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- All Subjects: Native American Studies
- Creators: Martin, Nathan
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This compilation seeks to address these issues by examining a) the creation and delivery of Western medicine for American Indians in New Mexico and b) a discussion of Pueblo culture and belief systems. The exploration will include not only discussing health and health care concerns, but it will also engage the future considerations that tribal governments in New Mexico, specifically Pueblo Indian communities, must reflect on to ensure the preservation of the culture and values of Pueblo people. Finally, specific recommendations for action and discussion will be delivered in the form of a policy paper that is designed for tribal leadership and tribal administrative audiences and suggested for implementation.
Because economic advancement has been defined by Western society and not by Indigenous peoples themselves, the material gains of such narrowly defined notions of advancement have long been an elusive dream for many Indigenous communities in the United States. Many reasons have been given as to why significant economic advancement through a Western materialistic lens has been unattainable, including remoteness, the inability to get financing on trust land, and access to markets. These are all valid concerns and challenges, but they are not insurmountable. Another disconcerting reason has been the perception that the federal government through its trust responsibility is to do everything for the tribes, including economic advancement, job creation and economic diversification. Despite the problematic nature of this lens, this work is concerned with both how Indigenous--and particularly southwestern tribal, Pueblo Indian nations--interpret and participate in the drive to achieve measures of prosperity for their communities. Granted, the U.S. government does have a trust responsibility to assist tribes, however, that does not mean tribes are relieved of their obligation to do their part as well. Here, I provide an observation of the notion of government responsibility towards tribes and ultimately suggest that there is a strong and devastating addiction that hinders Indigenous communities and impacts economic advancement. This addiction is not alcoholism, drugs, or domestic violence. Instead, this is an addiction to federal funds and programs, which has diminished Indigenous inspiration to do for self, the motivation to be innovative, and has blurred responsibility of what it means to contribute. I will also include the need to utilize data to develop new economic policies and strategies. Last, I will include a policy suggestion that will be aimed at operationalizing the trust reform and data concepts. While discussing these challenges, my focus is to moreover offer a suggestion of how to strategize through them. Drawing from Pueblo Indian examples, the argument becomes clear that other Indigenous citizens across the lower forty-eight have an opportunity to break the prescribed mold in order to advance their economies and on their terms.
For this thesis, I analyzed the discourse and content of Proposition 22, a California law which defined all workers utilizing gig-based apps to sell services as independent contractors meaning they were not legally entitled to certain protections such as minimum wage. The law was overturned in court in 2020, however, the advertisements in favor of and discourse behind the law has had a continued impact on all workers. Because of this it is important to examine and conceptualize the ideologies behind the law in order to understand how it was able to pass in a state which tends to vote in favor of increasing employee rights and regulation of industries. To do so, I utilized two methods of analysis, a discourse analysis of legal documents and a content analysis of advertisements. The former revolves around analyzing the discourse and ideologies around two versions of the legislation which were shown to the public, while the latter analysis categorizes and examines the implications of various advertisements utilized by companies to support the proposition. Ultimately, gig companies created an effective campaign that was able to repackage neoliberal deregulation for the general public while actively misrepresenting information around the law leading to long lasting effects that continue to harm workers while lining the pockets of investors despite its overturning.