Native Americans (Racial Inequality)

Question 1

Native Americans (definition)

Answer 1

• Indigenous peoples native to North America
• Bureau of Indian Affairs definition = 1/4 native blood
• Tend to identify as members of a nation (political organization) first, and then as members of a tribe (kin-based group)

Question 2

US Native American Population

Answer 2

About 4 million US citizens identify as at least part Native American or Alaskan native

Question 3

Cultural Characteristics

Answer 3

Importance of family, group primacy, non competitiveness, individual achievement is not valued, sharing, cooperation, noninterference, harmony and balance, spirituality, present and cyclical time orientation, deep respect for elders

Question 4

sources of oppression

Answer 4

genocide, disease, war and relocation, sexual abuse, alcohol, land loss and land exploitation, loss of native language and culture, loss of power of self-determination, and lateral violence among own people

Question 5

Education

Answer 5

high dropout rates (40-60%); overrepresented in special education; rapid decline in academic performance after 4th grade; half as likely to have Bachelor’s degree; average age of Native American college student = 33

Question 6

life expectancy

Answer 6

Native American men have lowest life expectancy; on reservations: as low as 45 for men, 48-women; death by alcohol = 7x national average; suicide for males age 15-34 = 2-3 times national average

Question 7

Native Americans and alcohol

Answer 7

• substance abuse is #1 health problem
• society’s perception reinforces stereotypes
• may actually maintain an abstinence rate higher than US population (40% vs. 70%)
• more adverse consequences than other groups

Question 8

underlying reasons for substance dependence

Answer 8

historical factors, isolation, generational splits, sociodemographics, physiology, social facilitation, peer pressure, coping mechanism, noninterference

Question 9

Whiteclay

Answer 9

• population 10 (2010 census)
• near Pine Ridge reservation (about 40,000 people)
• around 4 million cans of beer sold annually until sales finally banned in 2017

Question 10

Pine Ridge adult alcoholism rate

Answer 10

65-80%

Question 11

Pine Ridge alcohol-related death rate

Answer 11

• 9 times national average
• Twice the average on Indian reservations
• Shannon County = South Dakota’s highest number of alcohol-related fatalities

Question 12

When did Pine Ridge vote to overturn ban on alcohol?

Answer 12

August, 2013