Integrating Ethnic and Minority Group History Into Social Welfare Policy and History Courses
Abstract This paper provides guidelines for identifying and integrating context relating to ethnic and minority group history into social welfare history and policy courses. Sources of information are reviewed and the use of local history is discussed. Examples for use in classroom teaching are provided.
Private Property, the Indian's Door to Civilization
In the course of the Eighty-third Congress Utah Senator Arthur Watkins inserted in the Congressional Record a remark that several so called "termination" bills which had just become law had started the ball rolling toward getting the government out of the Indian business. Developing the point further, he commented, "Indians are not lazy, but they cannot be forced to farm or raise sheep and cattle. Given his property and the right and obligation to manage it properly, the Indian will soon prove himself, as has every other minority in this melting pot of races."i To the student of American Indian history, sentiments of this type have a familiar ring. A Sioux agent 97 years ago, and 29 years before the passage of the Dawes Severalty Act, inspired the title for this paper by stating, "Give a man a separate tract to cultivate and he does not hesitate to labor in the common field .... The common field is the seat of barbarism; the separate farm the door to civilization."2 The Sioux agent was just one of scores of government officials, politicians, and friends of the Indian to see the problem as Senator Watkins now sees it. Though the Dawes Severalty Act, which authorized the dissolution of tribal government and the allotment of land to individual Indians, did not become law until 1887, the idea that private property had peculiar civilizing qualities has been present throughout the history of relations between the Indians and our government.3 I do not mean to contend that other factors and forces, for example our interest in Indian lands, did
“Family” Support for Family Violence: Exploring Community Support Systems for Lesbian and Bisexual Women Who Have Experienced Abuse
ABSTRACT “Family” is a euphemistic term that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people use among ourselves to designate membership in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities. Ironically, this “family” may be the most sought, yet least successful, support for dealing with the intimate partner violence that occurs within LGBT families. This study of 11 lesbian and bisexual women's experiences seeking support revealed several tiers of unmet needs within the LGBT community. They rarely used services in the general community, although these services are often the focus of both criticism and efforts to build support systems for LGBT victim/survivors. A model presents the different stages and potential sources of support.