Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth Essay Example

Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth Paper Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth is a work containing elements of satire, portrayed through Thady. It is to these satiric elements that it owes much of its subtlety. Castle Rackrent is an achievement because of what lies in the subject matter and the narrative methods through which Maria Edgeworth presents her characterisation, language, imagery, tone and satire. These methods are wrapped in the subtlety that comes from total control. The most substantial and remarkable aspect about the novel is the subtlety of its implications. In her dealings with the Edgeworthstown tenants Maria Edgeworth gained first hand knowledge of Irish peasant life and of the peculiarities of Irish peasant character, which form the basis for the success of Castle Rackrent both as a social document and as a work of fiction. At the centre of Maria Edgeworths work is the Big House itself, which is the symbolic focus of the Protestant Ascendancys preoccupation with its own decline. The big house, the manor houses of the Anglo Irish ascendancy, are often used as a metaphor which might allow the author to explore the socially disintegrated world of the protestant ascendancy We will write a custom essay sample on Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Castle Rackrent was published in 1800, the first Big House novel set on an ascendancy estate, was the first Irish family chronicle, and the first fictional book to make Irish history and politics central to its story and theme. The critic Patrick Murray states that Maria Edgeworth allows many of her characters to reveal them selves by indirection. Thady is an outstanding example. It is interesting to observe how much we learn about Thady himself from his descriptions of other people, particularly when his feelings are strongly engaged. One of his more diverting habits is to praise or censure his various masters and their wives according to their generosity or meanness towards himself the classic attitude of the old retainer. This habit produces some extremely satiric and at times subtle effects. As well as being the first regional novel in English literature, Castle Rackrent has a strong claim to be considered the first of the saga novels, since it traces the fortunes of a single family through several generations. The novel has been often commended as a work of profound historical significance The most ironic word throughout the novel is the word faithful faithful Thady, the steward, who tells this tale, in the first person when he is beyond his eightieth year. So skilful is Maria that the quick and careless reader may finish the story without detecting the deviousness with which Thady had managed to turn his employers weaknesses to his own advantage. According to Patrick Murray Thady Quirk is commonly taken at his own valuation as an honest, faithful, unselfishly loyal servant who feels deeply for his ruined masters and is willing to excuse their worst failings. But on of the triumphs of Castle Rackrent is the subtly ambivalent presentation of the old steward. To regard him as an artless, simple-minded old man is to miss completely the wealth of irony, which pervades the whole narrative. The irony of Castle Rackrent is that Thadys much-vaunted loyalty to the Rackrents should be the principal means of his sons acquisition of their estates. The critic, Thomas Flanagan finds the novels acts and statements ambiguous and unsettling and comes to grips with the problem of Thady in a much more forthright matter: Thady is a partisan of the family, or rather, of the honour of the family. Only when the story is finished does the reader realise that Thady has his own wry view of the matter. Even so he does not fully understand the story, which he is telling. The meaning and passion with which he instinctively invests the words honour and loyalty lead him to bring forth evidence which prompts the reader to a quite different judgement of the Rackrents. Thady tells the story of the Rackrents with a hint of satire running through it. A memorable satiric piece within the novel made with Sir Kits cruel vengeance on his Jewish wife in having pig meat of all kinds brought to her table against her wishes, even though she has visited the cook in her kitchen for the precise purpose of averting this. Satirically, when she is unexpectedly released after seven years, by Sir Kits death, her first act is to sack the cook. Thomas Flanagan states that the effective satiric detail here is shown throughout the book, particularly in the first part, where the madness of the Rackrents seems to rage most wildly. Thady quirk is the most alive and complete of all Miss Edgeworths character creations and one critic has considered him The most subtly drawn and skilfully presented character in the whole course of the Irish novel. The reader is shown in the passage below the satiric nature that Thady portrays each character with. The swaggering Sir Kit, who throws a guinea to the servile Thady with such bravura, cuts a very different figure as he is brought home from his last duel up the avenue on the hand-barrow while his wife watches incredulously from her window, scarcely able to believe that the tables have been so thoroughly turned on her bizarre spouse. The alcoholically hospitable Sir Patrick is granted the final Irish accolade, a fine funeral, but just as all was going on right, through his own town they were passing, when the body was seized for debt. The litigious Sir Murtagh, so proud of his forensic capacities, is literally talked to death by his domestic opponent, the Skinflint widow, and bursts a blood vessel while the servants crown the back stairs to eavesdrop on his final apoplectic submissions. There is an unmistakable darkening of tone of the work in the second part the History of Sir Conolly Rackrent. Where the earlier Rackrents were tragic-comical characters, Sir Conolly is pitiable. The next incident illustrates the ambivalence in Maria Edgeworths presentation of Honest Thady. When Jason visits Sir Condy in the hunting lodge to pester him with a final piece of business. Sir Condy is asleep and Jason insists on seeing him at once but Thady seems to resist. Ill not be disturbing his honour for you, Jason, says I; manys the hour youve waited in your time, and been proud to do it, till his honour was a leisure to speak to you. His honour, says I, raising my voice, at which his honour wakens of his own accord, and calls to me from the room to know who it was I was speaking to. Jason made no more ceremony, but follows me into the room. Thadys raising his voice on recurrence of his honour is a fine satiric touch. This may serve as a rebuke to Jason or as a means of focusing the sick man so that Jason may wring the last penny out of the Rackrents before Sir Condy dies. Castle Rackrent has considerable historical importance. There is a good deal of evidence that represents Edgeworths attempts to capture the speech, rhythms and idioms of the Irish peasants with whom she came in contact. Maria Edgeworths novel confused fiction and history. In her preface to Castle Rackrent, Edgeworth attacked conventional histories as unreliable while claiming that the recollections of an Irish servant were more genuine and important as a historical record. Edgeworth claims that in her novel the civilisation of Irish life involved its Anglicisation in every facet and that she presented a stereotype of the native Irish, designed mainly to convince an English audience of the validity of her preferred approach. Edgeworths colonialism was a benevolent one and she stressed the amenability of the Irish character to this, and by contrast its degradation by the abrasive and tyrannical colonialism, which she felt still characterised Irish society. Her fascination with and delineation of, Irish character focussed on language, and in particular its exploitation as a mechanism of survival by the vulnerable servant. Thady makes an effective use of irony and uses it as a satiric weapon against Sir Murtaghs wife. She was a strict observer, for self and servants, of Lent and all fast-days, but not holidays. One of the maids having fainted three times the last day of Lent, to keep body and soul together we put a morsel of roast beef into her mouth, which came from Sir Murtaghs dinner, who never fasted, not he;. There are references of irony to Lent, fast days and holidays. Irony as a satiric weapon is effectively wielded by Thady to ridicule Sir Murtagh. Castle Rackrent is episodic in structure, but the consistent use of satire helps to lend consistency and unity to what might other wise be an ungainly collection of episodes and incidents randomly strung together. Maria Edgeworths title to Castle Rackrent is to minimize the readers alertness to the question of irony. Within the novel itself there is a body of evidence, which casts shadows upon the short title. Within the larger area of Irish culture one can find the material for an ironic interpretation even of the short title. Maria Edgeworth allows many of her characters to disclose themselves by indirection. Thady is an excellent example. We learn a lot about Thady from his portrayal of other people, particularly when his feelings are strongly engaged. One of his diverting habits is to praise his various masters and their wives according to their generosity towards himself. This produces several extremely comic, and subtle effects. Maria Edgeworths chief purpose is to tell an entertaining story, and consequently she does with enthusiasm. As well as being a regional novel, a saga novel, and a social and historical document, Castle Rackrent is a work containing elements of satire. It is in fact to these satirical elements that it owes much of its subtlety. There is some doubt as to whether Maria Edgeworth intended this novel to be anything but a comical revelation of the Rackrent family and its failings by using the tragic happenings of each family member to portray what could only be described as a work of satire. Maria Edgeworth presents her characterisation, language, imagery, tone and satire, all wrapped in the subtlety that is portrayed throughout the novel.

