The Fifteen Percent

Written by: Samantha McKenzie

PringleJun, Heather, et al. “How to Court an Isolated Tribe.” Science, 25 Sept. 2018,
 www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/06/how-court-isolated-tribe.

           Living in today’s modern society, we often overlook the atrocities that consumes the growing poverty rates across the world. In the United states alone the poverty rate, as reported in 2018 by the United States Census Bureau, is sitting at approximately 11.8% of the U.S. population.i Across the globe, poverty accounts for nearly 8.6% of the world’s total population, which comes out to about 736 million people.ii However, what is even more troubling is that nearly 15% (370 million) of the world’s total poverty rates is found in the indigenous communities.iii These communities are found across the globe with approximately 36% in China, 32% in South Asia, 10% in Southeast Asia, 8% in Latin America, 5% in Arabia, 7% in Africa and 1% in the United States and Canada.iv         

          Approximately 5.5 million indigenous people reside within the boundaries of the United States, including 573 federally recognized tribes. v Although, majority of tribes are highly functioning and overall thriving communities, the unfortunate reality is that many individual households and reservations are consumed by the life of poverty and hunger. As stated by the organization, Bread for the World, “one in four Native Americans and Alaskan Natives are food insecure”, meaning that they lack reliable sources of regular nutrition. Now, how is this affecting their communities exactly? Native American communities suffering from poverty can be directly categorized as what is seen in third world countries today, although, understanding the full extent of the challenges these communities face is quite difficult. There are many underlying causes that contributes to the poverty rate seen across indigenous communities, however, the most critical causes include, government control and economic intervention, unemployment rates, housing crisis’s, and health concerns.

           Starting with one of the largest contributing factors to poverty rates in indigenous tribes, is the intervention and constant mandating of economic growth and development imposed by the U.S Federal Government. For example, the establishment of the Federal Trust Doctrine in 1983, which still resonates today, requires that the government hold federal responsibility over the PringleJun, Heather, et al. “How to Court an Isolated Tribe.” Science, 25 Sept. 2018, www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/06/how-court-isolated-tribe. 2 indigenous tribe’s survival and welfare.vi Although, this doctrine may appear, at face value, to be in good faith of the federal government and created for “noble reasoning” , it poses an extreme threat to the overall growth of indigenous tribes and communities across the nation. For example, the doctrine states, that federally recognized tribes are not subject to ownership or management of their own lands, and thus development projects on their lands for things like resource extraction projects, or mortgaging their assets must be written up, reviewed, and authorized by the federal government in order to proceed. vii As you could imagine, this process of review and authorization can take months, if not years to complete, and being that it usually has to pass through at least four different federal agencies makes it very difficult for indigenous tribes to benefit on quick economic growth and turnaround. However, the hardships doesn’t stop there.

            The next leading contributor to poverty rates, is the highly correlated, unemployment rates within indigenous communities. The highest employers of members are tribal and federal governments, which can also be a direct consequence from the Federal Trust Doctrine as discussed previously. Many households within these communities are overcrowded and survive solely off government supported income like social security, disability, or veteran’s income.viiiTherefore, indigenous tribes find themselves in constant need to search for off reservations paying jobs to support their families and communities. The overcrowding of housing situations also leads to the overall housing crisis in the Indian country.

           Currently, there are “90,000 homeless or underhoused families” in indigenous communities within and around the United States.ix This amounts for nearly 30% overcrowding rate, and less than 50% of housing is connected to adequate sanitary measures like sewer systems. This is what was meant when previously referring to living situations being easily compared to third world living conditions seen around the world. Now, although this blog is focusing majority of its attention on domestic Native American poverty rates, as noted in the first paragraph, majority of indigenous poverty rates are seen all over the world and at even more alarming rates and should be taken into account when understanding the full-fledged crisis of indigenous poverty.

           Now, thankfully there are many organizations that strive to better the living conditions of Native American tribes and communities throughout the United States. For example, in the housing crisis, the Indian Housing Authority (IMHs), have worked aimlessly to provide safe, decent, and affordable housing to indigenous communities across the nation.x To aid and decrease the unemployment rates, the Partnerships with Native Americans organization has been working to provide employment to nearly 250,000 Native Americans across the nation as well and is working to increase that number substantially.xi The Association on American Indian Affairs strives to preserve culture, educate the youth, building capacity, and protecting overall cultural sovereignty.xii Although, these are just a few of the many organizations that strive to support and aid the poverty concerns of Native Americans, there is still so much to be done. Unfortunately, the biggest concern for the overall improvement of poverty and economic development for tribes lays in the hand of the federal government, and the hope that one day the power will be restored to indigenous communities to foster out their own futures and prosper their own decisions.



Sources

i SEMEGA, JESSICA, et al. “Income and Poverty in the United States: 2018.” The United States Census Bureau, 17 Sept. 2019, www.census.gov/library/publications/2019/demo/p60-266.html. 

ii Peer, Andrea. “Global Poverty: Facts, FAQs, and How to Help.” World Vision, 27 Feb. 2020, www.worldvision.org/sponsorship-news-stories/global-poverty-facts. 

iii HALL, GILLETTE, and ARIEL GANDOLFO. “Poverty and Exclusion among Indigenous Peoples: The Global Evidence.” World Bank Blogs, Aug. 2016, blogs.worldbank.org/voices/poverty-andexclusion-among-indigenous-peoples-global-evidence. 

iv See Note 3. page 1 

v “Fact Sheet: Hunger and Poverty in the Indigenous Community.” Bread for the World, 5 Sept. 2019, www.bread.org/library/fact-sheet-hunger-and-poverty-indigenous-community. 

vi “American Indians and Alaska Natives - The Trust Responsibility.” ACF, 2014, www.acf.hhs.gov/ana/resource/american-indians-and-alaska-natives-the-trustresponsibility. 

vii Flows, Capital. “5 Ways The Government Keeps Native Americans In Poverty.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 13 Mar. 2014, www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2014/03/13/5-ways-thegovernment-keeps-native-americans-in-poverty/#2c6fbc852c27. 

viii Native American Aid. “Living Conditions.” Native American Living Conditions on Reservations - Native American Aid, 2015, www.nativepartnership.org/site/PageServer?pagename=naa_livingconditions. 

ix See Note 8, Page 2 

x “Public and Indian Housing.” Public and Indian Housing | HUD.gov / U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), 2020, www.hud.gov/program_offices/public_indian_housing. 

xi “PWNA Impact & Results - Partnership With Native Americans.” PWNA Impact & Results - Partnership With Native Americans, 2020, www.nativepartnership.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pwna_impact_results. 

xii “What We Do.” Association on American Indian Affairs, 2020, www.indianaffairs.org/whatwedo.html.