American Indian Activist Russell Means Powerful Speech, 1989

Russell Means was an activist and co-founder of the American Indian Movement. He fought for the rights and dignity of the indigenous people of the US.  Here Russell Means testifies before a Senate Committee in 1989, explaining the corruption in the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Historically, the Native American has been subject to genocide, racism, and discrimination. The worst element of this was that culture was eliminated in favor of a Western value system. Native American reservations like the Pine Ridge Reservation, are areas of high poverty. American Indians struggle to maintain their language and rich culture. Unemployment and limited opportunities plague young people. Native Americans have been victims of environmental racism in which waste materials of been disposed of on their land. The American Indian faces an issue of dual citizenship. Being a member of a tribal nation and also being a US citizen.The only way for the American Indian to advance is to be a full member of American society. While the reservation system allows autonomy, its true purpose was to segregate and contain the Native American population.