As a White American, I have been virtually unaware of the harsh living conditions that Native Americans have been enduring. This past summer I was fishing and camping at a resort in northwestern Minnesota with my family. I realized that this resort was located on the White Earth Indian Reservation. As I drove around the towns that the resort was near, I saw that the Native Americans were terribly poverty-stricken. Besides the resort that my family and I were staying at and a small casino that was nearby, most of the buildings and houses were in poor condition. The majority of the houses were trailers and not something that I would call “livable.” This raised a few questions in my mind: Why are people on Indian reservations living this way and what other things besides housing are Native Americans lacking? As I began research on these questions, I found three major issues. Poverty, health, and education are three tribulations that, at this point, remain broken on American Indian reservations. Although poverty rates on some reservations are getting better because of gambling enterprises and natural resources, most reservations have unusually high poverty rates. In 2000, the poverty rate of the entire United States was about 11.3%. Compare that to a 25.9% poverty rate for Native Americans living on reservations. The poverty rate of Native Americans in 2000 was higher than the peak of the poverty rate of the Great Depression, which was 21.7% (Native American Statistics”). This statistic alone shows that Native Americans are not doing well financially. Location is a significant factor that determines how economically well certain reservations are doing. Reservations that are located in places with abundant natural resources and near metropolitan areas, tend to do better than reservations in remote areas. This is because with more resources available and more people to support businesses, the economy is more likely to thrive. For reservations that are located in places with few resources and in remote areas, there is a lack of opportunity. Jobs are less available and the unemployment rate is high. This pertains to most reservations in the United States (Alvarez). In the United States, the unemployment rate in 2010 was 9.6%. The unemployment rate for Native Americans in the same year was 21.3% (“Labor Force Statistics”). Not only is there a dramati... ... middle of paper ... ...eb. 20 Sept. 2012. . "American Indian & Alaska Native Populations." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2012. . Bouchard, Jen. "Native American Education and Employment." Suite101.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2012. . "Labor Force Statistics." Bureau of Labor Statistics Data. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2012. . "Living Conditions | American Indian Relief Council." Living Conditions | American Indian Relief Council. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2012. . "Native American Statistics." N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2012. . "Status and Trends in the Education of American Indians and Alaska Natives." National Center for Educational Statistics. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2012. .
The population of Native Americans living in poverty is double compared to the U.S overall population rate living in poverty. Williams wrote, “Unemployment is extremely high (90%on some Canadian reserves during winter months), and income levels are extremely low.” Federal housing program often allow Native Americans to be able to afford housing at low cost, but are not considered to be the best living conditions. Reservations are often located in rural areas where it is hard to obtain employment due to location and where access to resources is limited. In the article mentioned above Williams wrote, “Run down trailers and shacks are not uncommon.”(P.386) This kind of housing can be almost unlivable and sometimes even dangerous. It’s even common to see living situation without basic utilities of electricity or water in remote areas (Williams,
Sonneborn, Liz. A to Z of Native American Women. New York: Facts on File, 1998.
American Indians have had health disparities as result of unmet needs and historical traumatic experiences that have lasted over 500 hundred years.1(p99) Since first contact American Indians have been exposed to infectious disease and death2(p19), more importantly, a legacy of genocide, legislated forcible removal, reservation, termination, allotment, and assimilation3. This catastrophic history had led to generational historical traumas and contributes to the worst health in the United States.2 American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) represent 0.9 percent of the United States population4(p3) or 1.9 million AI/AN of 566 federally recognized tribes/nations.5 American Indians/Alaska Natives have significantly higher mortality rates of intentional and unintentional injuries, chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease and chronic lower respiratory disease than other American.6
Grinde, Donald, and Bruce Johansen. Ecocide of Native America: Environmental Destruction of Indian Lands and Peoples. Santa Fe, NM: Clear Light Publishers, 1995. Print.
A long family tree of mistreatment and undue suffering in addition to present lack of resources and poverty has resulted in considerable distress among tribal members and families living within the majority of reservations today. As a result of such distress and despair, many Native American families living in reservations have been torn apart as alcohol, drugs and family violence have become rampant within their communities. Furthermore, the inaccessibility of most reservations combined with lack of resources proves challenging to provide proper housing for families. In addition, the American Indians make up a minority of the least educated, sickest and poorest people within our country. Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for Native American youths in the 15-24 age group and 2.5 times the national rate.
"Native American Youth 101." Aspen Institue. Aspen Institues, 24 July 11. Web. 8 Apr. 2014.
Basso’s carries out his research in a Western Apache community situated in east-central Arizona in Navajo County. He conducts the research over a period of sixteen months between 1964 and 1969. Basso specifically observes specifically a settlement called ‘Cibecue’ that he regards as a small community of about 800 people. The society is largely agrarian; agriculture, rearing cattle, and doing some work for wages are the common outlets of earning. Basso notes the high unemployment rate in the community, a factor that still affects the Cibecue society; therefore, many of the community’s residents live in substandard conditions and rely on government subsidies and welfare checks.
While some may not see, are well informed or closely effected by what Native Americans have gone through for centuries it is not as if the problem has gone away, it is still occurring, just not broadcasted or talked about in the news. Most people are aware or knowledgeable of what has occurred when it comes to Native Americans in general but not so much on what some still go through or how hard it may have been on them through the decades. For some Native Americans it has been difficult adjusting to the changes around them when it came to having to continually move along with when it came to associating with settlers or people outside their tribe, which would be straining on their culture. In An Indian Father’s Plea, Robert Lake suggests that
McMaster, Gerald, and Trafzor, Clifford E. eds. Native universe Voices of Indian America. Washington D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2008. Print
The prevalence of poverty in Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is driving force in better understanding the development of the characters and the plot. Not only is this issue illustrated within the novel, but it is a hardship faced by Native American reservations all across the United States. The novel shows not only how poverty can impact one individual, but also how poverty is a reoccurring issue that can make a mark on entire families and communities. The question that begs to be asked: What caused many Native American reservations to be put in this constant state of retrogression in regards to poverty and money? In order to answer this question, it is
Sandefur, G. (n.d.). American Indian reservations: The first underclass areas? Retrieved April 28, 2014, from http://www.irp.wisc.edu/publications/focus/pdfs/foc121f.pdf
of Native American Culture as a Means of Reform,” American Indian Quarterly 26, no. 1
People have been living in America for countless years, even before Europeans had discovered and populated it. These people, named Native Americans or American Indians, have a unique and singular culture and lifestyle unlike any other. Native Americans were divided into several groups or tribes. Each one tribe developed an own language, housing, clothing, and other cultural aspects. As we take a look into their society’s customs we can learn additional information about the lives of these indigenous people of the United States.
Spangenburg, Ray, and Moser, Diane K. The American Indian Experience. New York: Facts on File Inc., 1997.
You would assume that our government puts appropriate effort to maintain economic security for the people living in these reservations; Not only because the enormous amount of land they occupy but because of the brutal history of the two (U.S government and Indian Americans). But that is false, 28.3% of American Indians live in poverty by far the most of any single race in the U.S.