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NATIVE AMERICANS TODAYThe result of the colonization of the America by white people was a huge devastation of native cultures. Native Americans were robbed of their land and hunting grounds. This meant that their lifestyle was not possible. Government of the US often broke treaties in order to take away more land. Usually this was the best land, very fertile or with lots of resources. Tribes were moved around and placed on reservation. These reservations often lacked jobs and opportunities. The Termination policy of 1950's contributed to misery even more, since the Government took basically all the help they used to give. Many tribal members were forced to go to cities to find work. The result was poverty and huge alcoholism rate. After the end of the Termination policy, government provided more help to tribes especially with education and health care. But, that isn't enough. Today many tribes realize that they need to find their own way to earn money and help people. Many reservations run casions or depend on the arts and crafts. Others have natural resources they can trade and built industry that provides job. The situation today is far from perfect. However, there are some very successful tribes that have adapted to the 'new" lifestyle and have become self-sufficient. It would be impossible to repair all the wrong done to the first Americans, but it is important to recognize their issues and help the preserve their rich culture and heritage.
Today Native Americans live in the mixture of old and new. After the Termination Policy in 1950's many Native Americans moved to city in search for jobs and they remained there. But some remained on reservations, strips of land given to them by the US Government. There are several large, well managed and successful Tribes today. Here are two:
NAVAJOThe Din'e, or Navajo Nation is the largest Native nation in the United States both in territory and population. Their tribal land is located in Arizona and New Mexico and has seventeen million acres held in trust by the United States Government. There is population is approximately 165,000. Almost 20% of Navajos live away from the reservation.Din'e women own large sheep herds and make beautiful Navajo rugs. Din'e men make beautiful jeweler out of turquoise and silver. Din'e land has reserves of minerals and resources; for example they have 100 million barrels of oil,25 billion cubic feet of natural gas,five billion tons of coal, and 80 million pounds of uranium. There are 500,000 acres of forests on Navajo lands. This gives them millions of dollars of profit a year. They have established Navajo Community College at Tsaile, Arizona.
CHEROKEEAnother large and Powerful tribe is the Cherokees. The Cherokee Nation is the federally recognized government of the Cherokee people. This means that they are really a country within the country. They have their own constitution and laws. a The seat of tribal government is the W.W. Keeler Complex near Tahlequah, Oklahoma, capital of the Cherokee Nation.They adopted the constitute on September 5, 1975. The governement, just like in USA, has three branches.
Today, the most important tribal member is the Principal Chief. The Principal Chief and Deputy Chief are elected to four-year terms by popular vote of registered Cherokee voters.This is the executive branch. The legislative branch is made up of 15 member Tribal Council and they create laws. There is also a judicial branch which helps interpret Cherokee laws. One thing that has helped Cherokees save their culture is the fact that Sequoya invented their own alphabet. Today there are about 260,000 members of the Cherokee Nation.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CHECK THE CHEROKEE NATION OFFICIAL WEB SITE.
WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT, ESPECIALLY THE KID SECTION!
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