I know Teacherken is a well read and is a respected writer here. I know the New York Times is well read and respected by some.
Why is it that both of these information and opinion sources discuss poverty and race in America in a very serious way, but fail to mention the poorest communities in our nation, which happen to be Native American?
The invisible people.
Ignorance is where someone or something is uninformed. There is a poverty of ignorance in America regarding The First Americans.
More below on poverty in America based on my experience in Shannon County on The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
Shannon County is at the heart of Indian Country. It is on Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. It is the location of Wounded Knee where 146 Lakota were massacred in 1890 by the 7th cavalry. In the 1990 census, it was the poorest county in America, rising to second place in the 2000 census, displaced by Buffalo County, South Dakota on The Crow Creek Reservation.
Pine Ridge covers an area of 3,468 Sq. miles, an area the size of Delaware and Rhode Island combined. The 2000 census puts the population at 15,521, but later studies put it at 28,787. Residents on the reservation generally feel the figure runs closer to 50,000.
Housing is extremely substandard and inadequate. With old, poorly insulated trailers being a primary source of new housing. From personal experience I can tell you that an old delapidated trailer that would normally be destined for the junkyard is considered a nice fixer upper on the res (a tribute to the determination and resolve of the native population).
Unemployment is around 80%, with half the population living under the poverty level (WAY under). Per capita income is $6,400 per year. Generally people (including Teacherken) use Median income as a measure, but when data points are so widely dispersed, and traditional tools of measurement such as filed tax returns are meaningless, and when the small working population supports so many young people, per capita income is more meaningful. For comparison, per capita income in some other U.S. counties:
Teton County, WY $132,728 (The richest)
New York, NY $120,790
City of Alexandria, VA $ 70,632
Fulton County, GA $ 49,291
Williamson County, TN $ 47,712
Here are the Native communities in the 10 poorest counties by per capita income:
Buffalo County, SD $ 5,213
Shannon County, SD $ 6,400
Ziebach County, SD $ 7,463
Todd County, SD $ 7,714
Sioux County, ND $ 7,731
Corson County, SD $ 8,615
Wade Hampton, AL $ 8,717
Apache County, AZ $ 8,986
It is notable that 6 of these 10 poorest counties are just one tribe: The Lakota otherwise known as The Sioux. The same tribe that succesfully defended their homeland from invasion by U.S. forces in the 1860s. An act that resulted in the treaty of 1868 that was the only treaty in U.S. history that granted all the demands of the opposing side. A treaty that remains in force, acknowledged by the U.S. Supreme Court, and still unsettled. The same tribe that captured the U.S. flag at The Little Big Horn defending those treaty rights. For an exceptionally summary of this history watch Aaron Huey's TEdx presentation:
http://www.youtube.com/...
Let me speak about the word "poverty". It is a word I so not use for these communities. These folks are not poor. They have a rich community of families and culture. They live in a beautiful land.
They are economically isolated.
I met a young man there that was trying to find employment at one of the few stores on the res. We talked about his options. He was married with two children. He has a choice between food stamps worth $550.00 per month for his family, or a commodity box from the government that has an inadequate amount of food. There is a also a tribal cash supplement, but the end result is that a family of four would have roughly $1,110 in benefits to cover ALL living costs" food, energy, diapers, gas, everything. Bear in mind that energy costs consume an enormous percentage of that income. Housing is very substandard and the climate is very harsh. Lows during the winter regularly get below zero before wind chill and record lows are frequently in the -30 range. The single propane company serving the entire reservation requires a minimum purchase of $125.00 for a delivery.
If you live in Pine Ridge village, it is about a 100 mile drive to Rapid City, the nearest large town (large = 60,000 population) with full services. That is, if you are lucky enough to own a car that can make it that far reliably. Just beyond that 100 mile drive are the Black Hills, an area rich in minerals, timber and tourism dollars, that was illegally taken by the U.S. government in the 1870s.
Many people are under the mistaken impression that all tribes are wealthy now because of either minerals or casinos. It is true that many tribes prosper because of casinos. It is also true that Pine Ridge has a casino. But it is a casino with no population to support it, and so it actually has become an economic drain on the community. The reservation does have a mineral: uranium. But culturally, the traditional Lakota reject exploiting the Earth for economic gain. In particular, mining that uranium would involve a process that would destroy water tables. In these remote isolated communities the only source of water and life is from wells. So they face a choice between the destruction of their homeland heritage and life, or temporary prosperity.
So if you speak about poverty in America, please remember these people. They are not invisible. They live at the center of North America. Our treatment of Native Americans as a nation is one of the original sins of our nation. And in particular, this tribe has suffered unique abuse. It succesfully defended its homeland, and secured legal title to its lands through our legal standards. Yet, we betrayed our agreement with them. The opening lines of the 1868 treaty state:
"The government of The United States desires peace, and hereby pledges its honor to keep it."
But then we discovered gold in the Black Hills and we determined that war was the best way to destroy their title to the land. That was the war that led to the destruction of General George Custer at The Litttle Big Horn.
So if the Sioux again succeeded militarily, why did they wind up in poverty in a reservation system? Because it was U.S. military policy to destroy the buffalo herds which were the entire Lakota economy. It would be analogous to removing oil and gas from the U.S. economy over a period of 10 years.
Genberal Phil Sheridan said,"Let them kill, skin, and sell until the buffalo is exterminated, as it is the only way to bring lasting peace and allow civilization to advance."
General Sherman (The same who brought scorched earth warfare to the South during The Civil War)said:
"We are not going to let a few thieving, ragged Indians check and stop the progress of the railroads."
"We must act with vindictive earnestness against the Sioux, even to their extermination, men, women and children."
"During an assault, the soldiers cannot pause to distinguish between male and female, or even discriminate as to age."
It is estimated that there were upwards of 60 million buffalo inhabiting North America when Euopeans arrived. By 1884, there were between 1200 and 2,000 surviving animals.
And so, with their economy destroyed, the Lakota had little choice but to surrender to the reservation system, and a culture of dependency that was actively promoted by the U.S. government.
But the thing that truly amazes me is the fact that after all that history, The Lakota serve in the U.S. military at a higher rate than almost any population group, and the first thing they do at any of their ceremionies or meetimgs is a flag honoring song for the U.S. flag, and an honoring song for the veterans. (And here I have to give a personal shoutout to Krystal Rain Twobulls, who is just returning from a multi-year deployment in Iraq).
Go figure. And please remember the invisible people. They help defend your nation's honor, even when it has behaved dishonorably toward them.