The, Deloria, Collins, And Mcclintock - 1712 Words

Page Robinson Reflection – Gilmore, Deloria, Collins, and McClintock Ruthie Gilmore – Golden Gulag Gilmore’s piece aims to disprove the myth that prisons are built by crime by focusing on the growth of California’s state prison system since 1982 and the accompanying grassroots opposition. Prisons are thought to stop crime through retribution, deterrence, rehabilitation, and incapacitation. The dominant explanation for prison growth is that crime went up, so prisons were created, and crime went down. However, states with fewer prisons have noticed greater decreases in crime. Prisons do not lead to increased stability because of thinning financial and emotional resources, the breakdown of informal customary relationships, mental illness†¦show more content†¦A second historical tradition is whites refusing to give non-whites the rights they legally possess. Laws were passed that forced Indians to conform to white institutions, convincing Indians they were the world’s stupidest people. The history of Indians was manipulated to fit the needs of the interme diaries. Deloria hypothesizes that Indians are probably invisible because of the tremendous amount of misinformation about them. Understanding Indians means understanding Indian affairs. However, there exist many myths about Indian affairs. To address â€Å"Indian problems† task force reports are demanded. â€Å"The conclusion of every task force report is that Congress is not appropriating enough money to do an adequate job of helping Indians† (Deloria 1969). Paternalism is a favorite subject of task forces. However, government paternalism is not a serious problem, while private sector paternalism is. The problem is that since no one asked the churches, white interest organizations, and universities to come, it’s hard to ask them to leave. Over time tribes have discovered that they must band together to make themselves heard. Indians have two mainstream organizations; The National Congress of American Indians and The National Indian Youth Council. Tribes have a lso found that by handling problems amongst themselves they are more successful than when trying to adapt to the white value system. However,