Privatize Social Security essays

Privatize Social Security essays Privatize Social Security: Americans are Smart Enough to Invest for Themselves The beginning of the 20th century was a very hard time for America and its citizens. After the Industrial Revolution and the Great War came the Great Depression. The economy was crashing, and crashing fast; the stock market crashed twice in one week, thousands of people were laid off, and businesses went bankrupt. These were definitely the hardest of times and the people were looking for help. On June 8, 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt announces to congress that he intended to provide a program for Social Security. He created the Committee on Economic Security to study the entire problem of the economy and to provide any recommendations that would help congress make a legislative consideration. In early January 1935, the committee gave the report to Roosevelt and on January 17 he presented it to congress. On August 14, 1935 the Social Security Act was pass into law by President Roosevelt. The act was to help people in need of general welfare and pay retired worker s age 65 or older a continuing income after retirement. The program later change to include unemployment insurance, old-age assistance, aid to dependant children, and grants to states for medical care. In 1939, the program was amended to include payments to the spouse and minor children and survivors benefits pay in the event the worker suffered a premature death. This is pretty much what Americans know as Social Security today and the program has been relatively unchanged since it was stared over sixty years ago (Social Security History). This program was definitely needed during these hard times; no one can really argue that. However, most people today discuss Social Security more than ever: it is argued in congress, it is talked about on the news, and it is debated in political elections. Americans feel that they can do better investing their hard-earned money t...

Trading Simulation Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Trading Simulation Assignment - Essay Example From the research it is clear that foreign exchange trading has gained a lot of popularity in the twenty first century, where it has grown to the worth of over USD 3.5 trillion. This has attracted many investors, who are interested in earning returns on their investment. In order to offer delineation to factors that affect the forex market outlined below is a report on trading in futures market, with currency pair, the Sterling pound (GPB) ant United States dollars (USD) GPB/USD. Having specified the spot loss point together with the take profit, this acted as the bench mark in trading so to manage my portfolio effective and avoid cases where I incur excessive losses. This implied that, in order to ensure the value of the portfolio does not follow below the pre-specified rate, constant evaluation of information and other factors that would affect the value of the portfolio were critically analyzed as delineated in the by the daily monitoring of the market below. In addition, it was n ecessary to evaluate the growth of the various portfolios by calculating the percentage return obtained from holding such stock, as outlined in table below. This would ensure us to validate our previous trading strategy in an effort to revise the accordingly to ensure that they are not viable but also valid. As shown in the research the second trade has the highest figure showing that at this period implying this portfolio can increase returns than any other portfolio. In the first trade, the information ration was observed to be – 0.0006, when compared with initial benchmark shows that, the economics news which was the basis of the strategies taken were invalid. In the second trade the information was the highest and even higher that the benchmark, due to expectation on effect of economics news to the direction of the market. Compared to the other trade, third performed fairly as compared to other trades due inadequacy of economics news that would strongly influence the dire ction of the market. In addition to these, what if analysis was conducted so as to ascertain the effect of economic information to the prices prevailing in the market. What if analysis (scenario analysis) involved development of scenarios that is Best scenario, worst scenario and base scenario. Another aspect that was employed in order to effective manage the asset portfolio was the decision, not to invest all the capital at hand. If I all the capital I had then, in the event of loss I would be forced to borrow more resources so as reinstate the maintenance margin account. So as to ascertain the value of portfolio each time the market value of the portfolio was ascertained and deviations from the base price of future which was

Global Business and IMF Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Global Business and IMF - Essay Example The Great Depression and the two World Wars gave a great setback to the greatest nations of the world. Shook by these disasters, delegates from 44 countries met in July 1944 at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire in U.S.A. and agreed on a framework for â€Å"economic cooperation party† (Clift, 2004). The IMF was conceived in that meeting, whose primary agenda was to avoid those inconsistent economic policies that led to the Great Depression of 1930s. It background was the pursuit of flawed economic policies, like increased restriction on imports and freedom to buy in other countries, dwindling gold and foreign exchange reserves and even devaluation of currencies, which together contributed to worsening the downward spiral in output, world trade and the overall employment rate. All these steps devastated the international economy, leading to a sharp decline in trade, world output, employment and living standards (Dicken, 1986). Hence in order to restore the international monetary relations, the IMF emerged after the constitution of a charter (Articles of Agreement) by the country representatives. Its purpose was the establishment of an international institution, which could overlook the international monetary system and guide the member countries to pursue appropriate economic policies. It officially came into existence in December 1945, when 29 countries signed the Articles of Agreement (IMF). Since then, IMF has strictly pursued its original purposes, which became more important with the expansion of more countries. Any country, regardless of being a member of UN or not, is eligible for membership of the IMF. The membership largely depends on the terms prescribed by the Board of Directors of IMF. However, a country has to agree to financial policies economic growth and reasonable price stability. Furthermore, the country has to provide the IMF with economic data, which it will regularly analyse. After reviewing and monitoring

Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 11

Management - Essay Example This paper identifies how increased competitiveness creates opportunities for change and how it impacts the manager’s role. One particular management theorist suggests that contemporary managers, in the face of rising competition, must be results-oriented by identifying specific goals as part of the planning process, measure whether these goals have been achieved, and determine whether or not the end results led to peak effectiveness and efficiency (McLean, 2006: 16). This suggests a manager who must make careful use of internal strategy whereby goals are identified and internal staff members are aligned to meet business needs as part of a planning model. Effective measurement of whether goals have been attained could include a total performance management system which provides employees with reward for maximum contribution toward meeting goals or offering criticism or training in the face of subordinate inability to assist the business. As one example, it would seem that in an environment where a business has a great deal of external competition, the manager must remain focused on achieving maximum prod uctivity by effectively controlling the activities of workers and assessing their progress. Additionally, employees seem to be a considerable resource for making a company more competitive. McHenry (2008) identifies that increased competition also comes in the form of whether or not a business sustains top talent under a talent management model. This model suggests that managers must consistently assess the business structure to look for opportunities to motivate staff members to meet long-term goals. The author identifies that effective talent management, as part of management planning, involves maximising career opportunities for workers and also assessing whether the current recruitment and selection criteria is designed to bring the business top talent over that of competing businesses (McHenry). This talent management model would seem to point

