Rick Kearns, Indian Country Today

Who Are American Indians in the 21st Century? is the title of an interactive presentation by John Sanchez, an associate professor at Penn State University, and a member of the Yaqui/Apache.

When Professor Sanchez visited his son’s elementary school to speak to the students and teachers about his culture, he was dressed in a suit with a tie and he carried a briefcase. He was surprised by the response he received:

“I went and spoke to the teacher and many students and I told them that even though we lived in Washington, D.C. we were still Indian and they didn’t understand, they thought that when I was coming to speak to them I would be wearing buckskins, feathers and war paint.”

Based on this reaction Professor Sanchez decided to perform an experiment with the aid of the school officials. Students in the second through the fifth grades were asked to draw a picture of an American Indian family.

You have to read the article to find out the unbelievable results!

This is only part of the work Professor Sanchez has accomplished and is completing. He has also done extensive research of the three major networks and discovered that between 1990 and 1999, out of a total of 175,889 newscasts only 98, or .05 percent were about American Indians.

Professor Sanchez points out that young American Indians have a suicide rate 5 times higher than other young people in that age group. He believes that young Indians need positive reinforcement of their cultures’ values and that there has to be a stronger connection among the tribes, “…We need to know more about each other.”

Professor Sanchez has made ( and continues to make) strong efforts in this direction.

Read the article and share your thoughts with us.