Rampant poverty has done as much to destabilize native North America as broken treaties, wars of annexation, and forced relocation. As a cultural group, Native Americans rank among the poorest in the nation. Despite population growth and a modicum of financial security enjoyed by a few larger tribes, poverty levels have reached epidemic proportion among many native communities. Even as population figures demonstrate a marked increase in recent years, most tribes suffer the ravages of poverty and all of its indignities. If left unchecked, population figures will once more decline and these tribes could stand on the brink of extinction.
Reservation Life
Contrary to modern misconception, not every tribe operates a multi-million dollar casino or controls the mineral rights to a treasure trove of natural resources contained within its borders. These are the successes of a few tribes who managed to turn their relocation and federally imposed isolation into a financial windfall. There are 5 million Native Americans in the United States. 700,000 live on one of 334 federally recognized reservations. Among those inhabitants, 28% live in dire poverty. This statistic alone is staggering when compared to the national average. Of those not living on reservation lands, a further 22% endure financial hardships, poor health, and high unemployment levels. Native communities struggle to maintain cohesion amid these difficult circumstances.
A History of Abuse
When forced to abandon their lands, native tribes signed treaties with the United States. While the exact negotiations with each tribe varied, all of these treaties promised remuneration for expenses incurred from relocation as well as generous pensions for the following years. Many of these treaties were broken before the ink upon them dried. In an effort to obtain these promised funds, many tribes applied directly to representatives of the government of the United States. Their appeals were either ignored or simply rejected outright. Those tribes who managed to take their case to the Supreme Court were also summarily dismissed. Thus began a long road of seemingly impossible odds. Despite gains from grassroots movements throughout the 1960s and class action lawsuits in the 1990s, many native tribes still struggle with obtaining basic services. The road to financial security has been long and fraught with setbacks. Within the confines of the reservation, many tribes have suffered in silence. Thanks to efforts of a dedicated few, they remain silent no longer.
Sources
Lars Anderson, Carlisle vs. Army: Jim Thorpe, Dwight Eisenhower, Pop Warner, and the Forgotten Story of Football’s Greatest Battle. (New York; Random House, 2007).
Mark C. Carnes, Ed., U.S. History. (New York: Macmillan Library Reference, 1996).
Peter Matthiessen, Ed., George Catlin: North American Indians. (New York: Penguin Books, 1989).
Carl Waldman, The North American Indian. (New York: Checkmark Books, 2000.)
Carl Waldman, Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. (New York: Checkmark Books, 2006).
Lisa Sullivan and Amy Walters. (October 15, 2011) Incentive and Cultural Bias Fuel Foster System. NPR.org. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/2011/10/25/141672992/native-foster-care-lost-children-shattered-families
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