Native American Land Rights Essay Example for Free

Native American Land Rights Essay As the Native population continues to grow and create an abundance of resources such as casinos, the White Man has found ways to take the land needed to sustain such growth away. The Native American population always has inhabited the land we now live on and we the Americans have come on to that land pushing them into reservations and controlled situations. With the growing flow of residents the American government has forced the American Indians to uproot themselves repeatedly causing the loss of several lives, as well as the loss of land that they had possessed for centuries. Over the years this tribulation caused friction between the American Indians and the American government to the extent that one tribe, the Sioux Indians hosted the invasion of Wounded Knee. Over the years the White Man has come onto Native lands and gradually pushed them out, using the land for whatever they have need to. In the 1800’s the White Man has taken several rights from the American Indians and tried to keep them under control under the guise of creating harmony, and putting them on reservations as an act of control. With the creation of the Dawes Act American Indians the American government gave land to the Indians on the reservations and noted it as creating harmony, but without the knowledge of Native Americans. In the mid-1900’s with the growing populations and the continuing need the American government came into reservations and took youth off the reservations and placed them in homes to educate and intergraded them into the civilized world creating less on the reservations to be responsible for. With the idea of work and a new life away from the hardships of life on the reservations the government offered to help integrate them into city life by giving them housing and education as well as the opportunity to work. When the Indians who chose to accept this offer arrived in the big cities they were surprised to find that they would be placed with several others in rundown motel rooms. They would be treated like the foreigners who had come from other countries, and they would have just as much luck as well. As a result of all the hardships caused by the American government and the control enforced by them, the American Indians grew increasingly upset and chose to rise up against the government to take back lands originally belonging to them. After years of being mistreated the Sioux Indians made the decision to take back Wounded Knee site of the last American and Native war resulting in the Siege at Wounded Knee in 1973. In the early 1800s and during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson, Americas policy had been to allow Native Americans to remain east of the Mississippi as long as they became assimilated or civilized. [ (Remini, 2001) ] The native peoples who chose not to be assimilated were forced to move into camps and to prepare to make the journey to the western side of the Mississippi. Congress came up with an idea to trade lands with the Indians from the east to the west, and then the ones who chose not to transition into the â€Å"civilized† way would be moved. Those who chose not to conform were taken from their homes and moved to camps, to begin a journey to a new and different land. This Journey would be later deemed the Trail of Tears, for the thousands upon thousands of lives that would be uprooted from their homes with nothing but the clothes on their backs. During the journey More than two thousand lives would be lost as a result of illness and disease. When the journey was over land was allotted to the tribes, this was called the Dawes Act of 1887. As part of this act Families would get 160 acres, individual adult males would get 80 acres, and single minors would get 40 acres each. At this point Native women were ineligible to receive land. By 1891 the Dawes act was amended to dole out the land equally to all adults, but in doing so the amount was cut in half. Nearly a hundred years later after dealing with the Five Civilized Tribes and ongoing problems on the reservations the American government came up with the Indian relocation Act of the 1950s and 60s. This time the government came on to the reservations promising a college education and work for anyone willing to leave the reservation and come to the big cities and make their lives there. Several of these Natives agreed to leave, and were put on busses and taken places such as New York and Boston. When they arrived they were placed in run down motels with several others after the same thing. What these people were not tell was that they would have just as much chance of getting a job as any other foreigner coming from other continents. The gradual takeover of the native youth led to the Incident at Wounded Knee, witch began on February 27, 1973. â€Å"Founded in 1968, the American Indian Movement (AIM) is an organization dedicated to the Native American civil rights movement. Its main objectives are the sovereignty of Native American lands and peoples; preservation of their culture and traditions; and enforcement of all treaties with the United States. (Free Online Law Dictionary) The battle of Wounded Knee was in its self a part of the American Indian Movement in witch several tribal peoples banded together with one thing in mind. The take over at historical Wounded Knee began as a peaceful takeover, and ended in a 71 day full-on occupation of the area. The Sioux Indians were fighting for the return of land that they belived belonged to them. The take over was intended to raise awareness, and made the news and brought on a full scandal. Tribes from all over came to Wounded Knee to aid in the support of the tribes plea to get their land back. The siege was carried out much like that of the days of old with guns, and individuals riding around patrolling the borders on horse back. The incident began in February 1973, and represented the longest civil disorder in the history of the Marshals Service [ (United States Marshals Service) ]. The end result would be a long difficult process with the loss of two lives and several wounded on both sides, all this going on at the same time as the Watergate Scandal. The American government has been taking back the land of the Native peoples for years, some temporarily in deals with local tribes, others permanently. As stated in Wikipedia’s article on the Indian reservations,† With the establishment of reservations, tribal territories diminished to a fraction of original areas and indigenous customary practices of land tenure sustained only for a time, and not in every instance. Instead, the federal government established regulations that subordinated tribes to the authority, first, of the military, and then of the Bureau (Office) of Indian Affairs. † So then Not only has the government told Indians were they could and could not live they have also taken over the ownership of law on these reservations allowing for tribal laws to fall second to the American government. Are Native Americans, currently living in the same way? In research done by Edward Blakemore of the University of Dayton School of Law, he researches the use of land taken back from the Native American inhabitants. He states in part of his research this, â€Å"What little portion of land theyve been permitted to inhabit by the US government is being reacquired for use as toxic waste sites†(Blakemore, 1998). What Blakemore is trying to say is that the land that the government is taking back from the Native peoples is going towards sites that have a negative effect on the land, and that by doing so we are taking the land that they need and essentially throwing it away. Further research with this topic states that the government has looked at the Native American communities as synonymous with poverty, and yet we need to be helping the natives Americans in their long going quest for self-determination and sovereignty. Though America struggles to find room for its expanding population the Native American population seems to grow and yet the land they have seems to be decreasing. Why is it that some Americans have become so negative towards the native communities around them when they are the ones who lived here long before us. Through history the Native American population ahs fought with the white mand in an effort to remain as a equal party in the rights regarding land occupation. Through many wars and protests the people have shown that Native Pride is strong and that they will never give in, these are a people with a strong cultural tie to the land that we the white man now occupy, and call our own. Is it right what we have, and continue to do with the land we now reside on? Maybe, maybe not that is a question for each and every individual on there own, no one man can say. Blakemore, Edward, Native Americans, and Land 1998, http://academic. udaton. edu His90 History Channel, Indian Relocation Act of 1890, http://www. history. com Remini, Robert V. Indian Removal Act, 2001, http://www. freebase. com United States Marshals Service, The siege at Wounded Knee, 9/17/05, http://www. usmarshals. gov American Indian Movement Legal definition, Free online Law Dictionary, a href=http://legal-dictionary. thefreedictionary. com/American+Indian+MovementAmerican Indian Movement/a.

