Before the first slave ship arrived on the shores of the American continents, the original residents of these lands presented European explorers with an unspoken challenge. Their existence has led to the examination and questioning of cherished beliefs about a single origin for all humanity (Omi & Winant, 1986, p. 11). What emerged from this debate was the certainty that these natives were not civilized and by extension not fully human. This led them to suffer numerous acts of oppression and genocide. Even today, although some progress has been made in civil rights provisions, many American Indians cannot share them. Their experiences represent both a model and a reminder of what white people have done to them and others throughout this country's post-colonization history. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The basis of my essay is the report of the United States Commission on Human Rights on American Indians entitled “Indian Tribes: An Continuing Search for Survival” (1981, p. 477). Although it is not a in-depth examination of their history since the beginning of colonization, provides an overview of what happened to them from a comprehensive perspective. We receive very little education regarding their version of the history of the creation of our country point of view a document worthy of examination and discussion focuses heavily on the racism in the actions of the federal government and associated parties that have led to their current state therefore include American Indian issues and concerns. I also consulted the primary source of Elk v. Wilkins (1884, p. 514), as it provides a direct example of the thinking used in American courts to deny natives any rights provided by the Constitution. His conflation of citation of the Constitution's position on negotiating with Indian tribes and blatant racist opinion makes it an excellent example of biased jurisprudence as standard operating procedure. To be sure, the Indian experience is unique when compared to other non-white racial and ethnic countries within our borders. They were independent and self-governing before colonization and lost their land and rights to foreign invaders (“Indian Tribes,” 1981, p. 477). Likewise, their desire for political independence is also significantly different, as the vast majority of other nonwhite groups have much preferred to work to change laws and social customs to better include them (“Indian Tribes,” 1981, p. 477). ). However, having been forced to assimilate and conform to white American culture and law, they have had to fight for their rights under our government, as well as seek greater autonomy for their own. The case Elk v. Wilkins, decided in 1884, is an example of a failed early attempt to assert rights under the American government. The plaintiff, John Elk, sought the right to vote along with his white neighbors in Oklahoma under the protection of the 14th Amendment (“Elk v. Wilkins,” 1884, p. 514). It was condemned by the United States Supreme Court because the populations of the various states were specifically described in that amendment as excluding “untaxed Indians” (“Elk v. Wilkins,” 1884, p. 515). Since Elk was an Indian, he could not be a citizen as he was not taxed, although he left the reservation and moved in with the whites to live like them. Draw linesaround an ethnic group and declare them unfit to fully participate in The system is a common thread of racial experiences in the United States. Asians have suffered similar treatment many times. One such example occurred a few decades after Elk v. Wilkins, when Bhagat Singh Thind, an upper-caste Hindu from India, sought to become a naturalized citizen. The Supreme Court rejected his petition because it did not fit the common definition of whites that existed at the time to indicate who was authorized to do so (Sutherland, 1932, p. 522). Chinese immigrants and their native-born descendants were classified as Indians in the absence of other possible labels to deny them the right to testify in criminal cases against whites, attributed to a presumption of shared ancestry ("People vs. Hall," 1854, p. 494). Both of the above decisions have a solid basis in the origins of the white race, since merging different cultures into a homogeneous mass and excluding them from access to power is older than the Declaration of Independence. It was considered critical to the maintenance of social order, as in the late 17th century, landless and indentured whites joined forces with indentured and free blacks to combat the poor treatment they were receiving (Buck, 2001, p. 21 ). The response to these riots included disenfranchisement of non-white property owners, harsh laws against intermarriage, and separate treatment of indentured servants based on race to give whites less reason to fight their situation (Buck , 2001, p. 21). Previous attempts to track the nation from which an Indian came were also abandoned in the course of this rewriting of social law and order (Buck, 2001, p. 21). The fusion of all American Indian cultures into one mass is common in the American consciousness even now. White preschoolers asked to draw Indians uniformly rely on the feathers and beads used to denote them in Disney's Peter Pan, without any awareness of the Natives' actual appearances (Tatum, 1997, p. 105 -6). White adults often do no better. Sports followers whose favorite teams use the names of American Indian tribes or their mockery follow the feathers and warpaint approach for everything from costumes to battle cries (Zirin, 2014, p . 596). Ironically, an article written to dismantle white privilege and examine its components also commits this act, as the author of “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” attributes to Native Americans as a whole a saying that likely only originated from one of cultures within that classification (McIntosh, 1989, p. 179). The U.S. Commission on Human Rights report on American Indians also refers to the practice of forcing children into boarding schools designed to deprive them of their original culture and religion so that they can better conform to the white ideal (“Indian Tribes,” 1981 , p. 480). The insistence that only white people know how to live properly as Americans predates the schools by a couple of centuries and has continued into modern times. “English only” sentiments don't just affect immigrants who don't speak the language fluently. They also have a chilling effect on Indians who speak their native language. In 2000, an Arizona restaurant owner attempted to ban his Navajo employees from using their language with each other during work hours (Teicher, 2004, p. 286). Forced assimilation also applies to land that tribes called their own in ancient times, as well as reservations into which they were forced during Western expansion.