campus. This plan, beginning in 2016, hopes to:

1. Create a Welcoming and Inclusive Campus Climate
2. Advance and Build a Diverse Student Body
3. Advance and Build a Diverse Workforce and Management
4. Develop a Curriculum That Fosters United States and International Cultural Competencies

Harvard University is currently under fire in a lawsuit similar to that of Princeton’s. Fortunately, some students of the school openly support affirmative action. For instance, Sarah Cole, an African American student, stated that “to not see my race is to not see me.” Another student, Thang Diep, announced that he supports affirmative action because it allowed his immigration history to be recognized. However, even though the discrimination trial itself is over, the lawsuit will likely persevere for years to come, like in the Princeton case.

Sociology 119, one of Penn State’s most notable and largest lectures, speaks about this topic every year. Last semester, when I was in the class, Sam Richards, the professor, asked the class if they thought Asian Americans have a harder time getting accepted into college. I recall each person who said that he or she believes that it is not harder for Asian Americans to get into college was a white person; contrarily, each person who said that he or she believes that it IS harder for Asian Americans to get into college was a colored person (with a few white people). I think that this is due to the significant role affirmative action plays in the lives of people like myself and people of other minority groups. When people apply to college 0r for a new  job, it is helpful to know what affirmative action is and how it may affect you.

I identify myself as Asian American, and I personally do not side with affirmative action. I believe that there is more to a person than race, and that there are more relevant aspects that should influence decisions rather than the features with which someone is born. What is your perspective on affirmative action and what can be done to improve it (if anything)?

 

Sources:

“A Brief History of Affirmative Action.” OEOD, www.oeod.uci.edu/policies/aa_history.php.

Jung, Carrie. “Harvard Discrimination Trial Ends, But Lawsuit Is Far From Over.” NPR, NPR, 2 Nov. 2018, www.npr.org/2018/11/02/660734399/harvard-discrimination-trial-is-ending-but-lawsuit-is-far-from-over.

https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2017/08/07/look-data-and-arguments-about-asian-americans-and-admissions-elite

In my first post, I briefly analyzed the racial discrimination made against Asians in Hollywood. Similar to how the industry is attempting to fix racism in its own system, many recent movies have contributed to the public’s conversations about culture. For example, Black Panther, a 2016 movie that earned a domestic lifetime gross of 1.3 billion dollars, was praised for its unusual cast. Upon the announcement that ninety percent of the actors and actresses in Black Panther were African American, the movie took social media by storm. I remember reading posts that emphasized the importance of this movie, many of which relayed the same message of social change as discussed with Crazy Rich Asians in the previous post. According to many of the posts that I have read, the casting of Black Panther meant that the entire public’s voice was “being heard” without regards to race. While the director, Ryan Coogler, could have done what other Hollywood directors have done in the past by choosing a white person to play a role that is not originally white (whitewashing, see here), he instead followed the story’s roots and cast African American actor Chadwick Boseman. Being the first Marvel movie to star a black protagonist, Black Panther was a hit among its fans. As stated by Boseman, the movie reflects both African heritage and the struggles of “Black America.” In my opinion, watching a movie that embraces culture is far more appreciable when it involves a cast that fits its roots.

Another recent movie to have caught the public’s attention on race is Get Out. A horror film set in present day America, Get Out follows the interracial relationship between the main protagonist, a black man, and a white woman. *Caution spoilers ahead* Chris, the lead role in the movie, plans to meet the family of his girlfriend, Rose, for the first time. However, they do not know that he is black. On the way to the house, the couple hits a deer on the road. After being approached by a police officer, the cop asks Chris for his ID even though he was not the one driving. Rose initially protests, claiming that the officer is racist, but this was only to mask her and her family’s true intentions. The theme of racism is continually conveyed throughout the movie. Moreover, upon reaching the town, Chris meets two African American people who work for the family, Walter and Georgina. Later at night, Chris notices their stranger behavior such as Walter running around the yard and Georgina brushing her hair in the window. The following day, Chris attends a party hosted by the family, and they invite citizens of the town, most of which are white. After being being asked about life as an African American, Chris approaches a black man and asks him to explain. As a photographer, Chris attempts to take a picture of the man. As soon as he noticed the flash, the man’s nose began to bleed, and he started to shout at Chris to “get out.”

As a neuroscientist with a hypnotist wife, Mr. Armitage has been able to transfer the minds of people into other bodies, particularly African Americans. There were many successful operations, and Rose brought Chris to her family so the town could auction off his body. The audience is given a hint to the family’s diabolical plan when Rose’s father, Mr. Armitage, tells Chris that his father lost in the Olympics to Jesse Owens. This could explain why he saw Walter running at night, and it also the famous scene that inspired the #GetOutChallenge. After being kidnapped by the family, Chris learns that the hosts are sent to the “sunken place,” where they have no control and can only see what is happening. According to Peele, the screenplay writer for Get Out, the “sunken place” is a metaphor “for the system that is suppressing the freedom of black people.” Even though the problem is clearly there, society is struggling to make change. Similarly, the same could be said about the main protagonist, Chris; moreover, he serves as the representation of being black and observing the injustice but not being able to do anything about it.

