i need to do a 10 minute lecture/exercise with my college level diversity class.?

Question

The topic is Native American suppression, but i don't know how to approach it on a level that people will respect instead of ignore, please help!!!

Answer 1

Most people would concentrate on land issues however there's the historical policy of the Federal government to 'assimilate' na's into the 'mainstream'. Federal policy. Federal law. Just to accomplish this. Ronald Reagan even said to "be just like us" and forgot our culture and tradition. George W. Bush has no idea on what tribal sovereignty is - Google Bush and tribal sovereignty and watch the video.

Research termination, assimilation, relocation and self-determination policy and na's. The nutshell series on American Indian Law is a good start.

Answer 2

Here's a suggestion:

Play a song, and hand out lyrics. You might consider a song by Robbie Bee and the Boyz from the Rez, or by WithOut Rezervation. These are Native hip-hop/rap bands whose songs explicitly address contemporary Native
American issues.

The first website below is a scholarly paper on how this music reflects current Native issues in an accessible way. The second website
below is a site where you can sample some songclips from WithOut Rez. (Check out "Mascot.")

t's also possible that your university's library has some of this music in its collection.

You could ask your classmates to identify the issues of concern as expressed in whatever song you chose, and then ask your classmates questions like:
Why are Native folks using the hip-hop genre to express their feelings about these issues?
Who do you think is the audience for this music?
Can non-Native folks share in and enjoy this music in the same way Native folks can?

Answer 3

How about splitting the group into two and having one group as the native americans and the other as americans then treating them as society would for about 5 mins. YOu know stuff like moving them out of their desks and throwing them all together on one desk that looks really shabby.

Then for the next 5 mins take a Q and A of what they have learnt or have a short presentation perhaps with an account from a Native AMerican of how they have been treated.