Native Americans and African Americans

The African American Groups

The similarities portrayed by the Native American and the African American groups can be linked to the long-term interaction the two groups have had for centuries. The two groups have shared histories, families, communities, and various ways of life. The unity between the two groups has been enhanced by similar struggles. One remarkable case of unity was during the struggle that ended slavery, as well as dispossession in the U.S. (Myers, 2007). They also struggled for freedom and self-determination. These struggles contributed to similarities, which have brought the two cultures together in the recent years. The attempt to initiate segregation was hardly successful due to the arrival of non-native people in the US.

The aspect of working cooperatively developed due to the role each racial group played in the history, but in the recent years, these similarities have become less distinguished; the world views them not as two American groups, but as two groups joined with similar cultures and social practices (Myers, 2007). This aspect took shape after November 15 2009, when the respective National Museum decided to conjunct each group and presented the “IndiVisible: African-Native American Lives in the Americas.” This exhibition was initiated to focus on two groups and their interactions (DeVenney, 2008).

Despite the portrayed similarities, the major issue is that the U.S. was faced with many cases of discrimination against members of these groups. Though when relating to national issues, or problems facing all the American citizens almost equally, these two groups would join hands to fight against the problem. This could happen through protests, but the voice-shared protests are rarely initiated. The relationship among members of the two racial groups seems complex with the complexity dating back to the colonial America. During the American colonial period, both African-Americans and Indian-Americans had limited rights and they united to fight for their rights against the Europeans (Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture , 2013).

 The U.S. Government

The U.S. government was imposing many restrictions but the two racial groups have managed to maintain close bonds even during the colonial period when the British government hardly advocated for the freeing of slaves. Some Native American families went against the law and freed many slaves. Both groups faced the same fate as they struggled for their freedom. They equally faced cruelty, prejudice, death, torture, and neglect among other problems. This gives them the motive to come together as one American group, which sees not physical or origin related differences, but works under one goal, the American dream (Smithsonian Institution, 2013 ).