Guest speaker on June 21 was really awesome to hear. He really showed us what it was like to be an Indian back in the 80s. He mentioned the Indian families that were forced out of their land with guns to their heads. The fact that American people really had to use guns and install fear in their eyes to get them to move from their homes. I really wish that it wouldn’t have gone that way and would have just given them a choice to either leave or stay rather than threatening to kill them. He also brought up very gut wrenching facts on the native Indian females being raped. It is really crazy how it was that 1 of 3 females were in anyway sexually harassed and treated like a doll. It hurts my heart to know that women are not respected like how they should be, man camps have had a big impact on these numbers because of the women being almost sold to men so they could have their way with them. Then he brought up a very different point of view on the mascots of sports teams. I personally am not against native sports team names. I think in a way it could in a way benefit the native people if they were to get involved in a positive way and help incorporate their heritage in the team.
caleby June 21, 2018
I’m glad that you mentioned that 1 out of 3 Native American females are sexually assaulted because many people do not realize that the percentage is that high. To add on, 86% of the offenders are non-natives. This statistic proves that outsiders of the tribal culture looked in and viewed the native women as objects that were dehumanized and didn’t value them as equal.
The mascots are also very important because they are seen by the whole nation as being displayed as stereotypical Indians. The organizations with offensive mascots don’t know the about the mass violence that Native Americans faced. Offensive mascots need to be changed!
seanjr81 June 21, 2018
The speaker made many points on the past and present of the Indian culture and their life in general, I would’ve never known it was that bad. The way he even had a ratio to gives us really shows how bad it was to be a indigenous women back then. Your blog had some very factual points that I agreed with especially on the way we treat women, women deserve nothing but the best from men; never should they be “sold or used like a doll” for a men’s satisfaction. The mascot topic is a hard choice, I stand behind the Indians on wanting a change but then again you made a point on if the Indians would make it a positive thing rather than just looking at the bad then it possibly wouldn’t be a problem.