Thursday, September 29, 2011
Alex Rawley's Current Event
The article that I read was called, "Governor to Appoint American Adviser" by the Contra Costa Times. It can be found here: http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_18939253?nclick_check=1. There are some things that you need to know before reading this article. We learned all of these in class. One thing that you have to know is that the Native Americans have not been given a substantial voice in government before, therefore, they have not had say in matters that concern them. The main thing to remember from my presentation is that appointing this adviser is a great step in Native American- Government relations which will eventually lead to equal rights because they finally will have a say in matters and laws that concern them. California's decision to appoint this liaison of sorts may lead by example for other states to follow. There was some confusion about who was elected during the presentation. The adviser that is to be appointed is not revealed to the public yet, and so some people are wondering if the Native American is going to even be of enough blood quantum to be a real Native American. Why do you think that this matters and what do you think will improve or change due to the adviser?
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I think that it matters more to other Native Americans if the appointed is Native American too. They would feel more represented because that person would share more of a connection with them. They would be able to relate more to the inequality because they would be apart of the group being scrutinized. To me, I don't think it matters if the appointed is Native American or not. Yes it's great that the governemnt is becoming more disverse but every man is treated equal so I am going to treat it as if anyone else would get the place. This appointment will make Native Americans better represented, but I do think that the fact of it being such a big deal that they are Native American makes it hard not to think that person is going to make decisions that benefit the Natives Americans at more times than others
ReplyDeleteI somewhat disagree with Jurnee. I agree that a Native American being appointed matters the most to other Native Americans, but i also think that it would matter to many other citizens as well. Like Alex mentioned in class it could be a huge way to get equal rights for all. Alex brought up the fact that Martin Luther King Jr.stood up for his people and helped to create equality for all. When I was listening in class, I wasn't quiet sure how he could compare these two very different events. Back then, being segregated was a huge problem along with equality. Now, the issue of racial segregation is not talked about in such a huge way. After thinking about what Alex had to say, Sherman Alexie's writing, and what we have learned in class, I have to agree that appointing a Native American as an advisor could be a huge step to create equality for all.
ReplyDeleteI partly agree with Jurnee. I think that it is very important that the Native Americans are represented in politics, because they will have a say in what happens to their tribes. Hopefully the advisor will understand what is happening and what has happened to Native Americans. He would sympathize with them because he is of the same blood. I also do not think it is too important if the advisor is 100% Native American. If he is mostly Native American I do not think it will cause any of his future decisions to change regarding Native Americans.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jurnee, I think that if the Governor is going to appoint a Native American it needs to be a full blood Native American in order to represent them equally and fairly. I think that the social affairs with the government and the Native Americans will improve and hopefully set an example for the rest of the races.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Jurnee. I feel as though if a Native American was appointed, that not only would give Native Americans a say in government processes, but it would also drive more Native Americans to stand up for themselves and get involved with politics. As David said, the fact the the man is not 100% Native American really should not matter. I think that he has noticed that Native Americans are not correctly represented in the government and will do his best to change that.
ReplyDeleteNate brought up a good point, having a Native American be appointed will further drive more Native Americans to become more involved with politics. If this chain reaction stands true, then that itself would create more equality for Native Americans. Even if the Native American is not one hundred percent Native American, as David said, it would not really matter because he would still be representing Native Americans as a whole. If a Native American is appointed then I do think it will have a huge influence on the way they will be treated from now on.
ReplyDeleteI agree with David because I feel that it doesn't really matter if the person that is being appointed is full blood Native American or not, because in Martin Luther King Jr.'s time, it didn't matter if you were full blood or half blood Native American, you were still looked at in a different way. Due to this, I don't think that it would matter how much of the race the appointed person would be. I do think though that it is a huge step for equality, and that it is a good decison to appoint someone of Native American descent.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Michaela that it matters most to the Native Americans that a Native American is elected. I think the Native Americans want someone of their same ethnicity because it will give them a stronger bond to that person and that person can represent them egually. I think that all Native Americans want the same thing: equality. If the person elected is not fully Native American then they may not put their full effort into it. I hope that a full-blood Native American is elected because I want them to feel equal and be able to be apart of our government.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Michaela, it matters the most to the native Americans because they are the ones being represented. They are the ones that will be affected the most by the decisions made. Going back to what David said that the person that is representing the native Americans doesn't have to be a 100% native American. As long as they understand what the native Americans need and how they live it should be fine.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jurnee and Alyssa because I believe that the advisor should be a full blood Native American in order to provide complete representation of their social group. I do not think that a white/Caucasian person could step up and accurately represent the ideas of the Native Americans, and I think that there would be a lot of controversy between the Native Americans and the government if the advisor was only part NA. I also agree with Michaela because this advisor will be a huge step towards providing Native Americans with equal rights and protection. Having this advisor will help to ensure that the ideas of the NAs are expressed to the government so that steps can be made towards improving the problems that face them. As we learned in class, one of the many problems that NAs have had to deal with is their relationship with the US government. I believe that this advisor will help to improve this problem and improve their representation.
ReplyDeleteI do not think that it is a very big deal to me, but the Native American’s I feel they would not feel that it is right if someone is claiming to be one of them but he truly is not Native American. I agree with Jurnee because Native American views need to be brought up to everyone. I think that is a good thing that they are starting to be recognized more and being treated more a equal then lesser. This will make Native Americans more represented but I do not think there is enough representation to really make a difference.
ReplyDeleteI think that appointing a Native American will make the Native Americans feel a lot more secure with who is representing them. This is because they're the same, they've dealt with the same issues, etc. I think a lot will improve for the Native Americans due to this change, especially if their representative is a Native American himself. For example, the Native Americans will be more involved with the government and have much more of a say regarding laws and changes involving them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with some of the comments above because I think it defiantly matters to the other Native Americans if the appointed is NA too. They would be able to relate with each other because of the inequality in their native group, they would feel more represented and more of a connection with the appointed NA. Although, the government is more diverse or at least trying to be, every man should be treated equal. Therefore it shouldn’t matter if the appointed is Native American or not.
ReplyDeletei think that it is vitaly important to have someone in governmental power to speak on the behalf of the native Americans. It was orignally their land so it only makes sense for them to have a say in what happens to the lands. Even if they cant have it the way the had the lands planned out before. the way our government works is that the peopple can contact their reps and have their words be heard int he law making to shape and maintain our country. This should be true for everyone. There are even people who vouch illegal immagrants. for example you may be firimliar with the current case in MASS of an illegal brazilian immagrant who may be being deported for his 6 DUI's. At the new reporting station there was an illegal immagrant voucher their to explain that there wasnt a correlation of him being an illegal immagrant to being a drunk driver. There should be people to vouch for the native americans for better of for worse (if the NA does something in poor favor) to speak on the behalf of the native americans. everyone in our country should have a say in how our country is. especially since they were here first
ReplyDeleteI agree with lauren because the person who is going to be representing the Native Americans should be 100% Native American. This will assure that he has the same ideas about issues that are going on that all of the other Native Americans do. A white person couldn't fulfill this roll because he could be really bias and just not understand where the Native Americans are coming from with their ideas. He doesn't understand the Native American's beliefs and how strongly they feel about them.
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