Being a Minority Isn't So Minor

Being a minority is hard. Whether it be the language barrier or the differences in culture, fitting into the vast world is quite the challenge. From personal experience, I can say that the initial move from South Korea to The United States a dramatic change. The people are different, the language is different, the culture is different, the school is different, even the time zone is different. Conquering these obstacles are by no means an easy task. However, for the Native Americans that struggle to this very day to fit in, the minority tag isolates them into a different lifestyle that contrasts with the lives most residents of The United States have.

The Native American population is comprised of the 500 tribes that usually stay on reservations across American soil. Surprisingly, the reservations reserve some of the worst living conditions for the population that is comparable to a third-world country. Holding the lowest housing rate and the highest suicide rate of any other race, the Native Americans live lifestyles that many cannot begin to imagine.

The image depicted when someone hears the words, "Native American" is clouded by history. In many instances around the entertainment business, the Natives are portrayed as evil, irrational, and barbaric people. This misrepresentation of the race relates to a piece of literature written by Sherman Alexie. Alexie's writing is tailored around his memories with his parents, and how their actions illustrated their views. His father, who is, "the perfect hippie in the sixties" (Alexie 24), is showered with emotions around Jimi Hendrix's Star-Spangled Banner at Woodstock. The song is distorted in a way, its overbearing ringing creates a "is this even the same song?" vibe. Hendrix's performance related to the father in a way much like the wrongful portrayal of Native Americans today: the distortion of the anthem came across Alexie's father like the distortion of the Native American race. This connection causes his father to refer to Hendrix as, "my hero" (Alexie 32).

A minority tag is not a bad thing. It sets the subject away from the majority and gives them a uniqueness that the majority does not possess. However, that distinction creates a barrier between the majority and minority. The stereotypes that float around a unique race haunt them in a way that they can never recover. While sitting on reservations, Native Americans across the country struggle with this problem. The words "Native American" paint an image in the brain about hunting and killing, and not about the mourning when one of their loved ones dies. Having the highest suicide rate in teens out of any race is a strong statistic to have. It should raise eyes and create concern for what is going on in the minds of the people when they talk about unique race.

The image of other races need to be more positive in order to conserve peace and harmony with those that share the free land of the United States.