Native American History Essay -- American Indian Culture

Popular culture has shaped our understanding and perception of Native American culture. From Disney to literature has given the picture of the â€Å"blood thirsty savage† of the beginning colonialism in the new world to the â€Å"Noble Savage,† a trait painted by non-native the West (Landsman and Lewis 184) and this has influenced many non native perceptions. What many outsiders do not see is the struggle Native American have on day to day bases. Each generation of Native American is on a struggle to keep their traditions alive, but to function in school and ultimately graduate. The long history between Native American and Europeans are a strained and bloody one. For the time of Columbus’s subsequent visits to the new world, native culture has been under a microscope. They were viewed in a scope of inferiority that caused Europeans to think that they needed them to teach them the correct way of life (Landsman and Lewis 184). The want for goods soon characterized interaction with settlers and the want for a stable trading relationship, becoming more apparent with the French Trappers (â€Å"How the Land†). The French were able to integrate into the Native society and understand with great respect, while the British only saw economic relationships with marriage (â€Å"How the Land†). The history of Native American were from a biased prospective and preventing the true nature Native American to be evident among white settlers. Many of whom welcomed white settlements for the prospect of new trade post and trading goods (â€Å"How the Landâ € ). Through the hardship and perseverance the education systems us still a struggle that many native people still have today. It is the history of the education through boarding schools that causes distrust for the current... ...cahy interview of Mary L. Wingerd. Minnesota Public Radio. 07 Sept. 2010. Web. 07 Oct. 2011 McCallum, Laura. â€Å"States Told to Improve American Indian Student Achievement.† Minnesota. Publicradio.org. Minnesota Public Radio, 16 May 2007. Web. 07 Oct. 2011. Landsman, Julie G., and Chance W. Lewis. White Teachers/ Diverse Classrooms. Sterling: Stylus, 2011. Print â€Å"Professor wants to Foster New Generation of Ojibwe Speakers.† Hosted by Kate Smith Interview of Anton Treuer. Minnesota Public Radio. 09 Sept. 2010. Web. 07 Oct. 2011. Robertson, Tom. â€Å"Red Lake Student Score Lower than Other Indian Kids on Standardized Test.† Minnesota.Publicradio.org. Minnesota Public Radio, 06 June 2004. Web. 07 Oct. 2011. Weber, Tom. â€Å"Study: Few Academic Gains for American Indian Students.† Minnesota. Publicradio.org. Minnesota Public Radio, 30 June 2010. Web. 07 Oct. 2011.