People lived in the United States long before the arrival of Christopher Columbus 

and the Europeans.

These people and cultures are called Native Americans. Throughout this essay we’ll see how… So
first we’ll talk about how Native Americans lived in the past, and then we’ll see how we have paid
tribute to them.

In this first part, we’re going to see how the brutal the Trail of Tears got its name. In
1819 as more and more Americans started encroaching on Indian land the Us government
signed a treaty: the Cherokee land would be off limit to any American for ever: it clearly
stated all white intruders would be removed. But in 1829, Andrew Jackson elected President
believed Indian Americans were savages and had no rights to their land and proceeded to
remove the Indians from the southern states. He signed the 1830 Removal Act that set in
motion the most brutal action taken by the federal government. Thousands of Native
Americans were pulled from their homes in Georgia. Many were shackled in chains and
forced to walk at gun point on thousand miles west on a series of routes that all led to
Oklahoma.
Up to a third of the 15 thousand Cherokee died on the way; that’s why it came to be known as
the Trail of Tears.

In this first part, we’re going to study the hardships the Native Americans had to face
in the past. In 1868 the US government forcefully relocated the Lakota People to the
Cheyenne River Reservation in Southern Dakota following the Fort Laramie treaty.
The people are said to be resilient. They have to cope with a lack of job opportunities. The
lack of outlets wears people down. It is true that the community is ridden with drug abuse,
suicide and depression. 75% are living in poverty and there are 3 to 7 suicide attempts each
week. Many of them have little support from their own families because one or two parents
are in jail and they are left to their own devices, growing up not having someone or something
to turn to. They were prohibited from speaking their language from 1890 to 1998. Then they
were forbidden to practise their religious views from 1890 to 1978 when the American
Indians freedom of religion act was passed.

A Lakota proverb says that the ones that matter are the children. Children are the
reflection of their environment: they need to be acknowledged, guided and loved.
CRYP (Cheyenne river Youth Project) offers them internships, wellness programmes,
computer labs and opportunities to practise traditional dancing. They nurture their mental and
physical health, help them understand their history and their cultural identity. They expect
these youngsters to impart what they learn here to their own generation. They need to be
supported through tough times in order not to commit suicide. Although they have challenges,
they are lifting themselves up. They are taught about the business, interpersonal
communication skills, how to manage money. They learn about writing resumes and prepare
for the future. To them real wealth is their own culture. The next culture bearers want to
thrive, show their community is still here and wish to make a change.

Native artists have made up their minds to pay tribute to the ailments/suffering of
indigenous people who rallied in a poor neighbourhood of Los Angeles after the Relocation
Act was passed, forcing them to leave their reservations. It used to be a place where
criminality, alcoholism and drug addiction were rampant. Native women fell prey to
prostitution. The Natives were deprived of their cultural identity and landmarks so much so
that they took to drinking and robbing. They had lost their traditional way of life and their
means of survival. Several indigenous people committed themselves to setting up
programmes to fight all those social evils. For instance, they aimed at providing them with
safe shelters. Their aim was also to help them get rid of their addiction and be in a position to
be hired in jobs they would never have been able to land without any qualification.