Race and the Census, Native Americans and the Land
Top of Mind with Julie Rose - Season 1, Episode 790
- Apr 13, 2018 6:00 am
- 1:43:16 mins
Race and the Census Guests: Richard Alba, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Sociology, Graduate Center CUNY; Jacob Rugh, PhD, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Brigham Young University In a little less than 2 years, we’ll all be getting the census in the mail. The questions that will be on it have just been finalized. Age, gender, relationship status will be there, as usual. New for the first time in 50 years on this short, mandatory census questionnaire will be a question asking if you are a US Citizen. That’s a controversial addition. But the question that has the most bearing on how we see ourselves in America is the race question. Evidence suggests the way the census measures race and ethnicity is driving a deeper wedge between White Americans and racial minorities. And here’s a deeper question – if America is a melting pot of immigrants and cultures, why do we even need to ask about race on the census? Why isn’t “American” the only identity that matters? Native American Perspectives on Land Guests: Farina King, PhD, Assistant Professor of History, Northeastern State University; Nizhone Meza, JD, Attorney; Tommy Rock, PhD, Environmental Scientist and Founder of Rock Environmental Consulting; Aldean Ketchum, Musician, Flute Builder Mother Earth’s sacred nature is a common thread through the spiritual beliefs of Native American tribes across the country. We saw reverence for the land unite diverse indigenous communities at the Dakota Access Pipeline protests and in the effort to preserve Bears Ears in Utah. We explore what it is that so deeply binds America’s original inhabitants to the land.