Stratification, Minorities and Discrimination - Native Americans

Stratification, Minorities and Discrimination
Native Americans



All around the world there has been forms of discrimination or segregation due to the people age, gender, race, ethnicity, religious or sexual preference. Some groups feel that they are superior and give others a treatment that is unequal.  In the United States the group that has suffered the most discrimination and segregation are the Native Americans. They are the first settlers and it is believed that they came about 30,000 year ago from Asia. They became a very small minority and were isolated and forgotten.  In the past they were to live in their reservations, away from the rest of the population, and obligated to integrate to the American society.  The education opportunities were different for them than for the other Americans. Many of their children have integrated so much to the American society that they look down on their own people; others feel that they do not fit anymore among their own and some have a hard time adjusting back.I chose the Navajos because I have been able to visit their reservation in the four corners area in the US.  I have seen the way and the conditions they live in.  Today they have been integrated to society and are given a more equal treatment but there has been a loss in their culture and traditions.




The article “Concurrent and longitudinal effects of ethnic identity and experiences of discrimination on psychosocial adjustment of Navajo adolescents by Renee V. Galliher is a study of 137 Navajo teenagers, ages 14-16 (grades 9-10), attempted to assess the level of ethnic identity and discrimination experiences and the effects they played in the lives of the group of Native Americans. The study suggests that the negative influences of discrimination led to greater substance abuse and lower self-esteem.  However, the more and individual felt a connection to his/her cultural identity, the more likely the individual was to be well adjusted and less likely to turn to substance abuse. Here is the link






Here are some links to website that include information about the Navajo’s