would native americans today be better off if their people had not been put on reservations?

Question

would they be better off integrating into main stream society rather than sequestered on isolalated reservations? culture knows no physical boundrys.

Answer 1

They would be better off today if they integrated into main stream society. They would've been better off back then if they had've as well.

Answer 2

Today they would be better off if they were intergrated into society, not true 100 years ago. After all the slaughter of native americans the least the US could do was give them some large parcels of land to make their own again. Sadly they were a beaten people by that point and with the industrial revolution never had a chance at any real success. Native Americans remain the forgotten people in the USA.

Answer 3

I disagree with the other posters. I see too many groups losing their language, religion, and traditional crafts even when they aren't integrated into the society around them. Many countries around the world are struggling with how to keep their cultural customs in spite of the globalization of music, films, and the web.

I think it was wise to separate native americans from a hostile, violent society, that despised them. I don't see how that attitude has improved much in the 100 years since native americans were forced onto reservations. I've lived in many areas of the US with native populations nearby, and I saw and see violence between whites and natives, see native americans living in abject poverty, and see our government doing whatever they can to take away valuable resources from their reservations. There are disadvantages to being hidden away from society, but the few interactions that do take place, are often violent and cruel. I don't think integration will help native americans at all, until this country can deal with it's racism.