Indian Reservation And Urban Ghettos example essay topic

"Smoke Signals" film and "Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven" book reveal real life stories in American Indian reservations. Both of these narratives disclose the life of drunkenness, unemployment and basketball among American Indians in an Idaho reservation. In this paper a comparison of Indian reservations and urban ghettos will be compared and analyzed to explain the ignorance of researchers, lack of literature, and the amplification of information on these communities that is often told or written about. For instance, Indian reservation and urban ghettos have been depicted as communities whose background, culture and language have left them behind in society. Yet, very few often see these communities as places in which persistent life of isolation without a future seemed to take over the lives of Native Americans, poor Blacks and Latinos. Although, these communities have many positive aspects often the media, educators and politicians tend to focus only on the negative side of these communities and amplified it.

Why is it that sports and music seem to be the only chance that some youth have on the reservation or urban ghettos? Obviously, the chances to succeed in these communities are very limited. A lexie and Eyre have exposed us to the short stories and poe tries interwoven with the experiences of many who live in poverty throughout the U.S. In their view and the views of many, Native Americans along with Black and Latinos lacked the cultural sophistication and complexity exhibited in White society. However, very few actually question and analyze the reasons why these ethnic groups are so far behind in society.

Growing societal inequities are mirrored in numerous ways in the schools, housing and health care of these communities, from highly unequal financing of these establishments in White and Color communities, to economic advantages that favor White above, Native Americans, Blacks, and Latinos are hardly ever exposed. Equality is far from a reality in these communities, and those who bear the burden of inequality do so in very creative ways. For instance, humor, sports, music, and religion. The Lone Ranger and Tonton Fistfight in Heaven book and Smoke Signals film has demonstrated a sense of humor. Despite all the struggles in these type of communities there always some who find a way out through different positive ways.

Basketball and jokes are some of the examples described in the book as a way of copying with the ills of these communities. Even though most people of color living in poverty do tend to find refuge in alcohol and drugs. Although the awareness of the despair and poverty is clearly evident one can't ignore the emotional stories that have made the lives of reservation Indians, Blacks and Latinos in urban settings gloomy and depressing. For the largest burden of being an American Indian, Black or Latino is not poverty, disease, or racial prejudice, it is alcoholism.

For alcoholism in the daily life of many Native Americans, Blacks and Latinos is a phenomenon that continues to hinder these communities economically and socially. Many researchers would argue that Native Americans have a higher rate of alcohol consumption than all other ethnic groups or subgroups in the United States yet growing up in the urban ghettos of Los Angeles and New York I know that Blacks and Latinos also have a high rate of alcohol assumption. Therefore the problems in these communities go beyond alcohol consumption. Although alcohol consumption is a serious problem in this society, it is often overlooked that substantial numbers of them do not drink at all or drink in moderation for that reason researchers should put aside their assumptions and biases when it comes to reporting the problems that affect these communities while ignoring the real issues that affect these communities. Inequality is a fact of life in these communities, but many politicians, educators and researchers refuse to believe or accept it, and they persist in blaming Native Americans, Blacks and Latinos, their cultural and linguistic background, laziness or genetic inferiority as the guilty party.

Once those in power accept the fact that inequality is alive and thriving in our schools, communities and health care facilities, they can proceed to do something about it. Until they do, little will change. Therefore it is good to have films like Smoke Signals and books like Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven because they narrate a real life, a life of drunkenness, unemployment and hopelessness that can easily be changed if these realities would be taken seriously by those who can make a difference. Both of these forms of narratives can be seen as a way not only of rationalizing the brutality of reservation life, or urban ghettos but also of coping with it. Definitely, reading each poem in The Lone Ranger and Tonton Fistfight in Heaven several times makes one mindful of all the needs we have in our own backyards. These stories require a hefty amount of conscious thought and can easily be applicable to other poor ethnic communities in the United States and more of these narratives should be written to educate those in power and the new generations so that in the future we can close the poverty, health and education gap between the poor and rich..