Lake of Betrayal: The Story of Kinzua Dam Essay
A country that is governed by the rule of law, should formulate and implement policies that protect all people despite their ethnic identity.
Racial segregation is a social illusion that subjected nonnative Americans into consistent inequalities on the social economic and political paradigm. To some extent, the problem appears like an institutionalized concept to prioritize interests of the whites while suppressing the blacks.
In the Lack of Betrayal, Indians are a minority group that submits to the economic benefits of a hydropower company that does not consider their wellbeing.
Despite the agreements on solemn ownership of land, they have to vacate their homes and start new lives in a newly established nation. From the occurrence of events in the lake of betrayal, racial discrimination is institutionalized to benefit the majorities at the expense of the minority groups. Therefore, it is essential to assess the role of government in eliminating racial discrimination, identify the challenges subjected to minority groups and then provide a recommendation on improving the welfare of the victimized groups.
The primary issue in the documentary is the deprivation of land ownership rights for other Indians by the US Army. The Indians becomes victims of political force to the extent of losing their culture and home of origin. Indeed, they are not requested to vacate on harmonious conversations but forced out of the land by demolitions and threats of legal action. All the inequalities manifest without consideration of the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua signed by the president of Washington DC (Lamont). Martin Luther King is a renowned leader in human history since he helped in freeing the Negros. In one of his remembered speeches, he argued that all men are created equal. However, the film shows that whites disregard the law in favor of their economic development. The individuals live like secondary citizens in their land. A country governed by institutionalized discrimination is not free until all people have equal rights as citizens of that country.
Racial discrimination is a source of desperation that separates individuals from their treasured cultural identity. Ethnic identity comes along with differences in religious and cultural perceptions.
The Indians were bound to the rituals in their land that was integral in their life. For the years they had lived in the country, they had built stories that connected them to the Seneca culture.
Sadly, they were unsatisfied with 15 million, which could only cater for the compensation of the tangible loses (Lamont). What about the loss in their ways of life? They were voiceless in a country governed by white supremacy concept. Indeed, peace was no longer part of their lives since they had to fit the economic demands of the dominating community. The inequality for minority groups enslaves even the whites since they would not achieve national goals in an unstable society.
People have the power to change their society through nonviolence approaches. In the documentary, the Indians created a memorial day called “Remember the Removal,” which passes from one generation to another (Lamont). The day reveals the anger and grief of the community but it is necessary to show sovereignty of the Seneca people. Remembrance of the day creates awareness for the people to prevent recurrence of a similar maltreat. Although society sets the standards on expectations from the government, it is essential for the law to be a source of equality, especially on recognized agreements. Since the treaty existed, the government had the capability of forgoing development of hydropower to improve social welfare.
Racial discrimination results in the delayed economic development of a country. Firstly, a peaceful society means that some people are incapable of contributing to development programs. Also, the law is ineffective and serves the role of achieving economic goals at the expense of minority groups. However, recognition of social welfare as part of sustainable development would change the perception of people on ethnic differences and encourage inclusivity in society.
Work Cited
Lamont, Paul, Scott Sackett, Stephen McCarthy, Brent M. Davids, Gary Farmer, Martin Doyle, Michael H. Frisch, and Michael L. Oberg. Lake of Betrayal. , 2017.