Both movies reflect the economical and social constructs of “Black America.” With the release of Black Panther, the discrimination and whitewashing has become a more prevalent issue in Hollywood. While Get Out depicts events that are purely fictional, it is a satire of a civic issue that is very real. Reflecting back on our history of racism and looking ahead to our potential future, I think that racism is a paradigm shift that will occur until the end of time. Naturally, all human beings are different and unique, and society will likely continue to separate people based on how they look and where they come from. But that’s what I think. What are your thoughts?

 

Sources:

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=marvel2017b.htm

https://www.indiewire.com/2017/11/get-out-jordan-peele-explains-sunken-place-meaning-1201902567/

While I was growing up, I learned that the “N word” was a derogatory slur used to identify black people. Whether I was home, at school, or in a business setting, I never used the word, but had always wondered why others used it so casually. Recalling my childhood, I remember one my African American friends telling me that “only black people are allowed to use the ‘N word’ because their ancestors suffered under that word.” Another friend has also told me that it was because they do not have as many rights as white people. Whatever the case may be, it is commonly understood that non black people should not use the “N word.”

Although there is no clear origin to the infamous “N word,” we can infer that it is derived from the Latin word, “niger,” meaning, “black.” Many latin-based languages, such as Spanish and French, all have similar words translated to black such as, “negro,” and, “negre,” respectively. Due to the phonetic similarities between the translation to “black”of different languages and the “N word,” it is clear that the word stems from its Latin translation. The word, “negro,” eventually became a noun used to describe a black person in English; moreover, many suspect that the term with the hard r (nigge*) is a result of the white Southerners’ mispronunciation of the English word. If you want to hear more history on the word, click here.

For the following three hundred years, many Caucasian Americans used the derogatory term to denote dark-skinned people, especially during the era of slavery. Being a common word, it carried a negative connotation of being cheap, dumb, and dirty. While the abolition of slavery powered the Civil Rights Movement, the popularity of the word was widely used under the Jim Crow Laws. Because it was seen as an abrasive term, many people began to speak out. For example, esteemed poet Langston Hughes stated in 1940 that the “hard r n word” sums up “the bitter years of insult and struggle in America” for black people. Although many people continue to use this word, it is widely considered inappropriate, and is almost never seen in media or on TV.

However, the usage of the word did not necessarily decline. As most of you know, the”N word” is prominent in many songs by black artists. It became commonly known that only black people can use the word, and any other race heard saying it would be frowned upon. Last summer, a song called “Freaky Friday” was released by Chris Brown and Lil Dicky. In the song, the two artists switch places, and Lil Dicky in Chris Brown’s body sings, “wait… can I really say the N word?” because he was black. Similarly, in Netflix’s hit show, Dear White People, an interaction between a black person and a white person at a party clearly demonstrates this. Reggie, one of the main characters of the show, is an African American college student and is a member of the Black Student Union. After hearing his classmate, Addison, singing along to a song that used the “N word,” Reggie asked him to stop. Addison quickly replied that he was not being racist and it did not have any meaning because he was “just singing along.”

In my own experience, I often witnessed these altercations between black people and non black people. Like in the show, the conversation would repeatedly involve accusations of racism and rationales of ambiguity. However, I noticed that in parties, I hear many people shouting the word in songs, and the black people in the room do not seem to care—people just want to have fun. Although this may slide at SOME parties at Penn State, it may not go the same elsewhere. For example, in a university with a more prevalent black population, people may be more aware of where and how they use the word.

Speaking about this topic is sometimes difficult because if one would dare give his or her input, he or she would often immediately be contradicted from the other argument. In fact, some people believe that the “N word” should not be used at all, regardless of whichever race says it. However, realistically, in my opinion, I do not think that the “N word” will ever die out. For decades, it has been popularized by music and media and has become socially acceptable in certain environments, and that is not to mention how regularly it is used in different communities. Even though some influential artists have attempted to change this status quo such as Travis Scott, who was blasted for letting a white fan sing the “N word” into the mic during his concert two years ago, it is unlikely that this argument will end. While the connotation the word carries has changed, the root will always remain the same, and there will always be people on both sides of the debate.

Sources:

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/cultureshock/teachers/huck/section1_2.html

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/may/23/kendrick-lamar-white-rap-fans-n-word-off-limits

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-44209119