Every bit of this comment is making my heart warm <3

Which doesn’t mean much. Yeah, great, Ohio named counties/cities/roads after Native tribes or languages. But in the process of claiming the land and naming these cities, counties, etc, the majority of Ohio’s indigenous peoples were exterminated or displaced to places like Oklahoma.

Blegh. #StopPanderingToOldWhiteMen2016

Again, one friend and 500 poll takers, only a fraction of which identify with a specific tribe, and all of whom are self-identified. This is a terrible poll with crappy methodology.

Because if you’re not part of the group, then you generally don’t have the context of what it’s like to be that group and are unqualified to discuss the importance of things.

Why do non-Natives get to tell Natives what should be priorities over other issues? Why do you assume that this issue goes to the bottom of whatever triage list you are imagining?

How is this a decent survey?

Native here.

You don’t have to be 18 to graduate high school... I was 17 until a month or so into my freshman year of college.

I’m 26 and class of 2007. I think Australia has a different school timeline, some other commentator mentioned that they don’t have kindergarten, so they start 1st grade at 5 or so. and also some folks are have earlier birthdays and are older than others in their class, and other folks have late birthdays are are…

No, I realized I wasn’t clear when I read your comment, which is why I tried to politely answer.

I get your point, but suicide rates for AI/AK youth are double the national average for youth, and for usually 10 points higher than other racial sub groups. So while it might be common for suicide to be high on the list for youth, the rates are ridiculously higher for indigenous kids.

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) actually tries to close that loophole, allowing tribal jurisdictions to prosecute non-Natives for crimes such as sexual assault or rape. It didn’t take effect until March of 2015 however, so it is still early to judge how effective this will be.

You obviously don’t have the first clue as to how your suggestion -fucking forcibly removing people from their land because you think our cultures, beliefs and ways of life are primitive or worthless- aligns pretty sweetly with the ways we’ve already been fucked over. Your idea for fixing it isn’t really fixing…

In the US, the second leading cause of death for American Indian and Alaska Native youth - ages 10-24 in both urban and rural environments- is suicide. It’s prevalent among many of our communities. Generally has a lot to do with the historical and generational trauma our families and communities have gone through,…

Native here, this mindset from non-Natives is a contributing factor to WHY WE TRY TO KILL OURSELVES.

Unfortunately, this is common in indigenous communities. There has been a state of emergency on in the Pine Ridge reservation for years because of the youth suicide rate.

Nice try, but no. It's not derailment.

It’s not derailing to critique and question privileged narratives that ignore intersections and oppression.

Except that this warm positive story does nothing to acknowledge the privileges that the author had to have in order to have such a warm, positive experience with her Evangelical church. I grew up with people who had warm, positive experiences with the church, who then did nothing when the church was harmful.