5 Ways The Government Keeps Native Americans In Poverty

[ZiprHead]

Article is a couple years old but I thought it might spark some good discussion.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2014/03/13/5-ways-the-government-keeps-native-americans-in-poverty/#22e37e2f2c27

The federal government is responsible for managing Indian affairs for the benefit of all Indians. But by all accounts the government has failed to live up to this responsibility. As a result, Native American reservations are among the poorest communities in the United States. Here’s how the government keeps Native Americans in poverty.

Chief Justice John Marshall set Native Americans on the path to poverty in 1831 when he characterized the relationship between Indians and the government as “resembling that of a ward to his guardian.” With these words, Marshall established the federal trust doctrine, which assigns the government as the trustee of Indian affairs. That trusteeship continues today, but it has not served Indians well.

Underlying this doctrine is the notion that tribes are not capable of owning or managing their lands. The government is the legal owner of all land and assets in Indian Country and is required to manage them for the benefit of Indians.

 

[Worldtraveller]

I've lived around native americans most of my life, and spent a good part of time on the reservations, or working with kids from the rez to help them get into the public university system (in AZ).

The government is terrible to them. And that's an understatement. There is literally not a single treaty with any tribal government in the US that the US federal government hasn't broken. They aren't given actual sovereignty, the US gov meddles all the time where they aren't supposed to. And the BLM in particular is quite fond of literally just giving away N.A. lands to developers, mining operations, and others who just want to exploit the resources.

 

[Half-Life]

You guys are saying that the government does not let Native Americans move anywhere else? They are kept on reservations BY FORCE? Do they have armed guards at every reservation forcing them to stay at gunpoint?

Hw does the government prevent Native Americans from moving around the country? I met a Native American. He lived in a city and went to college like everyone else.

A lot of the ones who own casinos are also going to be pretty pissed when they learn they can't leave the reservation....

 

[Harry Bosch]

You guys are saying that the government does not let Native Americans move anywhere else? They are kept on reservations BY FORCE? Do they have armed guards at every reservation forcing them to stay at gunpoint?

Hw does the government prevent Native Americans from moving around the country? I met a Native American. He lived in a city and went to college like everyone else.

A lot of the ones who own casinos are also going to be pretty pissed when they learn they can't leave the reservation....

Of course not. But Indians get free homes on the reservation. If you had access to a free home and other goodies would you leave? But yea, I generally advocate leaving. The opportunities are not good on a reservation unless you are part of a casino. There are negatives with casino's also.

 

[Half-Life]

You guys are saying that the government does not let Native Americans move anywhere else? They are kept on reservations BY FORCE? Do they have armed guards at every reservation forcing them to stay at gunpoint?

Hw does the government prevent Native Americans from moving around the country? I met a Native American. He lived in a city and went to college like everyone else.

A lot of the ones who own casinos are also going to be pretty pissed when they learn they can't leave the reservation....

Of course not. But Indians get free homes on the reservation. If you had access to a free home and other goodies would you leave? But yea, I generally advocate leaving. The opportunities are not good on a reservation unless you are part of a casino. There are negatives with casino's also.

So you're saying they're lazy by choosing a cheap crappy house to live in for free? I agree. That's the bare minimum. People should strive for something greater.

 

[Trausti]

It'd be best just to do away with the reservations. Let the tribe divvy up the land to members. On the reservation there is no private land and you can live on government benefits. Shockomg, life is lousy. I wonder the comparison between those living on the reservation and those who left.

 

[Derec]

I think the last 50 years have shown that treating Indian communities as separate legal entities that are wards of US is a complete failure.

My proposal.

1. Abolish the sham of "tribal sovereignty".
- Sovereignty of tribes should have either led to independence or died with Indian citizenship act. Indians should not get to double dip.
- Going forward, Indians who choose to remain US citizens, should have equal rights, no more no less, as everybody else
- Those who choose to secede should be given opportunity of doing so. A fair settlement of contiguous land should be given, proportional to number of individuals taking this option.

2. Compensation for land
- should be given to individuals, not tribes collectively
- if individuals choose to collectivize property, and re-form former tribal governments as private entities with no special legal standing above any other private club or corporation, they should be free to do so, but it should be voluntary and uncoerced.

3. Laws
- should apply to all citizens equally
- to include taxes, monopolies (you should not have to be an Indian to open a casino in most states) and government benefits
- to also include laws about drug use, possession of eagle feathers (federal crime for everybody else but fine if you are an Indian), and ritual child abuse (I am looking at you, so-called "sundancers")

Over time this will lead Indians to thrive. Sure, Indian communities that are unsustainable economically, like Pine Ridge, would probably vanish without government largess, but is that such a bad thing? It would certainly be better for everybody than what we've been doing so far.

 

[Derec]

And the BLM in particular is quite fond of literally just giving away N.A. lands to developers, mining operations, and others who just want to exploit the resources.

