Native American Poverty
Poverty Among Native Americans W.E.B Du Bois once stated “to be a poor man is hard, but to be a poor race in a land of dollars is the very bottom of hardships” (qtd. in Rodgers 1). The Native American culture is often overlooked by many people in the United States today. What many people do not realize is that about twenty-five percent of Native Americans are living in poverty (Rodgers 1). A majority of the poverty among Native Americans is due to the United States breaking treaties that promised funds for their tribes. When non-Native Americans first began migrating to North America, the Indians were slowly having their land stripped away from them, and being pushed to live on small, poorly kept reservations. As well as taking their land, non-Native Americans fought wars with the Indians, wiping out large numbers of their population (Jenkins A9). Living in poverty has caused many early mortalities, alcoholism and crime. Today the few Native American tribes that are still in existence have had enough. They are ready to take control and make their comeback, in hopes of preserving their culture and livelihoods (Gorospe 95). Several tribes have begun opening and operating their own casino resorts, some have failed, but several have been successful (Nykiel 51). President Obama has also been making promises of funds to the Native American tribes, hopefully these promises will be kept, and improve the Native Americans way of life (Nasaw 1). Native Americans are beginning to find the determination needed to make a comeback. Much of this determination in from anger, so much has been taken from them that their angry emotions towards the non-Native Americans is quite understandable. Land has been taken from the Native Americans, they have been forced to relocate several times. While relocating their economic resources are taken from them and they are not given any chance to provide for themselves. The reservations in which the Native Americans are
Cited: Donelan, Brenda. “The Unique Circumstances of Native American Juveniles Under Federal Supervision.” Federal Probation 63.2 (1999): 68 Gorospe, Martha G. “Overcoming Obstacles and Improving Outcomes.” Bilingual Review 24 (1999): 95 Grandbois, Donna. “Stigma Of Mental Illness Among American Indian And Alaska Native Nations: Historical And Contemporary Perspectives.” Issues in Mental Health Nursing 26 (2005): 1001-1024 Jenkins, Alan. “Inequality, Race, and Remedy.” The American Prospect 18.5 (May 2007): A8(4) Marshall, Catherine A. “The Older Native American Indian With Disabilities: Implications for Providers of Health Care and Human Services.” Journal of Multicultural Counseling & Development 22.3 (1994):182-194 Nasaw, Daniel. “Obama Vows to End Native Americans’ Neglect.” The Guardian (2009): 30 Nykiel, Ronald A. “A Special Look at Indian Gaming.” UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal 8.2 (2004): 51-56 Rodgers, Tom. Spotlight on Poverty. 2009. 12 Nov. 2009. . Walsh, Catherine. “Perspectives.” America 173.11 (1995):8. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 12 Nov. 2009. .