Native American, or Indigenous, people have lived on what is now the United States before its colonization. The U.S. government systematically removed Indigeouns people from their homelands and attempted to force their assimilation to white culture.
When Native people were pushed out of their homelands and their children sent away to Indian Boarding Schools, they lost their lives, lands, languages, foods, and culture, pushing them to the margins of society with impacts that persist to this day.
Resources
This video from the United Nations focuses on the challenges of preserving Indigenous culture, language, and traditions.
The History Channel explains why Indigenous People’s day is growing in popularity.
Initially adopted by the Colony of Virginia in 1705, "Indian Blood law" limited the civil rights of Native Americans and persons of one-half or more Native American ancestry. This also had the effect of regulating who would be classified as Native American and became blood quantum, the legal metric that defines Native people based on the fraction of their “blood” that can be traced to Native ancestors.
Reflection and Response
What were you taught in school about Indigenous people?
What does learning about blood quantum make you think about the ways federal legislation and tribal practice intersect?