Ohio Is Not without Its Share of Problems

Abstract

Ohio is not without its share of race problems. The state has been the poster child for racism in the last few years, complete with riots. The state’s problems reflect the tone echoed through the entire state, and the university I attend there is no different. When I first came to the university I was a student finishing my master’s degree in American culture. The university did not have an American culture program, so I needed to improvise. I did this by following the recommendation of several counselors and filling my class hours with addiction courses. This would be the start of an eye-opener for me. I had not given much thought to my culture as a factor in my education until I got into the addiction classes, where the stereotypical drunken Indian seemed to have its place. I was outraged at how little the general public knew about my culture, even though the state of Ohio purports to have a great number of people of Indian heritage. All the stereotypes I had read about or witnessed on “F Troop” were believed. I do not know why I felt the need, but I crossed that line between advocate and activist. I am sure it had something to do with one of the first classes I attended, in which a student said that the reason Native Americans had such a high alcoholism rate was because their brains were smaller and they could not metabolize the alcohol as fast as other races. To advocate for what was right for Native peoples did not seem enough. Everyone had a great-grandmother who was a Cherokee princess, and no one was listening to the contemporary problems of the culture. The university had several Native classes, but no one was teaching them, so I asked if I could. The main intent was not to become a teacher but to make sure that the courses survived, that they were not removed from the curriculum for Ohio Is Not without Its Share of Problems