Urban Indians: Exemplar Essay To Follow

Urban Indians is an indigenous population on the territory of the United States that resides in urban areas. They moved to cities for different reasons: seeking for employment, studying or forced by American federal government due to its relocation policies began in the 1940s.
The migration of Indians to urban areas started during the period of the Second World War. At that time many of them decided to move to cities despite all the difficulties and problematic adjustment. During the WWII period a lot of Indians were either provided with jobs, or were recruited by the American Army in order to serve in the war. Most of the Native Americans, who moved to urban areas that time have easily adapted to a new lifestyle, comfort, new money and a close proximity to supermarkets and restaurants. In general, it is possible to say that they have come through assimilation into the mainstream American urban culture.
However, an adaptation process was not very easy for Indians. Those, who have just moved to cities, were missing the land, kinship system and other aspects of their previous life in the reservation, especially the activities that cannot be practiced in an urban environment: sweatlodge, hunting and etc. They usually went back to their reservations for a visit, but after returned to the city anyway. This became a source and the reason of a psychological divide: an Indian is not able to return to either place and feel fully happy because he will always miss something.
In cities Indians have established Indian centers that played a very important role for them in order to feel their belonging to the Indian culture. These centers helped the Native Americans to gather and retain identity. Moreover, at this center by gathering together they could practice different rites and cultural activities: language classes, regalia making, tobacco and pipe ceremonies and Indian fests. Centers helped not only adults not to forget their Indian identity, but also children to gain their Native identity in a collective manner. Children were exposed to memories and stories from older Native Americans, who lived in reservation areas. Another typical Indian institution that exists in cities is an Indian bar. The Indian bar was born in the cheapest hotels and poor neighbourhoods. It has also become a traditional place for Indians to gather and drink together. The Indian bar is an example of Native Americans’ culture outside of reservations.
Contact with reservations is very important for all Urban Indians. Regular contact and visit to reservations for Indians means retention of cultural literacy and identity. If an Indian, born and grown up in the urban area, has no contact with reservation, it means that he knows about his cultural identity only from books or from stories told by other Indians. Thus, the more contact Indians have with reservation, the stronger their cultural literacy is. There is a common belief among people that since Urban Indians moved to cities and other urban areas, they discarded their cultures and Indian values. This belief is based on the fact that the Indians residing in cities do not dress or look like hunter gatherers. However, even if the dress like the rest of American urban population, it does not mean that they have discarded their cultural values and tribes because they still evolve their traditions behind the scenes while residing in urban areas.
However, it is not the only one stereotype about the Indians that are quite common in the contemporary society, and there are more of them. It is believed, for example, that all Indians are on welfare. However, it is not true, and as in any other ethnic group and society, there are both very rich and very poor people. Another stereotype that most of the Indians are either alcoholics or druggies, which is also not true because it always depends on a particular individual and Indian family. Also people used to believe that there are not so many Indians left, but it is actually very difficult to say exactly, how many of them are still alive. Other false stereotypes are following: Indians are lazy and not smart; they never come back to reservations once they left it; and they lost a million dollars every year provided by the American government. Of course, these stereotypes are only prejudices and are born because of the narrow-mindedness of the contemporary society.