Jachelle Yazzie
Ashley Argely
ENGL 2010
Report
Enriching Americas Indian Reservations
“We were supposed to kill the Indian to save the child.” –Sherman Alexie, The Absolutely True
Diary of a Part-Time Indian
When Native Americans are mentioned in most conversations it seems like only a few
concepts are generally discussed- that they are a people of beautiful culture struggling with
alcoholism and poverty.. Most discussions fail to talk about the reasons that Native Americans
struggle to excel as a society. The history of American indigenous cultures is typically skimmed
over in spite of the significant role Native Americans played in the settlement of the United
States, long before Europeans even set foot on the continent. The poor treatment of the
indigenous people and the Europeans’ acts of forced assimilations upon the Native Americans
has caused their low self-esteem and drive to build their communities. By educating people who
are oblivious to the hardships the Indians face every day, perhaps we can help improve their
quality of life while keeping their culture intact.
History of First Contact with Europeans
When Europeans started making their way to America they settled in different areas of
the East coast. Not knowing how to properly use and manipulate the land around them, they
began to die of diseases and starvation. Native American then offered their hand in aiding the
Europeans on how to properly grow food in gardens. (Frazier 8). The Indians were people who
would not use more than they needed and they had a unique relationship with the land around
them (Olsen and Wilson 17). Native Americans were not aware of the value of materialistic
items as well as uneducated which made it all too easy for Europeans to take advantage of them.
The Indians have continuously have the bad end of change by having to accommodate and
change their way of life that they have been practicing long before there were any European
explorers. Calvin Martin, a Native American historian stated,
“We presume to document and interpret the history of a people whose perception of the
world for the most part eludes us, whose behavior, as a result, is enigmatic… To ignore
the Indians thoughout the world is to continue writing about ourselves to ourselves.”
(Begay 3)
He explains that Native American history is hardly told by Native Americans and that US
History tends to document events that seem to avoid tragic events. For example, The Trail of
Tears, that was part of the Indian Removal Act by President Andrew Jackson. It required all
Indians living East of the Mississippi River to move West onto reservations. 4,000 Cherokee
people died on the march to the west due to starvation, disease and exhaustion (Cherokee.org).
The reservations were operated poorly and usually by government officials who were unfit to
perform the duties honorably. Diseases on the reservations wiped out one fourth of the eighteen
thousand people held there (Olsen & Wilson 43). Native American children were required to
leave their families and attend boarding schools, they were given Christian names, forbidden to
speak their language and had to portray an image of being ‘proper’. Simon Ortiz describes this
treatment as the Indians were being told that it was no longer acceptable to be Indian
“…discouraged from pressing for our natural rights as Indian human beings” (Ortiz 35).
Historians believe that the reason Native Americans were unable to fight back against the
assimilation was because their inability to come together and organize to have any noticeable
effect (Frazier 11). The poor treatment of Native Americans in history had an impact on their
identity today living on reservations.
Poverty & Unemployment Among Native Americans
Massive amounts of poverty exist on Indian reservations. Most people make the
assumption that Indian casinos are bringing in enough money to sustain the needs of the tribes,
which is not the case. The Blackfoot Reservation in Montana has a daunting unemployment rate
of sixty-nine percent; during the Great Depression the highest unemployment rate was just
twenty-five percent (Rodgers 27). In the documentary film 30 days, Morgan Spurlock spends a
month on the Navajo reservation in Gallop, New Mexico, and discovers that some Native
Americans mimic the acts of immigrants from Mexico and leave their homes and families to go
work somewhere in the country to be able find work and send money home, although the Indians
live in the their own country.
“We were a poor family, always on the verge of financial disaster, though our
parents always managed to feed us and keep us in clothing. We had the problems,
unfortunately ordinary, or many Indian families who face poverty on a daily basis, never
enough of anything, the feeling of denigrating self-consciousness, alcoholism in the
family and the community, the feeling that was falling apart though we tried desperately
to hold it together.”
-Simon Ortiz 33
Twenty-nine percent of Indian do not have health care insurance. The Indian Health Care
Improvement Act, established in 1976 has not been enforced since 1992.The act was put into
place to aid Indians in having a healthier way of life and to have basic health needs met (Rodger
37). Native Americans receive less services than any other group of people. Rodger argues
about Native American communities, “Failure to address poverty causes deprivation and
hardships in these communities today, and robs the next generation of any opportunity to
succeed and thrive tomorrow,” (Rodger 56). The lack of opportunities and funds to help
reservations have a stable living environment is sadly still true today.
Personal Experience
My parents both grew up on the Navajo reservation, my mother is from Aneth, Utah and
my father is from Shiprock, New Mexico. My mom lived on one of the poorer reservations in the
area. She grew up with ten brothers and sisters in a small hogan that had no plumbing, no
electricity and slept on sheep’s wool on the dirt floor. My father did not attend the schools on the
reservation, he was sent to live with a Mormon family in Salt Lake City, Utah. His foster family
was strict in their Mormon beliefs so he wasn’t allowed to practice any of his spiritual beliefs
and was also instructed that he was not allowed to speak Navajo to his other Native foster
brother or in that case ever. Even though they received their education off of the reservation, the
effect of growing up in society that didn’t support finishing school influenced their enthusiasm to
receive a diploma.
