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There's still a very strong native culture and presence here in Washington (state). I'm not sure about Oregon, but the PNW on the whole retains a strong native presence. This also extends well into the inland part of the region (Northern Idaho, Western Montana), and over the border in British Columbia.
I'd say of all of the states I've lived in or spent a good deal of time in (CA, WA, OR, TN), I'd say WA had the most visible Native American population. In particular Seattle and Bellingham. You will actually see Native Americans often in town.
I'd also guess that's true for Alaska.
I don't often see Native Americans in CA, but their presence is a big factor here, with Indian casinos. The state makes huge money deals with them to have the casinos in the state. Every election has big Indian money spent on radio and television commercials regarding casinos, and this would of course involve a large presence in politics and legislature.
The state usually votes in their favor, with most voters figuring, why not? They should get to cash in on the years of hardship, etc. But, this last election, the state voted no for the first time, I think. A particular tribe couldn't put a casino on their reservation because of environmental impact problems - I think they're basically on a marsh, and maybe in the middle of a natural protected reserve or something, I forget. Anyway, they wanted the state to vote to allow them to forgo the environmental impact statement and/or put their casino on land that was NOT on their reservation. The voters didn't want to set that kind of precedent, where tribes can put casinos on land that is not a reservation. They get to have the casinos now, based in a big part on the fact that they're on a sovereign nation. The voters didn't want them to be able to "create" new sovereign nations, nor did they want them to get around environmental impact statements.
Anyway, I tell you all this to show you how Native American tribes in CA are very much influencing our lives here.
So, I don't see them often, but their presence is very much felt here, and they have a big influence on the economy in the state. Most employees at the casinos are non-Native Americans. The Native Americans who belong to tribes here with casinos, are not working in the casinos, for the most part, except as executives - they're out spending all that casino money LOL!
The casinos are the ultimate revenge on the white man
Last edited by NoMoreSnowForMe; 12-22-2014 at 06:41 PM..
When your state's name is translated to mean "Red people", I think said people have an influence. It also has 25 Native Anerican languages spoken within the state, which is second only to California.
Sleepers in this regard are parts of Upstate NY, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina and Michigan.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 12-22-2014 at 06:55 PM..
Such a good point. I took a great California history course in college (went back to school late in life) and learned that the settlers who came to CA were baffled by the fact that there were so many different tribes, none of which (whom?) could communicate at all with each other. They'd want to hire them as guides, and then of course later as workers or slaves or in the missions, etc., and nobody could communicate. Fascinating. Goes to show how huge the state is, and how varied the geography is, to keep them all apart from each other.
EDIT: I just looked it up on Wikipedia - there were 300 dialects from 100 distinctly different languages spoken in CA by indigenous people before European contact.
I guess you could use that same logic on New Mexico plates as well with the zia symbol and turquoise coloring, not to mention the state flag. Actually, on a side note the state has some really beautifully painted Native American inspired overpasses just north of Santa Fe.
Last edited by santafe400; 12-22-2014 at 07:26 PM..
Having been to most of those states, I would say that New Mexico would have more Native American people with Oklahoma and South Dakota being second. Eastern Washington and Oregon seem to have more traditional tribal members. However, true NA ancestory is so diluted today that there will be no one with 'pure' American Indian blood left. You have to understand that while most people see Native Americans as 1 universal culture, every tribe is in fact an entire culture unto itself, with its own set of traditions, beliefs and language. That being said, outside the reservations designated over a century ago, most NAs do not congegrate in any particular state or city. You wont find an American Indian neighborhood or block or clubs or even gangs in any major US city (I don't consider Albequerque to be major).
Most are dispersed througout the entire country (some areas a little more than others) and have married non-natives, and so forth until most of their ancestry is divided down to 1/8, 1/4 and a rare few that are even 1/2 Native American are left. Its sad that this is one 'ethnicity' that will truly be extinct in a country that once, they ALONE inhabited
I've actually read a couple issues of 'Native American Magazine' and probably 60% of the advertisements are for businesses based out of New Mexico. I guess in terms of integrated culture, NM would be on top.
OK/NM, but there's a strong presense in certain areas of Wisconsin, as well. And Minnesota. When I lived in Green Bay, which borders the Oneida Nation, its presense was very strong, with the casino, big Packers sponsorships, advertising, and so on. Had a good number of native friends there. It's far more rare in the southern portion of the state, though there are casinos throughout it.
I've actually read a couple issues of 'Native American Magazine' and probably 60% of the advertisements are for businesses based out of New Mexico. I guess in terms of integrated culture, NM would be on top.
I think Oklahoma may have the most integrated culture simply because Oklahoma has no reservations. The native american population is intermixed with everyone else in the state and have been since before statehood. I believe OKC, Tulsa and Norman all are very high on the list of percentage native american residents in the US and are pretty high on the total number of residents who are native americans of cities in the US.
My next door neighbors are full blood Cheyenne.
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