[Thunderwolf]

An excellent article which takes the reader by the hand, from past to present, to come to understand the Indian plight and offers his solution out.
His conclusion reads:
The consequences of contact with “The white man,” totally disrupted the life and
culture of the Native people. From that point on the Native Americans began to
form a new self-identity that was based on the hegemonic view of who they
were. Over the years this Native identity has formed, and been reinforced by
modern society to the point that many Native Americans accept the view from
the outside, and fully accept all of the disadvantages that it implies. The last
couple of hundred years are not enough time for genetic adaptation to take
place, as exemplified by the high rate of disease that is now being attributed to
genetic conditions. The Native American currently accepts these genetic
conditions as part of their identity. Diabetes, obesity, and early death rates are
all accepted parts of the Native American identity, and with acceptance comes
a diminished desire to correct the problem. Diets and medications are not
enough to save the Native people from their current destiny, what it will take is a
change in who they think that they are. They must create a new identity based
on whom their people were before contact with “the white man”, and disregard
the hegemonic imposed identity that currently exists for most of them. The
Native American Identity that exists today is of a dying Indian.



The entire article can be viewed here:
http://www.littlewolf.us/nativeidentity.html