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42 <br />NATIVE AMERICAN/ALASKA NATIVE Focus Group Themes <br /> <br /> <br />Characteristics of Racism <br />• Not comfortable speaking for my entire tribe. <br />• New Agers take over your culture, get upset and defensive when questioned. <br />• Very few places are native-friendly. <br />• “I avoid Country Fair because I do not want to be token Indian.” <br />• “I take Halloween off each year” people with headdresses, blackface. “Jovial Racist Day” <br />• “I thought you were all wiped out. How did you survive?” <br />• Told to wash my skin. <br />• Stereotype all tribes as getting lots of money. <br />• Movies create stereotypes. <br />• Images of Plains savage kind of Indian. When you vary from that, people question your identity. Most of what <br />people know is inaccurate. <br />• People have romantic notion of who NAs are and how they dress. <br />• Native men are put down. <br />• There is bias when you are recognized as native. <br />• A lot of NA people shot and killed in Eugene in the past, seen as “justified” and not racism. This memory lives on in <br />the NA community. <br />• When you come from a place where everyone is family and then you come here and everyone is alone, you are <br />treated like you are bad. <br /> <br /> <br />Intersectionality <br />• White women murdered or missing get media attention, not women who are POC. <br /> <br /> <br />Institutional Expressions of Racism <br /> <br />City of Eugene <br />• If you go to parks to meet other NA do not go by yourself—it’s safer. <br />• Not many parks that are friendly. <br /> <br />Across the Community <br /> <br />Police <br />• In Whitaker “Planet” called police on NA girls renting lower level; person is afraid of POC; police question POC, <br />not complainant. <br />• Don’t trust police with complaints; they say we are overreacting. <br />• Mistreatment of NAs is not reported on – we know it won’t be handled appropriately, such a high profile town with <br />Ducks and Olympic Trials publicity. <br />• There is a lot of distrust of police. <br />• I do not trust police; I would never invite police to my home ever. <br /> <br />Businesses <br />• Saturday Market, hippy places, are not comfortable for NAs. <br />• In Market of Choice, asked where products are, as though she works there. <br />• Looked at like a criminal—don’t belong here. <br />• Am followed around at malls and stores, asked, “Can I help you?” – or ignored if you have a question or want to buy <br />something. <br />• Frequently get served last in restaurant, forget food, napkins, something. <br />• Don’t know what to do with you when you walk in a restaurant; jaws drop. <br /> <br />Housing <br /> <br />Jobs <br />September 12, 2018, Work Session - Item 1