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2 Challenges, Relisiency and Advocacy of Indigenous People Throughout history, the Indigenous community has faced marginalization and many challenges which, despite advocacy efforts, still continues today. Despite all of these challenges, they continue to demonstrate resilience through their cultural preservation, community empowerment and Advocacy Groups. Advocates and advocacy groups help to reduce the marginalization and systemic oppression that this community is faced with and helps to support this community. Cultural Aspects Indigenous communities and Native Americans have very diverse and rich histories. They practice and are deeply rooted in their traditions, languages and their beliefs. Despite all of their cultural aspects, they have faced numerous challenges in history and still experience many challenges today which leads to marginalization and systemic oppression. Challenges Faced This community still suffers from the intergenerational trauma from past traumatic events and experiences which continues to impact this community today. They are forced to deal with the historical trauma caused from forced displacement, colonization, cultural suppression and assimilation. Indigenous people were forced to give up their cultural identity, language, food, clothing and customs and were forced to fit into the dominant culture. They are forced to hide elements of their own culture and adapt to the dominant group's culture. This causes them to suffer from cultural bereavement which was caused by being forced to lose their culture and their identity. They also suffer from socioeconomic disparities as this population often experience higher rates of poverty, unemployment, lack of access to education and healthcare. Due to this, this community has higher dropout rates and fewer individuals that graduate with a high school

3 diploma or GED. They also experience health disparities and have higher rates of chronic diseases and mental health issues. This is due to lack of access to health services and IHS (Indian Health Services) not having adequate funding and a lack of services available for these individuals. They also experience physical health-related disparities. They also have had to deal with the challenges of loss of land and resources. These communities rely heavily on their land for food, natural resources, agriculture, water, medicinal herbs etc. When these communities are removed and displaced from their land, they lose all of these resources. Another challenge they have to face is cultural appropriation and cultural suppression. All of these challenges lead to their loss of cultural identity and marginalization. Policy: Local, State and Federal Level Policies at the local, state and federal level can impact the rights and challenges this community faces. At the local level, issues related to their access to education, healthcare, housing and law enforcement policies can significantly influence and affect the community. Not just their access to education is what needs to be addressed. Culturally appropriate education that talks about their ancestral and cultural heritage and history is important to continue to preserve their cultural identity. This also helps to teach non-Indigenous people about the history and challenges these people face and work to eliminate the micro aggressions and stereotypes that Native Americans face. At the state level, policies can be developed and implemented to improve the child welfare services and educational funding. They also can provide more access to healthcare services which are more culturally sensitive. Service delivery faces challenges due to being underfunded, having limited resources and cultural barriers. These all hinder access to social

4 services. A lot of services also lack cultural competency which leads to disparities accessing social services. At the federal level the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) can work to enhance and promote more opportunities and manage Indian affairs. The Indian Reorganization Act encouraged tribal sovereignty and encouraged self-governance and worked to promote cultural preservation and different cultural aspects. Indian Health Services (IHS) can advocate and work to provide more access to services. The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) and Indian Health Services (IHS) work to address these disparities that affect service delivery and access to social services. Historical Context Regarding Marginalization Marginalization of Indigenous People can be traced back to the arrival of European Settlers. This led to land seizures, forced removals and policies aimed with the intention of assimilating this community into European American culture. In the late 19th and early 20th century, Boarding Schools, also known as Residential schools or assimilation camps, were opened up for Native Americans. Native American children were violently and forcibly removed from their homes and families and forced to attend these schools (Quinn, 2019). During this time period, there were over 300 schools like this open. In 1925, there were 60,000 Native American children attending these schools across the United States. The goal of these schools were to force Indigenous People into the dominant culture and completely displace them and remove them from their Native American culture. The staff and teachers at these schools would physically, psychologically and sexually abuse these children. They were neglected and they were starved. They were not allowed to speak in their native languages and if they were caught doing so, they were punished. Their clothes and belongings were removed once they entered these schools and swapped for Western clothes. For many Indigenous people, their hair is a symbolic symbol of

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5 their culture. When they entered these schools, their hair was cut. This is what is known as cultural assimilation. This minority community was forced to give up their entire cultural identity and cultural aspects and to adapt to the dominant culture. In 1830 President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act which transferred hundreds of thousands of acres of lands from Native Americans to white farmers. The goal of this Act was to give white settlers land for their agricultural development. In 1838 the Trail of Tears forced the migration of 5 civilized Native American Tribes and forced them to walk 5,000 miles and this walk was fatal for one fourth of the population. They were forced to leave their land and walk towards present day Oklahoma. Another example of historical marginalization was the Dawes Act of 1887 which broke up Native American reservations. The main goal of this was to assimilate these people into American society. Many Native Americans still face challenges due to the effects of this cultural assimilation and historical trauma and continued marginalization. Due to these historical events and marginalization, some Indigenous people became even more determined to bring back their cultural identity and for some, it caused deep hatred for their cultural heritage. How Marginalization is Reduced by Advocacy that Contributes to Resiliency Engaging in Advocacy can lead to policy reform by influencing policy makers to create and reform policy that promote positive reform and cultural preservation that reinforces their resiliency. Indigenous People are extremely resilient for many reasons. They have very strong community ties and rely on support from their community to address these challenges they face. This strengthens their resiliency. They are also very determined to preserve their culture including their languages, traditions, spirituality, which also only strengthens their cultural resiliency. They also have Tribal Sovereignty, which is what allows them to have their own government system. These people also have a very strong cultural identity. Despite all of the

6 historical and cultural oppression their community has faced, they still maintain their cultural identity through their traditions and practices. Their activism and advocacy is a major factor. There have been big advocates for this community who have advocated for their rights and tribal sovereignty which has led to some positive changes and outcomes over time. There is still a lot of advocacy that needs to be done for these people to promote more positive changes for these people. They have created alliances with non-Indigenous people and groups to be able to help them to advocate and be the voice of their community to promote change. They continue to raise awareness about challenges they face, defying stereotypes and eliminating macroaggressions. Advocacy Group The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) helps to advocate for policy reform and development and advocate for Native Americans rights. They work to protect and build their tribal governance. This advocacy group also works to promote their economic development and works to educate the general population about Native American tribes. NCAI is the oldest and largest advocacy organization for Tribal governments in the United States. NCAI aligns with the needs of the Native American community by working to advocate for their rights and tribal governance. They also work to empower these individuals and promote their cultural preservation and work to advance their policies. Advocacy tactics that NCAI uses is lobbying and holding public awareness campaigns. They are also in coalition with allies to influence lawmakers to advocate for their rights. Some shortcomings and challenges this group faces are limited resources and stereotypes from the non-Indigenous population about Native Americans. Some people in power have deeply rooted and engrained cultural biases that obstruct this group's advocacy efforts. Contrary to the shortcomings of this advocacy group, they have been successful in influencing policy and law-makers.

7 Indigenous people, including Native American Tribes, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians have experienced cultural oppression and historical oppression. They have faced many challenges throughout history but this marginalization had reduced in time due to the resiliency of these people and the activism and advocacy of this community, advocacy groups, and allies of this community. Advocacy groups like the NCAI work to challenge these systemic injustices and work to promote positive change. Recent policy reform cannot change history or completely stop intergenerational trauma and historical trauma, but it is a good start to reduce the marginalization these people have faced.

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