The Hardships of Native Americans

The life of Native Americans was never easy, each tribe or community had to face their own struggles and battles each day. There are many stories and myths that portray the hardships that  Native Americans had to go through. In, "Indian Education," Sherman Alexie describes all of the abuse he had to deal with when he was just a young boy. He explains much about how he was stereotyped by other students and even teachers just because of his race. One teacher mentioned to him, ""Hey," He said. "What's that boy been drinking? I know all about these Indian kids. They start drinking real young"" (178). Just because Alexie is a Native American he is expected to already be drinking and to be a bad kid, though that is not true. Stereotyping and  bullying of any human being will sadly remain with them for a lifetime. No kid should ever be hurt, mentally or physically. Alexie writes, "They pushed me down, buried me in the snow until I couldn't breathe, and thought I'd never breathe again" (171). It is incredible how mean kids can be to one another. Bullying does not stop with Native Americans though, it can relate to everyone in one way or another. Phoebe Prince, committed suicide from the continuous harassment of her classmates. Nobody should ever torment another individual because you never know what struggles they're going through. Native Americans have been forced away from their land and looked down upon, but they never give up. Their life style and culture is so utterly unique and fascinating that each one of them should be extremely proud of where they came from.