Four Major Effects Of Poverty In The Native American Community

Poverty is a problem the whole world struggles with; some are affected more than others. Minorities tend to be the ones that can be affected the worse within countries. The United States is no different in this trend; this country’s minorities are affected by poverty just like in any country. There are three minorities in specific that are largely affected by poverty here in the United States. The three minorities would be; Native Americans, African Americans, and Hispanic Americans. There any many factors that make these minorities suffer with poverty. Often these factors are the same that cause poverty. Each minority has their own group of factors that affect their quality of life. There are four major effects of poverty on these minorities;

This can be seen in various ways. As of 2011, there were over 120,000 tribal homes lacking access to basic water sanitation services (EPA, 2012). Meaning that the health within the community is not at its best due to the poverty. The quality of life is also failing. The NCAI states that “More than 60% of the roads within the Indian Reservation Roads system are earth or gravel. Nearly a quarter of IRR bridges are classified as deficient” (NCAI, 2012). Also the Housing assistance council says “The percentage of homes that are overcrowded on reservations is 3-6 times higher than the percentage of overcrowded homes in the U.S. as a whole”. Native Americans also struggle in education due to poverty. Such as the Education Trust Statistics states that “Native students are the only student population that did not improve their reading and math testing scores in grades 4 and 8 from 2005-2011. High school graduation rates are also among the lowest of any population. In the states with the most American Indian and Alaska Native students, less than 50% of Native students graduate, on average”. The Bureau of Labor explains “Native Americans have the lowest employment rate of any racial or ethnic group in the United States. In the poorest Native countries, only about 1/3 of men in Native American communities have full-time, year-round employment. Which means both education and employment

The health in Hispanic communities is considered poor this is not due to factors that are prevalent in other minorities but due to the lack of access to health care and health care coverage. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health explains “It is significant to note that Hispanics have the highest uninsured rates of any racial or ethnic group within the United States.” With this issue leads lower health rates. Living conditions are also low within the Hispanic community this is due to the lack of funds available to the community. It leads back to not having enough income. Therefore housing is not adequate and often overpopulated to save cost. This has bad implications because it ties back to health and safety. Education for Hispanics can be difficult; often because of the language barrier and the inadequate amount of assistance available to those who need it to further their education. The unemployment rate is not as low as other minorities but as DOL report elaborates “One factor that may explain why Latino labor force outcomes lag behind those of their white counterparts is educational attainment. As is true for all racial and ethnic groups, the link between greater educational attainment and improved employment outcomes remains strong”. Which means if the education within the Hispanic community was higher