Intervention Approach To Promote Fatherhood In Schools Social Work Essay

Intervention Approach To Promote Fatherhood In Schools Social Work Essay An Intervention Approach to Promote Fatherhood in Schools: Acquiring the Generalist Intervention Model, the Mandala Ecosystem Health Model, Urie Bronfenbrenner Ecological Systems Theory and Egan Skilled Helper Model An Intervention Approach to Promote Fatherhood in Schools: Acquiring the Generalist Intervention Model, the Mandala Ecosystem Health Model, Urie Bronfenbrenner ecological systems theory and Egan Helper Model As part of a university-based consultant, this intervention paper seeks to address its issue on organizing a program aimed at engaging fathers/ bringing fathers/ more males into the Catholic College to promote the importance of fatherhood by introducing relevant and effective programs to benefit the local community. The school was formed in 2008 and began as a School in a Shopping Centre. Currently, within the school, around 50% of students live in single-parent homes or with a step-parent. Additionally, around 25% of students have a history of experiencing abuse within the family. The Mandala Health model, Urie Bronfenbrenner ecological systems theory, Egan skilled helper model and the GIM models are to assist me in the planning and suggestion process of delivering an intervention that promotes Australian governments Stronger Families and Communities strategy announced in the 1999-2000 Federal budget. My intervention approach Since, the school wants to promote fatherhood, I as a consultant suggests that in order to increase fathers actively-involved with childs life, the school could give out consent form informing activities such as sports day carnival, fun-fair, etc which fathers could participate in to promote or build bonds with the child instead of just being the sole breadwinner of the household. Let them know that small little things could make a difference in a childs growing up process. It is not just having stable financial income which makes the child happy. In addition, introducing scores charts which motivate their child to inform their fathers on upcoming activities. Whoever fathers participated in the event would be awarded with food vouchers .These vouchers can then be exchanged for free food in the canteen. For scores wise, well based on the top 5% who has meet the requirement and be awarded with token of appreciation; give recognition to fathers effort. What were the stages you went through in the planning process? Describe the activities undertaken. The Generalist Intervention Model is an intervention/practice model that includes all systems (micro, macro and mezzo) by providing a systematic approach to undertake the change process in addressing the issue. The following aforementioned are the processes: Engagement. Establishing rapport relationships and effective communication by greeting the client regardless of whether one is pursuing micro, mezzo or macro change, the fundamentals of doing so is to build good rapport or a trustworthy relationship with clients and target system to produce basic communication. Engagement is inclusive of verbal and non-verbal communication and genuineness to engage clients the helping process (Hull and Kirst-Ashman, 2004). Assessment. Identification of client by defining whether it is individual, family, group, organization or community by identifying one based on all aspects mentioned above. Even though it sounded simple, to recognize who my client is, may become blurred and vague, as I have to question these following questions. Who is my client? Who are the ones that needed my help? Is it just an individual or the entire family is my client instead (Hull and Kirst-Ashman, 2004). Assess the client-in-situation and identify issues. Four major aspects are considered such as micro, mezzo and macro levels. Each aspects must be defined and identify strengths in the element of human diversity. Micro aspects. Exploring the criticality of the problems, causation of the problem, client strengths and and how to improve to better one lives (Hull and Kirst-Ashman, 2004). Planning. Defining the problems and plan which to prioritize. Implementation. Carrying out the discussed plans to achieve client goal. Consistent monitoring and assessing of progress during implementation to ensure client stays on track. Sometimes, it might affect the plan in terms of its situation, conditions or issues. Evaluation. Practitioners must be accountable for their intervention by proving its effectiveness. Evaluating of each goal that has been achieved to determine whether the case should be terminated or reassess to create new goals. Termination and follow-up. Do not establish attachment with the client upon termination. As a saying goes teaching one the techniques of fishing rather than providing one fishes every time which denotes disengage with the person upon the client being stabilized after this intervention ends (Hull and Kirst-Ashman, 2004). What models of planning did you adopt for planning? Refer to relevant literature. The Generalist Intervention model proposed by Hull and Ashman (2004) which involves the eight steps of planning: Work with the client Prioritize problems Translate problems into needs Evaluate levels of intervention for each need Establish goals Specify objectives Specify action steps Formalize a contract Work with the client. Working with the client by involving the client with the problem, definition of the problem which the client perceived a problem as the top priority compared to other problems faced. On the other hand, practitioners have to take into account of the clients strengths during the planning process to prevent dispute among one another. Prioritize problems. Provide priority for each problems what others or practitioners think is most significant might not be significant to the client for the problem to rank as top priority. For example, firstly, fatherhood; engage more fathers/stepfathers in caring, nurturing their children. Secondly, school providing high-quality education and facilities for students. Translate problems into needs. Initially, client suffered from the problems. Hence, as practitioners/consultants, we got to provide solutions to assist in problem-solving. Needless to say, this simple step in planning aids in reorganizing our thoughts on current situation in order to decide on appropriate solutions. Evaluate levels of intervention (micro, mezzo, and macro). Accentuating one