American Indians Are Still Here
I embrace this opportunity to write about my challenges in mainstream academic institutions. Recently I was walking down the hall in a building on campus when I noticed a big sign over a bulletin board displaying in large letters the word “Diversity.” I stopped for a look.
Upon examination of the board I noticed the board contained a world map, greetings in many languages, and student organizations which represented all but one race. The missing race was American Indians. It made me think for a minute or two about whether or not the termination and assimilation policies of the U.S. federal government had been successful in convincing non-Natives that American Indians are gone. But more likely, it is the case my current academic institution is unaware of American Indians because the state has no federally recognized Indian tribes.
Nevertheless, there are both graduate and undergraduate American Indian student organizations on campus, and the absence of American Indians on this department’s bulletin board is merely a naive mistake; although, often the pedagogy and heuristics of history, government, and politics treat American Indians the same as the aforementioned department bulletin board. I believe it is important as a student to connect with the local Indian community in order to gain the balance necessary for success in big mainstream academic institutions. It has been important to me.
Jason Oberle
2010 Masters in Public Affairs candidate
Read Jason’s American Indian Policy Blog
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Tags:Native American Culture,Native American History,Native American Media
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Tags: Native American Culture, Native American History, Native American Media
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