Editor’s Note: This article is part of Native News Online’s America 250: A Republic Built on Native Land initiative.
As the United States marks its 250th anniversary, Native News Online asked readers a simple but revealing question: What grade would you give America?
Conducted during this past week from Tuesday to Friday, the question asked:
“If you were to grade America (A, B, C, D, or F) on how well the nation is living up to the ideal that “all men are created equal” at the 250th anniversary of the United States, what grade would you give it?”
The survey, leading up to Independence Day, drew 460 responses. The survey did not ask participants to identify as Native American or non-Native.
The responses paint a sobering picture of how many Native News Online readers view the nation’s record. Rather than celebrating the milestone with unqualified pride, respondents overwhelmingly expressed disappointment with the country’s performance, particularly in its treatment of Indigenous peoples and its adherence to the ideals it claims to uphold.
More than half (55%) gave the United States an F, while another 32% assigned a D. Together, 87% of participants awarded the nation a grade of D or F.
Only 3.9% gave America an A or B, while 9.1% assigned a C.
Related: What Grade Does America Deserve? Native Leaders Weigh In on Equality at 250
The results suggest a profound gap between the nation’s founding promises and the lived experiences of many Native people whose ancestors have endured centuries of land being stolen, broken treaties, forced assimilation, and ongoing challenges to tribal sovereignty.
The findings come as Native News Online’s America 250 initiative examines the nation’s anniversary through an Indigenous lens. For many Native Americans, the story of the United States cannot be separated from the history of the Native nations that occupied this continent long before 1776. As the country reflects on two and a half centuries of independence, this survey offers a glimpse into how readers believe America is measuring up—and how far it still has to go to fulfill its stated ideals of liberty, justice, and equality for all.
The sentiment that America has not lived up the ideals on which the country was founded, extends beyond Native Americans.
A new PBS News/NPR/Marist poll finds that most Americans believe the United States has drifted away from the ideals on which it was founded as the nation approaches its 250th anniversary. According to the survey, 83% of U.S. adults say America has moved away from its founding principles, including 47% who believe the country has moved “far away” and 36% who say it has moved “somewhat away.” Only 16% of respondents said the nation still largely represents those ideals.
Despite those concerns, a majority of Americans continue to express pride in their country. The poll found that 65% of adults are either “very proud” or “proud” to be American, while 35% said they are “not too proud” or “not proud at all.”
The findings underscore a tension that is likely to shape conversations around the nation’s semiquincentennial celebration: many Americans remain proud of their country while simultaneously believing it has fallen short of the principles of liberty, equality, and justice that it claims to represent.
For Native Americans, whose histories often highlight the gap between the nation’s founding rhetoric and its treatment of Indigenous peoples, the poll’s results may resonate with longstanding concerns about whether the United States has lived up to its stated ideals.
