Who is Sweet Medicine?
Sweet Medicine is a sacred prophet in Cheyenne oral history. He spoke of the dire consequences for the Cheyenne of the coming of the white people. In your opinion, what has been most egregiously overlooked or mistaken about the history and the present lives of Native Americans? That’s a big question! Here’s some information put out by an organization called the Center for Community Change: According to the 2000 census, there were 4.1 million American Indians, including Alaska Natives. Native Americans remain the poorest minority group in the nation. The poverty rate among Indian people is 25.9 percent, compared to the national rate of 11.3 percent. Associated with this poverty are poor health conditions, lack of affordable and decent housing, substandard education, a critical lack of jobs, and a host of other barriers that keep most Native American communities isolated and economically distressed. The Indian unemployment rate was 46 percent in mid-2004. While a handful of tribes have a