rebeldol Rebellion of Nora and Mrs. Linde in Ibsens A Dolls House :: A Dolls House Essays

Rebellion of Nora and Mrs. Linde in A Doll's House    An underlying theme in Ibsen's play, A Doll's House is the rebellion of Nora and Mrs. Linde against society. Over the course of the play, Nora and Mrs. Linde both experienced an evolution from passive victims in a life pre-programmed for them by society to active agents in an uncertain and insecure life.    In an effort to save her husband's life, Nora has committed forgery and Krogstad is ready to use this information in order achieve his goals: ''(...) if I produce this document in court, you'll be condemned'' (Ibsen 791). This element gives us a hint of women condition in a deeply- rooted man thought society. In addition, Dr. Rank, who had a lethal disease, confesses his love for her: ''You know now that I'm at your service, body and soul'' (Ibsen 802). All these events make the circle tighten and spin faster around Nora, who can hardly resist to this pressure and seeks the relief in wildly dancing the 'tarantella', a dance which she transforms into a ' life and death' one.    This dance can also be viewed as an one of the key element that permits us to say that she's passing from a state of passive victim to an early state of active agent : '' Nora dances more and more wildly. Helmer stands by the stove giving her repeated directions as she dances ; she does not seem to hear them. ''(Ibsen 808). All the other characters' reactions, words and attitudes form the chain which unbearably surrounds Nora and which she will finally break, liberating herself from the lie she has been living in for many years-she firmly tells Helmer her decision : '' I can't stay here with you any longer (...). I'm leaving here at once''(Ibsen 821).   In addition to this intimate inter-independence between Nora and the other four important characters viewed as a whole), is the complexity of Helmer's wife as a dramatic personage. Compared to the others, Nora is the most ' round' character, one who we see evolving, in contrast with Helmer or Dr. Rank. More precisely, we discover tw o forms of evolution of this character :    1.an 'external' one, produced in the reader's mind, as he discovers the purpose of her always asking money to the husband and having a 'toy attitude' with him ;

