Thinking about where we are

In last Wednesday’s Rose cafe, Professor Cheyfitz gave an amazing talk on the Native Americans’ history and standings in the current society. It was a very interesting talk and he a point which I found extremely thought-provoking. Professor Cheyfitz suggested that the American education tends to focus on the black-and-white history, nothing else. No Hispanic history, no Indian history. While the majority population of this country will become Hispanic in the near future, and while this land we are standing on originally belonged to the Native American people, there is not an emphasis on the learning and understanding the history and culture of the Hispanic and Native American people in this country. Particularly, Native American went through a lot of hardship and they are still experiencing a lot of adversity because the Europeans took their lands and oppressed them on their own lands. However, standing on this land stolen from them, many American are still apathetic towards the Native American culture and history because they are rarely exposed to such content in their education. Many of them are unaware that the Native American communities are still facing a lot of hardship. Whether through incorporate more materials on the history and culture of the Native American in the current education system, or through campaigns to fight for awareness and care for the Native American communities, something has to be done to expose people to the Native American’s history and culture more. Their lands and communities were the chronicle basis for American histories and that should be recognized.

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