Web Log: Native Americans

In class, my group was assigned Native Americans and their fight for their land/citizenship/culture.  It was horrifying and enlightening to read about Native American history in Spring's book.  I knew from my own schooling that Native Americans were treated unfairly by the United States government, but I never learned the horrible extent of it.  I mean the government actually put into law (The Naturalization Act of 1790) that Native Americans were not allowed to be citizens.  They truely were domestic foreigners since their cultures were so distinct and 'foreign' to the anglo saxons who ruled the New World.  I always thought of education as a good thing, I know it always has been for me, but the way the US government used it to tear apart the Native American culture was horrendous.  They forced the children to speak english and adopt American dress/morals; this in turn made a huge generational gap where grandchildren are barely able to communicate with their own grandparents due to lack of education of their own acesteral traditions/cultures.  I am actually able to see this with family friends today.  My friend's grandparents and parents were born in italy and they immigrated to the United states when the parents were about ten years old.  Tony, my friend, knows some italian, but he isn't fluent while his grandma knows very little english this creates a disconnect between their generations since Tony who was born here, has adopted the culture that surrounded him since birth.  I always find it a little sad whenever I'm over at tony's house and he and his grandma don't talk as much as I do with my grandparents; however, I wonder how my view on this would change had my parents been from a different contry would I have been all for learning their traditions or would I have chosen to fit in with my friends and rebel against my parents (the more likely option).