Bullying and How it Affects Native American Students

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As a member of the teaching and learning department, I feel that education is one of the fundamental needs of our youth. I stand behind the recent concerns the media has had for those who have experienced bullying whether it be physical or emotional. When I first started school, the only place I had access to a computer was at school or a local library. Due to technological advances, modern youth have access to social media where they are exposed to another form of bullying that threatens their safety. According to The Cyber bullying Research Center's statistics “as many as 20 percent of all students have been the victims of cyber bullying” (Lee 2011). When I was a child I had experienced taunting, name calling and other forms of bullying. According to Mose Herne, acting deputy director of the Indian Health Service’s Division of Behavior Health, I was not alone. “Nearly a third of all students experience some form of [bullying] at school and it may be more prevalent in Native American schools” (Lee, 2011). Bullying has become an increased socially acceptable act and I feel that it must be stopped at all costs. This type of behavior can be caused due to many reasons including “stereotypes and misconceptions of what it means to be Native American, generational poverty, generational alcoholism and drug addiction, poor nutrition and diet, substandard and inadequate housing, [and] family structures that are not intact” (Owen, 2011). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention blames this unstructured home environment as the reason behind the increase of bullying among Native American youth. A report released on April 22 claims that “kids involved in bullying are far more likely to have witnessed violence in their famil... ... middle of paper ... ...ithout raising our voices, many Native American children will die in vain and continue to experience abuse. Works Cited Armitage, Lynn. “Mean Girls Are Just Bullies With Lip Gloss: Notes From a Single Mom.” Indian Country. Indian Country, 12 Feb. 2014. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. Lee, Tanya. “American Indian Programs Target Bullying.” Indian Country. Indian Country, 30 May 2011. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. McNeely, Robert. “Bullying's Impact on American Indian/Alaskan Native Students.” NEA Today. NEA Today, 27 Oct. 2011. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. Owen, Rae. "Bullying in Native American Communities." Navajo-Hopi Observer. Navajo-Hopi Observer, 1 Dec. 2011. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. Wilson, Emily. “Native Americans Taking Stand for Education Against California's Humboldt Country Schools.” Diverse Issues in Higher Education. Diverse Education, 23 Jan. 2014. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.

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