The Native Americans

Introduction

United States is a pluralistic society, having diverse cultures, on the basis of ethnic, religious and regional grounds. The ethnic subcultures in United States include African-American, Hispanic, Asian-American, Native American, Asian-Indian American and Arab American.

Discussion and Analysis

Preference for the Native Americans

Native Americans have been chosen in this study for a detailed analysis because they are the oldest among the other subcultures, encountering difficult circumstances in the society and played a great role in the shaping up of society. They are the offsprings of the dwellers of what has become the United States. (Weaver, p. 3)

Native Americans are indigenous peoples, who represent a significant subculture of United States. Around 20,000 BC or even before it, Native Americans are supposed to be migrated from Asia through Bering Strait or the Aleutian Islands. Before the arrival of Europeans in North America, they were the only people who tenanted in North America.

In 1492, when Christopher Columbus found the New World, the count of Native Americans was about 1.5 million. Columbus named them Indians as belief widespread at his time that the Americas were the outer reaches of the Indies that is East Indies.

Native American's Experience in the United States- Historical Perspective

The European invasion of the Americas began with the advent of the 16th century AD. After the first contact with Europeans, there was a sudden drop in the population of Native American's population within a few decades. The epidemic diseases like smallpox, measles, influenza, and other diseases which they had not been caught in the past annihilated them. Along with military invasion and enslavement, they were put through prejudiced political and legal policies just like the other colonized peoples. Even in the twenty first century, they have to undergo bigotry and prejudice. Their life has been denounced by poverty, deprived ...