Native Americans and Aboriginal people

Syreeta DeFrance

Kylie Gallagher

Majority/ Minority

April 28, 2004

Aboriginal People and Native Americans

        Our country has a history of discrimination against many different minority groups at many different times in our past. One group that has been a focal point of this discrimination is Native Americans. From the time that Christopher Columbus "discovered" America, to present times, Natives Americans have always had to deal with stereotypes and racism. The majority of Americans do not sympathize with Native Americans, because they don't realize the trials and tribulations that Native American have overcome. Unlike the Civil Rights movement, or similar movements, the Native American Movement is not getting much support or attention from the majority of American citizens. A group that is going through a similar situation is the Aboriginal people in Australia. From the initial contact, to present treatment, the Aboriginal people and Native Americans have a great deal in common.

        The initial contact for Native Americans occurred when Christopher Columbus "discovered" this great new world known as America, at which point setters began coming to America in search of a prosperous new beginning. Similarly in Australia the first contact occurred when British settlers moved in and initially traded large amounts of lands for petty things such as shirts, blankets knives, and bags of flour. Initially the British recognized that the Aboriginal people were the first inhabitants of the land, but as time went on the settlers began wanting more and more land, creating conflict. In both cases the initial contact between the two

groups shaped the relationship that the majority and minority group would have for years to come.

        Throughout American and Australian history, many government policies have been made with the claim that they were helping Native American and Aboriginal people, in reality; however I found that many...