client needs at a time by beginning with those ranked as highest priority. Discussion on alternative solutions with the client may focus on the micro, mezzo, or macro level of transformation. For example, involving what can the individual do at the micro-level by providing alternate methods targeting on behavioural management. Establish goals. Charting out goals that are feasible for clients with regards on how to proceed with the intervention. For instance, to build a full-pledged school that benefits the local community. Specify objectives. Goals specificity in identifying what needs to be achieved, how do I go about achieving the goals and meeting my client needs? Therefore, stating explicit objectives helps to provide specification in our objectives. Specify action steps. These steps represent the clarity of the goals and the completion of the goals by moving towards achieving the objectives. Action steps helps to monitor and reassess our clients actions. Noteworthy to note that failure to complete important action steps leads to failure to attain objectives and clients goals. Formalize a contract with the client. Bring in a contract working agreement that is negotiable with the client and others involved in the process. A contract formalizes the agreement between client and practitioner and clarifying both expectations. An array of items includes the financial fees, terms and conditions involved in the intervention. Supposedly, clients should be actively-involved with developing the conditions in the contract. Understandable terms must be used in the contract rather than technical jargons which client doesnt understand easily. Additionally, this contract differs from legal contracts in terms of its flexibility to clients changing needs or conditions. Did you use ecosystemic principles in planning, and if so, what principles were used and how? The Mandala of Health: a health model of the human ecosystem As the Mandala Health model has been on-going in the early 1980s, it has gained worldwide acceptance in the medical and psychological association. This model conveys that the interaction of culture with environment aids one in understanding the human ecology. The outer level of the Mandala highlights our living planet encompassing the culture and the biosphere. Holistically, health of the individual consists of spirit, body and mind dimensions. The system that is surrounding the individual is the family and community aspects while beside the body and mind, makeup of the sick-care system and work. In between the four sides of the circle, contains personal behaviour, psycho-socio economic environment, human biology and physical environment (Hancock, 1993). Ultimately, this model should be as seen as a multi-disciplinary use, flexible and dynamic in which various element transform based on individual needs (Hancock, 1993). Conversely, to solidify the theorys practical framework, I would prefer Bronfenbrenners Ecological Systems Theory as it defines as complex layers of environment, each having an effect on a persons development. Recently, this theory has been renamed bioecological systems theory to emphasize that a persons own biological predisposition is a primary environment fueling their development (Santiago, 2004). The interaction between factors in the persons maturing biology, their immediate family and community environment, and the societal landscape fuels and steers their development. Changes or conflict in any one layer will ripple throughout other layers. To understand fathers needs in the transitions, we must look not only at the fathers but as well as the students and their immediate environment, but also in all environment dimensions of interaction as well. Egan helping model and the outcomes Egan skilled helper model is reflected in my planning process and outcomes. It is not based on a particular theory of personality development, or on a theory of the ways difficulties develop. It is a framework for conceptualizing the helping process, and is best used in working on issues in the recent past and the present. As with any model, it provides a map, which can be used in exploring and navigating, but which is not the territory itself. The Egan model and mentoring are not synonymous; the model can be used in many kinds of helping relationships, and mentoring/co-mentoring can be done using other models or just solely one. The model can and should be used flexibly. The model works best if attention is paid to Rogers core conditions, the helpers approach to the speaker being based on genuineness, respect, and empathy, and if principles of good active listening are remembered throughout. Three main questions were posed to the speaker on Egan model: What is going on? Utilizing the school to the benefit of the local community Organized a program aimed at engaging fathers/bringing fathers/more males into the school Abuse cases found in childrens family lives What do I want instead? Include the staff without appearing to create more work for them Increase the involvement of fathers/grandfathers/stepfathers within the school community How might I get to what I want? Ensure they do not burnout by having a work-life balance in their lives for parents, teachers, and principal Provide student services and counseling facilities Strength and weaknesses of the planning model Theoretically, this theory is versatile, well developed and extremely useful. In contrast, interviewers and consultants have to be highly-competent to adopt the Hull and Kirst-Ashman Generalist Intervention model (GIM) as it emphasize on client strengths rather on weaknesses which perhaps, the person could be intellectually-disabled which might lead to misjudging the persons strengths. Hypothetically, coping strategies, moderation and mediation elements were not covered in the planning model which leads to burnout among organization. In terms of cultural differences, different organizations have certain values or mission and protocol for individuals to adhere. Consultants have to be highly-cultural competence to work effectively with clients of different racial backgrounds, ethnics and various cultures when acquiring the planning model. Also, consultants have to take note not to make automatic assumptions about diverse group in the social environment. They must strive to develop self-awareness and appreciate human differences in an individual in order not to be bias towards to their diagnosis when implementing the model to their client case.

Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest in the Decade of the World’s Indigenous Populations :: Essays Papers

Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest in the Decade of the World’s Indigenous Populations Introduction On 1 January 1994, the Mayan peoples of Chiapas, Mexico participated in an armed uprising in protest of the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Following a strong trend of harassment, and mistreatment of Mexico’s indigenous populations, the implementation of NAFTA all but abolished the land claims of Mexico’s Indians. The Zapatista uprising, as it has been termed, brought global attention to the indigenous human rights violations in Mexico, and consequently, a strong interest in the plight of the world’s indigenous peoples resulted in the global community. In a 1994 U.N. orchestrated commission on the rights of the world’s indigenous populations, it was concluded that an increase in international cooperation for the solution of problems faced by indigenous peoples was necessary for improvement of their condition across such areas as environment and natural resources, health, education, and human rights. As a result, the U.N. High Commissioner on Human Rights declared the years 1995-2004 to be the Decade of the World’s Indigenous Populations. The theme of the decade was to be â€Å"partnership in action†, and the main objectives were to strengthen the role of the international community in enforcing international human rights treaties, to promote the discovery of viable solutions to Indigenous-State conflicts through mediation, discussion, and cooperation, and to draft a declaration of the rights of indigenous people. In this paper, I will analyze the amount of progress that has been made in the Native American condition in relation to U.S. government cooperation with the First Nations, with a specific focus on the tribes of the Pacific Northwest. I will begin with a brief, but comprehensive history of U.S.-Native American relations, with a focus on U.S. government policy. Next, I will conduct a case study of the Pacific Northwest, specifically dealing with how the global pressure of the Decade has impacted treaty negotiations and multi-lateral cooperation in the fishing industry, forest service, and tribal gaming. I will then discuss parallels that can be drawn from the cooperation of Maori tribes with the government of New Zealand in the last decade. Finally, I will discuss the unmet needs for the improvement of the indigenous condition, and conclude with an evaluation of the relative progress the Decade has had specifically in the United States, and more generally in the global community. A History of U.