Robert J Bresky

The Native American Experience Robert J Bresky

This book begins with genocidal racism and its impacts on Native Americans during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Historic photographs of Native American and U. S. Army leaders and maps of key battles accompany the text. A discussion of federal, state, and local laws and policies documents covert institutional and systemic racism that followed the overt racism of wars against American Indians. Trauma from both overt and covert human rights abuses damaged Native American sovereignty and the health, education, and welfare of many tribes. Structural racism also led to resistance and an indigenous rights movement that fostered new leaders who pushed back against the bigotry of 1950's federal statutes that broke up reservations and undermined the status of federally recognized tribes. Brief profiles of some of these strong leaders are mentioned throughout later chapters. Despite modest gains made during the last half-century, Native Americans like other people of color lag behind the general white population in terms of wealth, health, education, and other socioeconomic indicators. The book's concluding chapter contains timely recommendations from the Native American community on how to improve the overall welfare of their people.