My siblings and I did not grow up on the reservation, although the characteristic still
loomed over our family. My mother and father never received their high school diploma, which
seems to trickle down into the mind set of us as children. There are five children in my family. I
am the second to get my high school diploma and the first to attend college. The graduation rate
of Native Americans who receive a high school diploma is fifty-one percent, which concludes
that few Native American receive any education beyond middle school and high school (Sheehy
26). Finishing school on the reservation is not considered an important trait to succeed as it
should be, due to different factors such as, lack of transportation, unable to meet financial needs,
family dysfunction, or by the setbacks of alcoholism. In one of Sherman Alexie’s novels he
mentions the lack of motivation because there is no support, saying “They dreamed about being
something other than poor, but they never got the chance to be anything because nobody paid
attention to their dreams” (Alexie 11). The reservations’ negative culture has the potential to
affect Indians because of struggles with lack of job opportunities and the feeling of no selfworth. In Sherman Alexie’s novel he elucidates on the feeling of hopelessness the Native
Americans have before they have a chance to show any kind of hope of leaving behind the
reservation.
“It suck to be poor, and it sucks to feel that you somehow deserve to be poor.
You start believing that you’re poor because you’re stupid and ugly. And then you start
believing that you’re stupid and ugly because you’re Indian. And because you’re Indian
you start believing you’re destined to be poor. It’s an ugly circle and there’s nothing
you can do about it.”
(Junior, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian 13).
You can sense the feeling of no hope and having nothing to rely on, feeling like you are already
going to fail no matter how hard you attempt. The biggest obstacle Native American still need to
defeat is the reckless use of alcohol that surges through the reservation and prevents any kind of
substantial progress in the community.
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a problem that is comparable to a plague on many reservations; it has done
nothing good for the Indians but ruined families and bring down lives. . Alcohol took a hold of
them in such a way that they were considered “drunken Indian.” According to historians Owen
and Wilson they were described as, “a pitiful creature unable to resist the bottle and incapable of
controlling the emotional effects of drinking” (Owen & Wilson 53). The alcoholism rate on the
reservation is six times the national average and seventy-five percent of deaths on the reservation
are in connection to alcohol such as car accidents, liver problems, diabetes and suicide (Moore
45). The bottle tends to look more enticing to those who struggle with the strains of poverty,
poor education, high unemployment rates and family difficulties. If Indian were able to control
their thirst for alcohol and put their energy toward something they care for and found important
they would be able to work more efficiently toward a healthier better life.
What Hold Indians Together as a Culture
The Native Americans have faced all these hardships and trials, yet they still have had
their share of victories. What holds them together is their ability to endure and adapt to their ever
changing surroundings all while keeping true to their heritage and beliefs. Robert McPhrson
makes a good example of their strength by stating,
“But, in spite of the complexity and change, the reader will find the constant theme of the
people’s love for the land and their desire to maintain their culture identity. These two are
inseparably intertwined, treading throughout these tribal histories.” (McPherson 24).
McPherson is referring to the Indian’s strength in staying true to themselves, no matter how torn
down they become they still perform their rituals and hold tight to their spiritual beliefs.
Individuals within the reservation community are taking a stand to make changes for the better.
They are organizing and leading programs, events and support groups for the Native Americans
to take advantage of. All the beneficial programs keep in mind the Native Americans unique
beliefs and are sure to embrace the culture. To name a few things that are being done. Schools on
the Navajo reservation are teaching in the Navajo language from kindergarten through fourth
grade, then from there on it is fifty-fifty until they graduate (30 Days). The American Indian
Relief Council, which was established to aid Native Americans with a variety of necessities.
They offer services such as finding employment services to produce jobs on the reservations.
The services that are involved with reservation charities are usually run by Native Americans or
someone who have experienced life on the rez first hand.
Conclusion
What European expansion did to the Native American tribes in history is something we
no longer have the power to change. My parent’s decision to move off the reservation is
something I will forever be grateful for. The education system on the reservation needs more
support for the children and teens currently attending school. They need something to give them
the motivation to continue to finish their education. Alcoholism among Native Americans needs
to be addressed to assist this once a proud nation away from the temptations of bottle. I fear that
if these issues continue to be ignored then American Indians on the reservation, their children,
and their grandchildren for generations to come will continue to slowly lose their distinctive
culture. Native Americans have done a sensational job of keeping true to themselves and as
Simon Ortiz states flawlessly, “By the retention and the inspiration of our native heritage, values,
philosophies, and languages, we would know ourselves as a strong and enduring people.”(Ortiz
35). Although there are programs that are aiding the Indian, more can still be done by outside
sources. By informing people who are oblivious to the situations of local tribes are facing, I
believe Native Americans could learn to overcome their tribulations and strive to live their lives
healthier, stronger, and spiritually.
Work Cited
“About AIRC”. American Indian Relief Couuncil. N.D. 6 Aug. 2014.
Alexie, S. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. New York: Hachette Book Group,
Inc. 2007. Print.
Begay, D., (Eds.). A History of Utah’s American Indians. Logan, UT: Utah State University
Press. 2004. Print.
Elk, Black., Erdrich, Louise., Momaday, N. Scott., Hogan, Linda., Dorris, Michael., Hernandez,
Ines. Growing Up Native American. New York: Harper Collins Publishers Inc. 1993. Print.
Frazier, Ian. On The Rez. New York: Picador. 2000. Print.
“Life on an Indian Reservation” 30 Days: Season 3. Silverman, Ben., Spurlock, Morgan. FX
Networks, 2009. DVDOlsen, James S., Wilson, Raymond. Native Americans In The Twentieth
Century. Chicago, IL: University of Illinois Press. 1984. Print
Rodgers. Tom. “Native American Poverty.” Spolight On Poverty N.D. 6 Aug. 2014