Multicultural Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Multicultural Psychology - Essay Example This discussion will review the Native American’s present life situation, specifically how casinos built on the reservations and alcoholism are affecting their culture. In addition, it will discuss the various factors and realities of Native American assimilation into white culture and review the possibilities for the future outcomes. Indian Reservations as they are commonly referred are not located near economically prosperous locations. Rather, they were intended to be and the vast majority remains well isolated from white society in terms of more than just distance. It is hardly surprising that from the beginning, the indigenous peoples of America have displayed decidedly observable cultural differences which persist more than a century after the reservations were established. The reservations were formed in the late Nineteenth Century following the preceding racial genocide with its survivors, in most instances, forced to relocate to what to them were foreign lands. Those that survived the mass displacement, the ‘Trail of Tears’ as an example, found themselves in unfamiliar territory, a daunting proposition for a people whose survival was entirely dependent on understanding every aspect of familiar territory. Native Americans were rightly resentful and developed strong prejudices that still exist through their descendents today. This resentment along with the isolated logistical circumstances of the tribal people acts as strong motivation for them to cling to their cultural heritage which, by necessity, implies a natural separation from ‘white’ culture. Geographic remoteness predestines economic isolation which has been physically and psychologically devastating for reservation inhabitants. With little means by which to be self-sufficient, many have become dependent on federal government assistance for the basic necessities of life. â€Å"Welfare dependency on