Anybody's property can be eminently domained. How are Indians different in that regard?
Oh, and it's not just given away. Compensation is given, but since tribal "governments" control it, they usually refuse it, and it lingers being held in trust by the Interior Department. Which is another reason why any land compensation should be paid to individuals, not controlled by the tribal entities.

 

[Toni]

You guys are saying that the government does not let Native Americans move anywhere else? They are kept on reservations BY FORCE? Do they have armed guards at every reservation forcing them to stay at gunpoint?

Hw does the government prevent Native Americans from moving around the country? I met a Native American. He lived in a city and went to college like everyone else.

A lot of the ones who own casinos are also going to be pretty pissed when they learn they can't leave the reservation....

Of course not. But Indians get free homes on the reservation. If you had access to a free home and other goodies would you leave? But yea, I generally advocate leaving. The opportunities are not good on a reservation unless you are part of a casino. There are negatives with casino's also.

But what if they wish to continue to speak their first language, honor cultural traditions, live as a family group? Why should they not be able to have what white people take for granted?

 

[Toni]

I think the last 50 years have shown that treating Indian communities as separate legal entities that are wards of US is a complete failure.

My proposal.

1. Abolish the sham of "tribal sovereignty".
- Sovereignty of tribes should have either led to independence or died with Indian citizenship act. Indians should not get to double dip.
- Going forward, Indians who choose to remain US citizens, should have equal rights, no more no less, as everybody else
- Those who choose to secede should be given opportunity of doing so. A fair settlement of contiguous land should be given, proportional to number of individuals taking this option.

2. Compensation for land
- should be given to individuals, not tribes collectively
- if individuals choose to collectivize property, and re-form former tribal governments as private entities with no special legal standing above any other private club or corporation, they should be free to do so, but it should be voluntary and uncoerced.

3. Laws
- should apply to all citizens equally
- to include taxes, monopolies (you should not have to be an Indian to open a casino in most states) and government benefits
- to also include laws about drug use, possession of eagle feathers (federal crime for everybody else but fine if you are an Indian), and ritual child abuse (I am looking at you, so-called "sundancers")

Over time this will lead Indians to thrive. Sure, Indian communities that are unsustainable economically, like Pine Ridge, would probably vanish without government largess, but is that such a bad thing? It would certainly be better for everybody than what we've been doing so far.

Native Americans are US citizens.

In the US, one is allowed to retain dual citizenship. One can be a UScitizen and also have citizenship in say, France or Denmark. Is that ‘double dipping?’

 

[Derec]

But what if they wish to continue to speak their first language,

How would they be prevented from doing that without special legal treatment?

honor cultural traditions,

If the "cultural traditions" violate general laws (drug use, collecting eagle feathers, ritual torture of minors to point of pain-induced hallucinations) the laws should be rethought - either these things should be allowed for everyone or Indians should not be allowed to do them either. Indians and non-Indians should be equal before the law.

live as a family group?

How would they be prevented from doing that without special legal treatment?

Why should they not be able to have what white people take for granted?

No reason whatsoever. But if a "white" town (or a "black" one for that matter) becomes unsustainable because for example a mine that employed many people in the town closes, most people would lift anchor and move elsewhere. But Indian reservations enjoy special privileges regarding taxation, extra welfare etc. that artificially induces people to stay put. Easier to subsist on BLM largess than to move I guess.

 

[Derec]

Native Americans are US citizens.

In the US, one is allowed to retain dual citizenship. One can be a UScitizen and also have citizenship in say, France or Denmark. Is that ‘double dipping?’

Not the same matter altogether, because Indian so-called "nations" are not treated like normal sovereign nations, because they really aren't.
If you are dual US-French citizen you still pay taxes. You still have to follow all federal laws. You don't effectively get veto powers over infrastructure projects promised by a major-ish presidential candidate.

 

[angelo]

We wouldn't want apartheid now would we?

 

[Jolly_Penguin]

Canada has also treated first nations people horribly. I like the idea of offering them total independence. Or at least go mostly in that direction at a provincial/state level, as Nunavut has.

 

[bleubird]

https://www.uaf.edu/tribal/112/unit_3/alaskanativeclaimssettlementactancsa1971.php
Alaska may have found a better way.However,our history is much different than down south.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

It'd be best just to do away with the reservations. Let the tribe divvy up the land to members. On the reservation there is no private land and you can live on government benefits. Shockomg, life is lousy. I wonder the comparison between those living on the reservation and those who left.

There's also the issue of alcohol.

In the Old World alcohol has been around for a long time, those who are especially susceptible removed themselves from the gene pool. The New World hasn't had that genetic weeding.

 

[steve_bank]

Why do NA need to be managed?

Seems as if in these modern times they want to live in a bubble on reservations and have things taken care of.

Here in the Seattle area a tribe took control, brought in investment and construction, and pulled itself up. If you live on a reservation removed from development then odds are you will be poor. Go to school and mainstream odds are you will make money.