Contemporary issues

Main article: Contemporary Native American issues in the United States

Native American struggles amid poverty to maintain life on the reservation or in larger society have resulted in a variety of health issues, some related to nutrition and health practices. The community suffers a vulnerability to and disproportionately high rate of alcoholism.^[143]

It has long been recognized that Native Americans are dying of diabetes, alcoholism, tuberculosis, suicide, and other health conditions at shocking rates. Beyond disturbingly high mortality rates, Native Americans also suffer a significantly lower health status and disproportionate rates of disease compared with all other Americans. — U.S. Commission on Civil Rights^[144] (September 2004)

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Societal discrimination and racism

Further information: Stereotypes of Native Americans

A discriminatory sign posted above a bar. Birney, Montana, 1941

Chief Plenty Coups and seven Crow prisoners under guard at Crow agency. Montana, 1887

In a study conducted in 2006–2007, non-Native Americans admitted they rarely encountered Native Americans in their daily lives. While sympathetic toward Native Americans and expressing regret over the past, most people had only a vague understanding of the problems facing Native Americans today. For their part, Native Americans told researchers that they believed they continued to face prejudice, mistreatment, and inequality in the broader society.^[145]

Affirmative action issues

Federal contractors and subcontractors, such as businesses and educational institutions, are legally required to adopt equal opportunity employment and affirmative action measures intended to prevent discrimination against employees or applicants for employment on the basis of "color, religion, sex, or national origin".^[146][147] For this purpose, a Native American is defined as "A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America), and who maintains a tribal affiliation or community attachment". However, self-reporting is permitted: "Educational institutions and other recipients should allow students and staff to self-identify their race and ethnicity unless self-identification is not practicable or feasible."^[148]
Self-reporting opens the door to "box checking" by people who, despite not having a substantial relationship to Native American culture, innocently or fraudulently check the box for Native American.^[149]

Native American mascots in sports

Main article: Native American mascot controversy

A student acting as Chief Osceola, the Florida State University mascot

American Indian activists in the United States and Canada have criticized the use of Native American mascots in sports, as perpetuating stereotypes.
Many universities and professional sports teams no longer use such images. Examples include Stanford University, which changed from Indians to Cardinal in 1972; Miami University, which switched from Redskins to RedHawks in 1997; and the NBA's Golden State Warriors, who originally used Native American-themed logos but have not since 1971.
However, controversy has remained regarding teams such as the NFL's Washington Redskins, whose name is considered to be a racial slur, and MLB's Cleveland Indians, whose usage of a caricature called Chief Wahoo has diminished but not ended altogether.
Some tribal team names have been approved by the tribe in question, such as the Seminole Tribe of Florida's approving use of their name for the teams of Florida State University.^[150][151]