Competition Between Companies

For years many companies have struggled to be and to remain the best. To do this they had to go through advertising their products; televisions, radio, internet and sports. This is called competition; the main purpose for this is mainly to attract customers. These procedures can benefit but also be harmful towards the company. Thus brings the main concern of this essay which shall discus both sides of this situation opposing and supporting it. Firstly, brand quality of products sometimes does not matter to consumers; just as long as it is affordable.For instance there are many varieties of brands such as Nike, Adidas, Coca cola and so forth. Yet commercials show all these products and companies do not realize that the price of the product gets higher as the cost of advertising contributes to the products cost thus making it expensive. This leads consumers shopping elsewhere for instance, MARANELLO – Manufacturers of super sports cars have just announced a host of new models, b ut many of them may not reach the showrooms, as the global financial crisis hits a customer segment previously immune to economic downturns. Haupt, 2009: 1) This statement proves that consumers prefer cheaper products than fancy cars as it is too expensive. Furthermore on flexibility; Flexibility means the company’s â€Å"ability to respond to changes† (Stevenson, 2007: 38). These can be seasonal changes; winter, summer or maybe economical changes. Nevertheless they also contribute to the company’s competitiveness thus leads sometimes to price wars. Take for example; Adverse weather conditions could reduce the demand for our products.The sales of our products are influenced to some extent by weather conditions in the markets in which we operate Unusually cold or rainy weather during the summer months may have a temporary effect on the demand for our Products and contribute to lower sales, which could have an adverse effect on our results of operations for such p eriods. (Coca cola company, 2009: 6) This explains that during competition companies are very flexible thus should be alert and find ways to be the best thus sometimes lowering the products cost by forty percent as to keep up with the market.This incident shows that companies such as coca cola are overdoing it thus facing a major lose. Moreover on location, during competition companies look for a marketable location. From here they start of by looking at the customer’s convenience; like closest to shop thus less travel expense for consumer. However they don’t look at the side as when location of company is way crowded other customers will shop elsewhere due to less space to park cars and so forth. Furthermore other companies go to famous foreign countries or new location as their products are in demand over there.Yet as foreign companies they must find ways to introduce their production thus using advertisement again. In the end either companies, will lose a lot of pro fit. This same case happened to Toyota according in his writing of Ford outsells GM, Toyota in February sales, J. Ewing (2010: 1) claims that while Toyota and Honda where busy competing in America, another company called Ford which is originally an American car business took over by most recently, during the summer last year 2009. Thus, leaving Toyota to report a record annual net loss of 4. billion, this misfortune of Toyota’s occurred as it did not realize that it was consuming too many expenses hence; contributing to another disadvantage for companies when they compete. However these are true yet if considering another side to this argument, these may show the disadvantages of competition, but the advantages outweighs it as competition actually promotes the brand quality, flexibility and locations. In addition to Brand quality, consumers always buy the best as they believe it is worth the expense as it last for a very long time.Yet how do the consumer know which brand is t he best; simply as companies compete they broadcast the latest shoes, bikes, food and so forth. From here consumers try and differentiate one company after another due to the quality of its product. Take for example Article base (2007) states that Honda and Toyota knows America wants fuel-efficient vehicles. This case made the two companies work hard thus producing a vehicle that gets more and more mile per gallon. It is very expensive but a lot of people are waiting in line to get this product.This example shows that consumers go for the best brand quality no matter what. Another point is Flexibility; companies know that season changes thus consumer’s demands also changes. Therefore Coca cola and Pepsi two competing companies produce besides soft drinks, water, ice tea etc. This was to resolve the problem they faced during seasonal change that their soft drinks coca cola or Pepsi sales decreased; from this solution they remarkably still continued selling and earning profit a s they produced other products which will be essential during that particular season.This is also the advantage of flexibility and competition to a company. Finally is the location, Companies compete for the best location as it ensures the flow of profits, by one; marketable areas such as America are good places to locate business Thus most famous companies are located there for instance Toyota number one and holding fifteen percent of Americans sales. Honda, Nike and Adidas all these companies also go to a marketable location thus becoming the most famous companies in the world.Therefore the competition expenses for good spots to place business is worth it, as it will eventually repay the companies ten times the amount of money it has spent, just like Honda and Toyota which are now leading the world car manufacturing business. In conclusion the advantages of competition between companies when marketing products seems to be much favourable than the disadvantages hence, the practice should continue or be more creative with their competition strategies as the more competitive they are the more flow of profits there will be.

