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Discuss Public Policies Regarding Native Americans And Provide Some Examples Pertaining To Ethnocentrism

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Discuss Public Policies Regarding Native Americans And Provide Some Examples Pertaining To Ethnocentrism
Written Assignment 4
March 22, 2014

Native Americans were the first people living in the United States until Europeans arrived, sought to colonize and take over. During this time, Native Americans were subjugated to warfare, new government and losing their lands. Forced to submit to White settlers, many Native Americans have had to choose between assimilating into a White culture or preserving their heritage and ancestry. This essay will discuss public policy regarding Native Americans and provide some examples pertaining to ethnocentrism and cultural relativity.

Public Policy and Ethnocentrism From early on, Native American culture has been on a collision with White society. During the colonial period, the government did not want to have any issues with settlers and Native Americans. Schaefer mentions that Whites were to take precedence regardless of the needs or interference by …show more content…
The only thing that the government was able to do was drive these people off their lands, relocate them and create a sense of distrust. I do feel that the Employment Assistance program did contribute to having some Native Americans move out of their comfort zone and seek out other opportunities. It did cause many Native Americans to take collective action and form groups to lobby for their rights. With regard to sovereignty, it seems that Native Americans are trying to assimilate themselves by working with the government to gain recognition and reap the economic benefits. Today it seems that Native Americans are slowly assimilating into White society because of their involvement in protests, lobbying, politics and business. While Native Americans might not have achieved complete pluralism, they are still trying to adapt to contemporary
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