Full Circle

In my Media Ethics class last Tuesday, a student made an interesting point about the Native American presence in the United States today. She said that many Americans abide by the ethic that handouts are unacceptable and indicate laziness and lack of integrity. A lot of Americans subscribe to this mentality because of the history of the nation itself. Colonial Americans worked tirelessly, in terms of both manual labor and politics, to establish their identity as revolutionaries, settlers, and Americans.

The question remains, Where do Native Americans belong in this capacity? Hundreds of tribes flourished for centuries before the colonists arrived. We do not need to be reminded of the atrocities suffered as white colonists pillaged the land of the established tribes. After being forced to live on reservations, tribal members struggled to reorient themselves in society. This included taking work in urban, industrial settings which were virtually unknown to them.

The work ethic of many Native Americans differs from that of white Americans. Historical evidence of tribal structure shows different emphases on time and cooperative work effort from the emphases white workers exemplify in industrial settings. Stereotypes abound of Native Americans being lazy and tardy in the workplace. These stereotypes emerged simply from ignorant interpretation of tribal culture. Moreover, being thrust into the white design of the workplace proved problematic not only for cultural reasons but also for personal issues of pride. Why should Native Americans be forced into jobs just to alleviate the guilt of whites who disrupted the tribal work ethic? This urban job landscape provided financial gain for tribal members, but at what cost? The Native workers took jobs to support themselves but may not have liked the type of work they did. They are accepting handouts, in a sense, from whites who intruded upon their culture centuries before.

Are the handouts justified, or are they just another oversimplification of penance for the mistreatment of America's first people?