Interstate Highways

An interstate highway is any highway built under the auspices of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 and funded by the federal government. The idea for interstate highways came from Dwight D. Eisenhower after he saw the benefits of the Autobahn during wartime in Germany. There are now over 42,000 miles of interstate highways in the United States. Eisenhowers Idea On July 7, 1919, a young captain named Dwight David Eisenhower joined 294 other members of the U.S. Army and departed from Washington D.C. in the militarys first automobile caravan across the country. Due to poor roads and highways, the caravan averaged five miles per hour and took 62 days to reach Union Square in San Francisco. At the end of World War II, General Dwight David Eisenhower surveyed the war damage to Germany and was impressed by the durability of the Autobahn. While a single bomb could make a train route useless, Germanys wide and modern highways could usually be used immediately after being bombed, as it was difficult to destroy such a wide swath of concrete or asphalt. These two experiences helped show President Eisenhower the importance of efficient highways. In the 1950s, America was so frightened of nuclear attack by the Soviet Union that people were even building bomb shelters at home. It was thought that a modern interstate highway system could provide citizens with evacuation routes from the cities and would also allow the rapid movement of military equipment across the country. The Plan for a U.S. Interstate Map Within a year after Eisenhower became President in 1953, he began to push for a system of interstate highways across the United States. Although federal highways covered many areas of the country, the interstate highway plan would create 42,000 miles of limited-access, very modern highways. Eisenhower and his staff worked for two years to get the worlds largest public works project approved by Congress. On June 29, 1956, the Federal Aid Highway Act (FAHA) of 1956 was signed. Interstates, as they would be known, began to spread across the landscape. Requirements for Each Interstate Highway The FAHA provided for federal funding of 90 percent of the cost of the Interstates, with the states contributing the remaining 10 percent. The standards for the interstate highways were highly regulated. Lanes were required to be 12 feet wide, shoulders were 10 feet wide, a minimum of 14 feet of clearance under each bridge was required, grades had to be less than 3 percent, and the highway had to be designed for travel at 70 miles per hour. However, one of the most important aspects of the interstate highways was their limited access. Although prior federal or state highways allowed, for the most part, any road to be connected to the highway, the interstate highways only allowed access from a limited number of controlled interchanges. With over 42,000 miles of interstate highways, there were to be only 16,000 interchanges  Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã‚  less than one for every two miles of road. That was just an average; in some rural areas, there are dozens of miles between interchanges. The First and Last Stretches Completed Less than five months after the FAHA of 1956 was signed, the first stretch of interstate opened in Topeka, Kansas. The eight-mile piece of highway opened on November 14, 1956. The plan for the interstate highway system was to complete all 42,000 miles within 16 years (by 1972.) Actually, it took 37 years to complete the system. The last link, Interstate 105 in Los Angeles, was not completed until 1993. Signs Along the Highway In 1957, the red, white, and blue shield symbol for the interstates numbering system was developed. Two-digit interstate highways are numbered according to direction and location. Highways running north-south are odd-numbered, while highways running east-west are even-numbered. The lowest numbers are in the west and in the south. Three-digit interstate highway numbers represent beltways or loops, attached to a primary interstate highway (represented by the last two numbers of the beltways number). Washington D.C.s beltway is numbered 495 because its parent highway is I-95. In the late 1950s, the signs displaying white lettering on a green background were made official. Specific motorist-testers drove along a special stretch of highway and voted on which color was their favorite. The results showed that 15 percent liked white on black and 27 percent liked white on blue, but 58 percent liked white on green best. Why Does Hawaii Have Interstate Highways? Although Alaska has no Interstate Highways, Hawaii does. Since any highway built under the auspices of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 and funded by the federal government is called an interstate highway, a highway does not have to cross state lines. In fact, there are many local routes that lie entirely within a single state that have been funded by the Act. For example, on the island of Oahu are the interstates H1, H2, and H3, which connect important military facilities on the island. Urban Legend Some people believe that one mile out of every five on interstate highways is straight to serve as emergency airplane landing strips. According to Richard F. Weingroff, who works in the Federal Highway Administrations Office of Infrastructure, No law, regulation, policy, or sliver of red tape requires that one out of five miles of the interstate highway system must be straight. Weingroff says that its a complete hoax and urban legend that the Eisenhower interstate highway system requires that one mile in every five must be straight to be usable as airstrips in times of war or other emergencies. Besides, there are more overpasses and interchanges than there are miles in the system. Even if there were straight miles, planes attempting to land would quickly encounter an overpass on their runway. Side Effects The Interstate Highways that were created to help protect and defend the United States of America were also to be used for commerce and travel. Though no one could have predicted it, the interstate highway was a major impetus for the development of suburbanization and the sprawl of U.S. cities. While Eisenhower never desired the interstates to pass through or reach into the major cities of the U.S., it happened. Along with the interstates came the problems of congestion, smog, automobile dependency, a drop in densities of urban areas, the decline of mass transit, and other issues. Can the damage produced by the interstates be reversed? A great deal of change would be needed to bring it about. Source Weingroff, Richard F. One Mile in Five: Debunking The Myth. Public Roads, Vol. 63 No. 6, U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, May/June 2000.