Essay: Review of 3 articles – Waldstein / Healy / Turkewitz (Native Americans)

Waldstein, David. “Battle over Indians’ Name and Logo Moves to the World Series.” NYTimes.com. The New York Times Company, 22 Oct. 2016. Web. 23 Oct. 2016.
In this article, David Waldstein discusses the negative caricatures that are associated with the Cleveland Indians.  David focuses on Philip Yenyo, the leader of the American Indian Movement of Ohio, and how he has been protesting Cleveland’s name and logo since 1997.  Recently, Yenyo has been working alongside Douglas Cardinal, who petitioned to a judge that Cleveland’s Chief Wahoo logo should not be represented while in Toronto.  Both Cardinal and Yenyo believe that this issue was a “human rights violation in opposition to Canadian laws on human rights” (Waldstein).  Due to this, many people are boycotting watching the World Series.
The minority that is being attacked are the Native Americans, particularly those who are offended by Cleveland’s name and logo.  The problem with Cleveland is that people perceive a negative connotation with their name and logo.  Cardinal believes that the name and logo are “racist—that is all there is to it . . . I think there is a direct correlation between these kinds of depictions of our people as inferior and as caricatures to be mocked. It is wrong and it must stop” (Waldstein). Others believe that Cleveland’s name and logo are demeaning towards Native Americans, and in particular, Chief Wahoo.  If left untreated, the Native Americans will develop a sense of disrespect towards this organization which represents Native Americans negatively.  If society does not act accordingly, more tension will develop between society and the Native Americans.  Unfortunately, I can envision Native Americans becoming more hostile towards any unwelcomed visitors.
The audience best equipped to solve the problem would be the leaders of the controversial team and any citizen who agrees that Native Americans are being oppressed by the negative connotations of the name and logo of the Cleveland Indians.  Many owners believe that some of the names and logos need to change.  For example, “Mark Shapiro, former Indians President, stated that the Chief Wahoo logo personally bothered him” (Waldstein).  Shapiro would have been in the perfect position to start the process of changing the offensive name and logo of the Cleveland Indians.  Since Shapiro failed to start solving the issue, it is now the job of the citizens to bring change from the demeaning names and logos that Cleveland possesses.  To start the process of change, it would be beneficial to follow Yenyo in protesting the Cleveland Indians.
Healy, Jack. “‘I Want to Win Someday’: Tribes Make Stand Against Pipelines.” NYTimes.com. The New York Times Company, 08 Sept. 2016. Web. 23 Oct. 2016.
In this article, Jack Healy describes the turmoil that the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has endured within the last 50 years.  He summarizes how the Oahe Dam caused rising waters that destroyed the Sioux’s homes, monuments, cemeteries, and land.  Next, he previews how the Sioux are suing the Army Corps of Engineers because “building the pipeline would destroy sacred cultural and burial sites and [raise] concerns that a leak or spill would poison their water supply” (Healy). The Army Corps of Engineers countered that “it reached out extensively to tribes before it gave approval for the Dakota Access pipeline to cross bodies of water, including the Missouri” (Healy).  Finally, he informs the readers that the protests have became violent and that the National Guard has been summoned to keep peace in the Sioux’s reservations.
In this situation, the minority is the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.  They are faced with the problem of having a pipeline built that infringes on their property.  If they do not prevent the pipeline from being built on their reservation, the pipeline will create havoc.  Before the judge could make his ruling, the corporation began bulldozing sacred ceremonial sites.  This resulted in violent riots where “protesters had kicked workers” (Healy). Sioux officials claim that “demonstrators were provoked, and that six were bitten by guard dogs brought in by the pipeline company’s security guards” (Healy). If society does not act on this issue, tension between the government and Native Americans will grow.  Society will continue to struggle with the rights to which Native American Tribes are entitled if the government allows corporations to operate in their reservations.
Jack Healy writes this article with the intention of speaking to civilians who are capable of making a difference in this power struggle.  Healy appeals to the pathos of his audience by describing the unfortunate lives of Verna Bailey and Theresa Pleets.  He wants his audience to empathize with the two older ladies who have been driven from their homes due to the history of corporations destroying Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s Reservations.  Healy wants his audience to protect any innocents from suffering the same fate as Bailey and Pleets.  Pleets ended her conversation with Healy by stating, “I want to beat the Corps.  I want to win someday” (Healy).
Turkewitz, Julie. “Navajo Nation Sues E.P.A. in Poisoning of a Colorado River.” NYTimes.com. The New York Times Company, 16 Aug. 2016. Web. 23 Oct. 2016.
In this article, Julie Turkewitz describes the ongoing conflict between the Environmental Protection Agency, known as the EPA, and the Navajo Nation.  In August, the Navajo Nation issued a statement that they will sue the EPA for “poisoned water that flowed from a punctured Colorado mine last year [that] disrupted hundreds of lives near a critical watershed.  The disaster has heightened economic and spiritual pain in a region hamstrung by poverty and drought” (Turkewitz).  Turkewitz elaborates on how the EPA has taken responsibility for the problem by investing their own resources in fixing it.  Unsatisfied with the EPA’s response, the Navajo Nation is suing the EPA for not stopping the flow of sludge from the mine or removing it from local water sources.
In this situation, the Navajo Nation represents the oppressed minority.  They are faced with the problem of not having clean water to survive and grow crops for their civilization.  Russell Begaye, the leader of the Navajo Tribe, stated that because of the contaminated water, “irrigation lines were cut off. Corn, melons, hay and wheat never made it to market. The spill delivered a psychological lashing in a drought-stricken place where water is gold” (Turkewitz). If the EPA does not solve the problem the Navajo Nation faces, members of society who rely on the water from the river will suffer just as the government’s relationship with the Navajo Nation will suffer.  If the water situation is not corrected, the Navajo Nation will collapse without due to lack of pure water.
Turkewitz believes that the audience who is best equipped to fix this issue is the EPA.  So far, the EPA has “spent $29 million to address cleanup and compensate communities, including the Navajo Nation. But people along the spill’s path have continued to feel its effects” (Turkewitz). Turkewitz believes that the EPA still needs to do more to help solve the issue that they created.  The EPA still has to clean up “880,000 pounds of metals, and ‘roughly 80 to 90 percent’ remains embedded in the river upstream, ready to flush into the Navajo Nation during rains and storms” (Turkewitz).  Since the EPA is not cleaning up well enough, I think Turkewitz would like for the audience to take action and help the river and the surrounding area recover.  In this situation, her audience would be anybody who sympathizes with the surrounding area, such as the Navajo Nation.