When one watches movies, news reports, history etc about the United States, it would seem that the contribution and existence of Indians or, as they are called these days, Native Americans seemed to have been airbrushed out of history.
You get the impression that the USA had all of its native population killed off by disease or war, as Europeans from the east to west settled the lands from the 1600s onward. This is plainly not the case, as in the USA today, there's 2 to 3 million Native Americans from well known tribes such as the Sioux and the Apache, all living their lives as if the white man had never set foot in the Americas.
Obviously, conditions on a lot of reservations are not exactly hotbeds of pleasure for those tribes that live on them. Alcoholism and crime is rife and many tribes try to keep their traditions going not just for the sake of curious tourists but for the sake of their culture, in order to keep it alive for the next generation. Many Native American tribes now own casinos either in places like Las Vegas or in the reservations, where money can be used to fund projects in the reservation.
Many Native American reservations have their own police and fire departments and are, in some ways, self sufficient settlements though still part of the United States. Many Native Americans have served proudly in the armed forces in the USA, including the famous spirit talkers of World War II, who broadcast in their own language, thus confusing Japanese eavesdroppers and of course, Native Americans today continue to serve proudly in the US armed forces.
Native Americans work in all walks of life in the USA and not all live on reservations, many can be found living in big cities alongside other kinds of Americans.
The fact remains though, Native Americans seem not to exist when you watch American programs, whether that be sports, politics, the arts and entertainments and to me this is a very sad state of affairs.
The American government, long ago, emancipated the slaves, said sorry for slavery and black Americans appear visibly in every facet of American life with a mixed race one, Barack Obama currently occupying the Whitehouse as President.
When will Native Americans ever get an apology from the US government for the theft of land and treatment of them as a people?
When will we see famous Native American musicians, actors and politicians like you do with African Americans and European Americans coming to the fore and being given the recognition they deserve? The time for this is long overdue.
