Our mission of this Blog

Something near and dear to this organization is covering subjects rarely discussed in the 2a community. You don’t hear conversations about social issues about any other demographic other than right-leaning concepts. 2a, liberty, freedom, and independence are the subjects of most firearm organizations and platforms. But we want to be different. Here at CBTA, we want to ensure that everyone is heard! What makes America incredible is the pursuit of independence and freedom. Freedom from fear, helplessness, and worry that a crisis can and will happen to anyone.

These blogs will address every American and their needs from a social perspective.

In our first blog, we will cover the subject of a vulnerable population from a racial or ethnic population. The vulnerable group I am choosing to discuss is the Native American population in the United States of America. I choose the Native American population because though they predominately polluted this mass of land that we consider America, they represent less than 1% of the total population in the USA. The population of this group of people is only the beginning of their plight. Other aspects I would like to consider are living on the reservations, rampant sexual abuse of women, mental illness, and lack of employment opportunities on an Indian reservation.

What makes the plight of this country's native American population even more disparate is that due to little to no coverage of this population, few people even know that they are in such a dire situation. As a society, we learn about struggles because people in positions of influence or power speak on specific systematic struggles. For example, the terrible conditions in the inner city became evident due to the ongoing civil rights protest, discourse, and infamous court cases that forced the public to recognize the problem. For the most part, the African American and Spanish-speaking populations have been able to utilize these aspects of social consciousness (Whyatt, 2023). Still, sadly the Native American population has not been in the same way that other minority groups have. I have a theory on this matter of the power of representation. African American have made so much advancement in this country due to representation in sports, Hollywood, politics, and government. These people are public figures and garner a measure of social influence and political sway that can influence how the legislature is produced and created. Sadly, the native American population is not represented in society as other minority groups are. The Native American has slipped through the cracks of the criminal justice system due to jurisdictional borders, neutered through government assistance programs, and are in a position to never obtain financial freedom due to the land that they live on they can never own. In this assignment, I will cover two current cases I believe will reveal how dire the native American plight is. Without any further delay, let us begin. The first case I will cover involves human trafficking within the native American population. Sexual assault within the native American community is incredibly high. One in two native American women will be sexually assaulted, often from outside the community. Native American women are also at a higher risk of being placed in the sex trade due to jurisdictional loopholes (Whyatt, 2023).

Reservation law enforcement funding relies on the reservations, not state or federal funding. It has been said that one known reservation that not a single female has not been sexually abused.  A sad reality for many parents and mothers being that they are preparing their children when, not if, they are sexually assaulted.  In many cases this is due to domestic violence and few actual reported cases within the native American community.  Unfortunately, the resources available to reservation law enforcement are scarce due to low funding. Many reservations have out-of-date vehicles and technology, and once the suspect leaves the reservation, the reservation law enforcement no longer has any jurisdiction (Whyatt, 2023). In essence, a suspect could rape a person. The suspect only needs to cross the street if the street represents the jurisdictional border. Reservation law enforcement would be out of the jurisdiction and cannot arrest without the adjacent city/county/state law enforcement department.   With this massive loophole between jurisdictions, Native American women are more likely to go missing and enter the sex trade. The case of my hometown state of Montana involving human trafficking involves Kimberly Bearchaw Irons, who grew up on a Native American reservation in Montana and went missing in 2021 (Whyatt, 2023).  One day she was assumed to be kidnapped due to a home invasion, leaving her infant baby unattended. She was declared missing later that year though she occasionally kept in contact with her father. Suddenly, the calls stopped, and no further contact was made. Ms. Irons was last seen in two locations: one in a strip club and again at an airport. After the second sighting, Ms. Irons was never seen again. This case mirrors thousands of missing women cases at native American reservations nationwide. The generational implications of women being kidnapped and sexually assaulted ruin families, demolish community morale and promote a sense of hopelessness within the community on Native American reservations. This form of abuse is categorized as neglect because the assistance the native American communities require is not available for these communities. Funding in how effective law enforcement is (The Importance of Data Collection for Violence Against Native American/Alaska Native Women, n.d.-b). More clear jurisdictional boundaries protect members of Native American reservations. I believe this type of abuse stems from racism, systematic oppression, and distrust from members of this community toward strangers (The Importance of Data Collection for Violence Against Native American/Alaska Native Women, 2021).

The following case I will cover is the socioeconomic disadvantage of a member of the Native American community. It is no mystery about the employment opportunities for many on the reservations. It is said that 28% of the total native American population in America lives at or below the poverty line (Whyatt, 2023). This lack of opportunity develops several societal issues, such as substance abuse which is currently destroying the population on Native American reservations. Right now, native Americans are 3.9 times more at risk of becoming dependent on some form of substance abuse. The consequence of this reality has influenced poor health, both mental and physical as well (Zandamela, 2023). With alcohol abuse playing a significant factor in the native population's quality of health, the native population is also at a higher risk of dying of alcohol-related illnesses such as cirrhosis and liver disease. Substance abuse also has a significant impact on the quality of life of families as well as communities (Zandamela, 2023). Sadly, due to the lack of resources and available trained personnel, behavioral health services are often not accessible to those on the reservation. Interestingly, due to the high demand for mental health services on the population on the reservation, a surge of mental health and substance abuse scams has become a reoccurring event. These scams guarantee promises of hope, often leading patients to be more economically devastated (The Importance of Data Collection for Violence Against Native American/Alaska Native Women, 2021).  Due to this neglect, mental, which sadly can turn into physical abuse becomes common on native American reservations.

In conclusion, the plight of Native American reservations is severely underrepresented and must be discussed more frequently. Some of the sources that were used in the development of this assignment I personally felt was particularly disturbing and has motivated me to do additional research.  I believe that it is so important for us as a civilization to be more aware of the plights of other groups of people because it is easy for people in the middle class in America to get caught up in our own worlds and not really care about the struggles of other groups of people.  It is also important to consider statistical data because it provides an actual numerical calculation of the severity an ongoing systematic problem can be.

References

The Importance of Data Collection for Violence Against Native American/Alaska Native Women. (2021). National Sexual Violence Resource Center. https://www.nsvrc.org/blogs/importance-data-collection-violence-against-native-americanalaska-native-women#:~:text=%E2%80%9CAlmost%2080%25%20of%20Native%20women,Nation%20of%20Oklahoma%20to%20NPR.

Whyatt, R. (2023, March 2). Violence Against Native Women Has Colonial Roots. Progressive.org. https://progressive.org/magazine/violence-against-native-women-has-colonial-roots-whyatt/

Zandamela, C. B. &. T. (2023, February 17). Sexual Assault on Native American Reservations in the United States - Ballard Brief. Ballard Brief. https://ballardbrief.byu.edu/issue-briefs/sexual-assault-on-native-american-reservations-in-the-us