A common American value, self-determination, has been fought for by our country to be

gifted to people across the world; the right to decide the way of life and opportunity in a
community empowers the people with its democracy and will. However, through pride the
history of this value has been idealized. Where now Americans give aid to those fighting for
self-determination, the past shows their history of preventing it. Since their meeting, dominant
cultures have been oppressing Native Americans and compromising their natural rights,
continuance of culture, and personal enterprise, ultimately scarring their self-determination.
When colonists first came to America, their communities were pressured to establish
relations with the Native Americans. Countries like England and France had initially practiced
mostly healthy relations with these tribes (Comparing). Spain had a predisposition that the tribes
were to either be converted or killed due to their primitive tendencies. Eventually, all these
countries experienced trouble with the people of America through land, religion, and labor
disputes. Either the newcomers would want the Natives to become slaves and adopt a new
religion, or they would want to push them west to give more territory to their colonies. This led
to laws that would force the Natives into some position they did not choose for the benefit of the
foreigner. Over time, The US Government has tried to make amends to the mistakes they made
in the past and protect the already broken cultures.
Natural rights are the belief that every person can preserve their life through the
protection of life, liberty, and property. Incidents like the Indian Removal act have been
detrimental to these rights, forcing the Natives from their homes to move to reservations that lack
the resources and spirituality of their homelands (AMSCO). In addition to losing their property,
the US Government has prevented them from arguing their rights with cases such as Cherokee v
Georgia, in which the tribe was not recognized as a nation, so they lacked the right to sue the
federal government and lost the land of Georgia to American statehood (Cherokee).Before the
United States had a recognizable government with the power to inflict its power, the colonies
still acted as a unified body against Native’s control of their own lives. Once the colonies got
lazy with their work and needed more laboring hands, the mass use of Native Americans as
slaves was adopted. This direct violation of civil liberty was matched with the opposition of the
first nation people; having known freedom, they were quick to retaliate,triggering the switch to
indentured servants and eventually the African slave trade (Social). The neglect of the natural
rights that started with events like these are what first injured the self-determination of the Native
Americans. Without the access to their own land and futures,the Natives were unable to
determine for themselves their lifestyles.
Coinciding with the natural rights of the people, their culture was also kept from
them.The colonizers tried to convert the indigenous people to their religion and way of life,
qualifying it as civilizing them. As time went on, The US became conscious of their contribution
to the degradation of culture and attempted to encourage the culture of these people.
Unfortunately,the presentation of natives in media has not followed suit and either misinterpreted
or appropriated their culture. The popular musical Peter Pan has recently run into trouble after it
was called out for supporting stereotypes in its Ugg-A-Wugg song. The song featured a fake
language that mimicked Native Americans in a way that made them more primitive, and the play
itself sexualized Tiger Lily and made the men belligerent savages (Salon). This appropriation, or
the misuse of a minority culture without knowledge or permission, loosens the definition of that
culture to a point that it no longer shares its original meaning (Cultural). Without their culture, an
individual can be exposed to the world without a sense of identity, purpose, or
belonging.Deciding who or what to be can be difficult without this basis of understanding for the
surrounding world.
Personal enterprise is the strength of will a person has to aspire and work for personal
goals. An important development to this quality is education. Sherman Alexie, a First Nation
citizen, is an active promoter of education and excellence for Native Americans; the historical
treatment of these people have led them to lack the same motivation found by other ethnicities
within the school setting (Superman). Because he knows they do have the assets to do well, he
emphasizes the importance of learning to truly live. His actions on this issue show how many
youth this problem affects in reality. Perhaps the scariest evidence for the lack of personal
enterprise, I felt firsthand. While in the To’Hajiilee Community School, in a conversation with
one of the students, it was mentioned that often the students don’t try in school, causing the
teachers to for the most part, give up (Conversation). Knowing that this feeling still persists was
a wake up call in the ongoing effects of intergenerational trauma. The stereotypes and low
expectations weighed down the confidence and curiosity of the kids, leaving them with lower
personal goals and a smaller hope for their ability to grow in the future. Without self confidence
and accountability, an oppressed person cannot accurately grow to their full potential and decide
or themselves the quality of their life ahead.
Dominant cultures have compromised the self-determination of Native Americans by
taking away their land, culture, and sense of confidence, stealing from natives the right to
establishing their own destiny and place in the world. All the actions against these people have
been passed down through intergenerational trauma, magnified each age as more incidences
occur. Without action, the self-determination of this group will continue to be repressed.