Dear Native Americans,
I know you probably feel out of place or you feel like your an outcast because many people make fun of your culture.Such as religion,traditions, foods, etc.I also understand that many of you live in poverty and on reservations, now and in the past.And it’s not your fault. The government has had a long history of hating Native Amerians, in fact in 1865 Abraham Lincolin ordered his soldiers to kill the people of the Lakota tribes,(this was two days after he signed the emancipation proclamation.) , Aaron Huey said in a
\ Ted Talk. I feel bad that you guys don’t have a lot of freedom and don’t have the same privileges as us. I’ve never been in poverty, but I know it’s hard to live like this. Not being able to get food everyday, or have barley to no clothes.
At least things aren’t as bad as things used to be. Between the 1400-1600 explorers from Europe and Asia and other places went to find new land, and on the land there were Native Americans. Many explorers would enslave the Natives to find valuable thing, and if the Natives didn’t follow directions then they would be killed.Most of the explorers (mainly the Spainish) wanted gold, spices, jewels etc. Also during this time, many Spanish tried to convert Natives to Chrisianity, they learned new languages (most Natives don’t speak the language they used to, because the language they spoke is dead). And there were people who would paint pictures of what natives looked like, and some made them look unhuman, like aliens or something.Nowadays things aren’t as bad, because there is not as much slavery, and people are’nt making you look like aliens.
I understand you may feel like an other because of your skin color or how you look, don’t be around people who make fun of your traditions,skin, how you look, religion, and that you are in poverty. Not all Natives live in poverty, in 2010, the poverty rate on reservations was 28.4 percent, compared with 22 percent among all American Indians (on and off reservations). The official U.S. poverty rate for 2016 was much lower, at 12.7 percent.The poverty rate of Native Americans is 25%. Incomes of Native Americans tend to be low, and unemployment rates are usually high.So many Native Americans are unemployed, in fact, the total U.S. jobless rate among American Indians and Alaskan Natives was 8.9 percent in 2016. In 2013 the unemployment rate was 11.3 according to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). You may have lost hope in life, but I’m telling you don’t lose hope, you may think you are worthless, or you don’t have a purpose in life, but that's not true. You are not worthless, and you do have a purpose in life.If you have something you want to say, say it. Let your voice be heard
Sincerely,
Your new friend
