Poverty In Native Americans

People are overcrowded in these households and only earn social security, veteran or disability’s income. The reservations do not have industrial employers and most of the employers include federal and tribal governments. The condition has resulted to high level of unemployment, which does not only affect individuals but the entire society. The employment problems are driving many Native American families into a state of poverty which has forced some to become homeless. Housing is another factor causing poverty in the Native American Reservations.

As well as knowing the exact events that led to the Native American downfall, it is important to know to what extent the events have damaged how Native Americans lived. Some actions might be more crucial to justifying Native communities than others. The biggest way the United States government has damaged the native way of life is by stealing their land through means of tricking them and unfair treaties. Returning land back to native peoples would bring a great amount of justice back to the Native community. In addition to returning stolen land, repaying tribes with promised money and goods they never received during treaties would help the tribes heal from the unethical ways of the government.

This alcohol epidemic is responsible for many of the problems afflicting this tribe its use being blamed for causing some of the highest rates of suicide, unemployment, domestic abuse, infant mortality, and violent crime in Indian Country (Associated Press, 2013). Inadequate funding, lack of resources, and our society’s “blind eye”, in viewing the problems of the Lakota tribe, have led to impoverished conditions giving them the distinction of having the shortest life expectancy (between 45 and 52 years) except for Haiti,

To begin with, funds distributed to tribe members from casinos has resulted in an increased dependency among recipients (“Of Slots,” 2015). Drug and alcohol abuse can be common on Native reservations, which makes keeping a steady job difficult for many residents (“Of Slots,” 2015). As per capita gaming payments have increased, more and more Natives have fallen into a pattern of apathy (“Of Slots,” 2015). Discouraged from traditional means of income, they rely primarily on the money paid to them through casinos (“Of Slots,” 2015). Despite the initial goal of using gaming income to aid Native economies, instead the disbursement of checks has become a disincentive for many Natives to pursue monetary gains

Some issues that “Native Americans have the highest rates of unemployment and low rates of high school and college completion, and they are less likely to have medical insurance and access to healthcare” (Native Americans and Alcoholism). They state several issues that can cause them to become alcoholics. Unemployment it creates depression knowing that you can get a job help your family out and it can cause you to turn to drink. Since the Native Americans have a high rate of unemployment it can cause them to go into depression and turn to alcohol. Another thing that they state is that they have low rates of high school and college graduations.

Throughout the course of American history, Native American women have repeatedly become primary targets of sexual violence from non-native men. Around one in three Native American women has been raped or had undergone attempted rape, which makes them the largest race to experience sexual abuse than any other race in the United States. Before any contact was established between the Natives and the European settlers, the Native population had thrived off the land and they had their own criminal justice systems, which was meant to help all Native citizens find justice (Griffith, 5). Unfortunately, their efficient way of life would soon be interrupted forever following the arrival of white setters upon their lands.

Throughout the 19th century Native Americans were treated far less than respectful by the United States’ government. This was the time when the United States wanted to expand and grow rapidly as a land, and to achieve this goal, the Native Americans were “pushed” westward. It was a memorable and tricky time in the Natives’ history, and the US government made many treatments with the Native Americans, making big changes on the Indian nation. Native Americans wanted to live peacefully with the white men, but the result of treatments and agreements was not quite peaceful. This precedent of mistreatment of minorities began with Andrew Jackson’s indian removal policies to the tribes of Oklahoma (specifically the Cherokee indians) in 1829 because of the lack of respect given to the indians during the removal laws.

Alcohol and substance abuse runs rampant on American Indian Tribal Reservations. What 's still unclear is how much the Tribal and Federal Governments are doing to resolve or prevent this issue from occurring. “Tribal sovereignty refers to tribes ' right to govern themselves, define their own membership, manage tribal property, and regulate tribal business” (Google search) Healthy habits are important for living a long and prosperous life, every person should be in good hands when it comes to matters of health.

Minner (n.d,), “For the first survey, 22 Native American students who had dropped out of Northern Arizona University indicated that family influences and responsibilities, lack of financial resources, campus attitudes towards Native Americans, and poor academic preparation were reasons for leaving school” (para. 1). Other barriers in education include language barriers, discrimination, alcohol and drugs. Barriers in health care include racial discrimination, culture misunderstanding, family responsibilities, lack of respect of religious beliefs, and transportation

Capitalism has always been a subject of controversy throughout American history. As America expanded west and developed many new advancements in technology, more specifically the railroad, many people sought to make big profits out of the new and advantageous land. A common argument that historians often put forth about the settlement of the West was that big businesses and entrepreneurs had capitalized on the mostly untouched valuable resources of Western United States and had turned them into commodities thus destroying Native American society. Before America’s expansion into the West, Native American tribes lived in a society free of the capitalistic ideals, which in turn, made them less concerned about profit and more concerned about their

Unit 2, Article 2.1: Arria, Amelia M. (2011). “Prescription Drug Diversion” (pp. 42-44). Unit 3, Article 3.4: Johnston, Lloyd D. (2012) “Monitoring the Future” (pp. 88-107). Trends in Adolescent Prescription Drug Abuse • Nearly one in five teens report abusing prescription drugs to get high (Partnership for a Drug-Free America, 2006). • One third of all new abusers of prescription drugs in 2006 were 12 to 17 years old (SAMHSA, 2008).

Alcohol is at the root of many stories of Indigenous people that are heard on television and the news. Alcohol always seems to be the root cause of car accidents, murders and assaults. The stereotype of the “drunken Indian” plays such a vivid role in way people perceive Indigenous people . Because of the misunderstanding and marginalization that these people face, they get stereotypes placed on them that do not showcase their culture and way of living but instead showcase the mistakes and problems that they may be suffering from. Instead of bringing up the mistakes that some Indigenous people are dealing with, there should be steps taken for these people to rectify the substance abuse problems that they are facing .

The invisibility of Native peoples and lack of positive images of Native cultures may not register as a problem for many Americans, but it poses a significant challenge for Native youth who want to maintain a foundation in their culture and language. " - NCAI President Brian Cladoosby (April 2014 - Washington Post

This happens so much that it becomes a way to deal with sufferings in life. Even when mourning a death of a loved one, who died due to alcohol, their society accepts that alcohol is a tool for grief and is commonplace in their everyday life. Furthermore, this stereotype is very dangerous for the Native American people as a whole and for the integrity of their culture. In the book, alcohol has been assimilated into Native American culture and this widespread use is only adding fuel, and even truth, to the

A whiskey that prompted the creation of the North West Mounted Police. A whiskey that is blamed for obliterating the buffalo herd population in Canada, a livelihood for the Indian people. Growing up in a British Columbia community surrounded by Indian Reserves, I played hockey and went to school with many First Nations kids. I have heard stories and witnessed the intense addiction to alcohol that these people have, with my friends, their parents and grandparents. It is tragic to hear their stories of alcoholism, residential schools, loss of land and