Final Summary/ Reaction

My survey work is pretty much complete. I am still hoping to get a few more in the next few days. I have found some interesting things from doing this survey. Many of my own relatives have experienced racism first hand. It was eye-opening to see some of the things that went on. I was also surprised to see the amount of discrimination within the Native American reservation itself. I asked about what type of reactions people got when others found out they were Native American and the reactions are pretty surprising. Many people quickly jumped to stereotypes of Native Americans. I was shocked to find out that every participant in the survey, experienced stereotyping. It seemed strange that people were so willing to voice their stereotypes directly to Native Americans. They did not seem to see any problem with that.
I was also surprised to see that so many of the people who took my survey had college degrees, because the average level of education of Native Americans is less than other races in America.

I'm looking forward to presenting my findings and sharing my results!

Revised Summary/Plan/Update

I have posted my survey to the Facebook group that my family has and I have received a few responses. So far the responses I've received were very interesting. Some of the people who responded actually grew up on a Native American reservation and continue to live there. They had very interesting stories. All of the people who responded have experienced racism is one way or another. Many have experienced stereotyping. One person even described an issue relating to colorism. I still need to get more responses so I plan to re-post the survey and send some family members direct messages if necessary.

I asked to following questions:

Gender: *

• Male
• Female

How old are you? *

•  15-25 years old
•  26-35 years old
•  36-45 years old
•  46-55 years old
•  56-65 years old
•  66 years old or above

Where you born or raised on a reservation? *

• Yes
• No 
• What is your level of education? *

Check all that apply.

• Less than a high school degree
•  High School degree
•  Bachelors Degree
•  Masters Degree
•  Doctorate

What is your current occupation? *

Have you experienced racism in anyway because you are Native American? *

If you have, please explain the occurrence(s).

How do most people respond when they learn you are Native American? *

i.e. surprised, fascinated, etc.

What is your position on sports teams with names such as the "Redskins?" *

•  I find them offensive.
•  I am indifferent.
• I do not find them offensive.

Have you experienced any stereotyping of Native Americans? *

Gender Wage Gap

 Both the article "Gender Pay Gap Persists" and "Gender Wage Gap May BeSmaller Than Many Think" were very insightful into the issues surrounding the gender pay gap. The authors of the articles agree that women have made huge gains in education and employment but still fight for equality in terms of pay. Both articles offer that women tend to chose lower paying majors in college like education and social sciences as a possible reason for this. There is a disparity of men in higher paying professions.  The article "Gender Pay Gap Persists" suggests that this gap could be due to discrimination against women who try t negotiate for a higher salary.  "Gender Wage Gap May Be Smaller Than Many Think" suggests that the pay gap could be due to many women taking jobs that have lower pay but better benefits after having children. All of these reasons are very logical and seem to make an impact on the wage gap. I think that the article "Gender Wage Gap May Be Smaller Than Many Think" makes this point that while overall women earn 82.2% less than men, the actual wage gap between a man and a woman doing the same job is 7%.

Although the gap may seem small, I still think it is unfair and needs to be fixed. There is no reason that women should make less money than men for doing the same job. I think more women should branch out into the typically male-dominated professions. Women should also lobby Congress to find a solution to this problem. I think women should stand up and negotiate for higher wages and fight the discrimination against them. It is unjust that this would still exist in 2013. 

Week 2 - Strategy/Plan for Research

I plan on asking my family, who is Native American, to answer a survey about racism toward Native Americas.  I am going to use a Facebook group that my family has to reach out to various family members. I want to ask a wide variety of question to get a better understanding of racism, inequality, and discrimination against Native Americans.  I think it would be interesting to see if an inequality in education still exists.
Some of the questions I plan to ask are:
1. Were you born on a reservation or raised on a reservation?
2. What is your level of education?
3. What is your current job?
4. Have you experienced racism in any way because you are a Native American?
5. How do people respond when they find out you are Native American?
6. What is your position on sports teams with names like "the redskins"? Do you find them offensive?

Week 1- Suggested Research Method/Why

I want to do a survey about racism against Native Americans! My grandmother is Native American and grew up on a Native American reservation. Some of her family still lives on the reservation and some of her family has spread to different parts of the country. I think it would be interesting to see racism throughout generations and ways racism may still be present today. My family has a "group" on Facebook consisting of 47 members. I plan to create a survey and ask the members of our group to answer. I also would like to reach out to some older family members who do not have Facebook and ask them to answer the survey. 

No Doubt Video

The band "No Doubt" has been trying to make a come back this year. They released a new album and some new singles. One of these singles, "looking hot," has sparked controversy over its video. The video was removed but the Los Angeles Times  and USA Today, among others, have covered the controversy. The video featured the band members in Native American clothing. Gwen Stefani, the band's lead singer, is seen "communing with a wolf and dancing around a bonfire in the midst of a circle of teepees." Stefani is later seen awaiting her execution after a conflict with a cowboy with her "wrists bound above her head and a bandmate is aiming a gun at her." 

I was able to see this video when it first came out but I was unable to find it again because it has been taken out off of many sites. This video was pretty strange. I couldn't really understand what Native Americans and cowboys had to do with the song. I think it was very racist because it depicted Native Americans in a very negative way. The band later released a statement saying that they did not predict this sort of reaction. I believe that the kind of reaction that would ensue was obvious from the start  and they released it anyway because they wanted the publicity. I think they used to help them stay in the spotlight a little bit longer. I do think that it could be offensive to many. One commenter on the video said that it was a "mockery of [his] culture." In many ways I think it was because it did not seem very realistic and was an extreme stereotype. 

DoSomething.org

While researching my topic I came across the website DoSomething.org. This website brings young people together to rally against various social problems like discrimination, violence, bullying, homelessness,and other abuses. They ave a specific page for racism against Native Americans. On this page, they give a brief history of Native American discrimination. They explain the long list of injustices against Native Americans including, massacres, the well-known Trail of Tears, forcing off of land and onto reservations, etc. This website also explains how racism against Native Americans is still present today, stating, "To this day, Native Americans are the most harshly affected by institutional racism." They provide examples such as how Native Americans are one of the most "economically disadvantaged groups in the country, and suffer form high levels of alcoholism and suicide." Native American women are also at a higher risk of sexual and physical abuse, three and half times greater that the national average (and this estimate is even lower than expected because 70% of these cases go unreported).A cycle of violence is starting because the police are apathetic toward the prosecution of crimes against Native Americans.  

Overall, I like this website. I think it can help young people make a difference in America today. I think it is good that they give a little bit of history but I especially like how they explained some of the effects of racism still prevalent in today's society. I think many people forget that Native Americans are still discriminated against in some ways. Many people tend to forget about it now and idealize the situation. People tend to think that all the injustice is in the past, but it is still going on today.

My only issue with this website is the picture that they used (above). I think this picture (the only picture on the page) reinforces stereotypes of Native Americans. I think they should have also included some modern day pictures of Native Americans. I think that showing that Native Americans today do not all dress this way and do look the same as everyone else could go a long way. If more people saw that Native Americans were just normal, regular people, there might be less discrimination.