About Native America

While some of the plains tribes did live in teepees, the Apache lived in wickiups, which is housing made out of branches and grass. The Navajo lived (and often still do) in hogans (structures built with mud or wood). Now in Native lands, it’s common to see families live in everything from trailers and modular homes to governmentally built housing. Second, early on in U.S. history, the idea of reservations was to cause Native Americans to be “out of sight, out of mind” and to assimilate them into ‘modern’ colonial culture. What this caused, however, was a dependency on the government that quickly resulted in poverty on a societal level. However, with this said, they are in fact modern now. They watch T.V., they love movies, and many teens and adults have smartphones just like you. Most (though not all) live in homes that have running water and electricity, and some families have computers and Internet access. Teens and most adults wear the same clothing that people in mainstream culture wear and drive vehicles for transportation.

First of all, it must be said: not all tribes have casinos. As of Q4 2021, 250 tribes (out of 547 federally recognized) operate 515 tribal casinos or other gaming locations across the country (American Gaming/Tribal Gaming). With that said, the casino ‘model’ only works in certain situations. The best scenario is if the tribe has a small population and the casino is well placed. For instance, the Fort Apache Reservation is a larger population tribe and their reservation is in the mountains, three and a half hours from Phoenix (the nearest city center), two hours from Flagstaff and one hour from Interstate 40. The tourism is seasonal to the reservation and off the beaten path. Although they may generate income from the casino and their ski resort (Sunrise Ski Resort), much (or all) of it can be easily lost in the overall tribal economy. All functions within the community are run by the tribe (i.e. gas stations, maintenance, waste removal, etc.), so when money is gained in one area, it is used in another area so that they can take care of community members.

When it comes to casinos, many tribes learned hard lessons where the presence of casinos did not help lives, but rather, they introduced the dangers of addiction into the lives of their people. At it's best, some tribes have been able to leverage the business of the casinos to reduce local unemployment and create opportunities for their communities and their youth.

Healthcare: When it comes to healthcare, it is true that individual tribal members can receive many health services for free. This healthcare is provided as a service to many Native American tribes negotiated as part of a treaty settlement with the United States government. For most tribes, this means that a registered tribal member is able to receive free healthcare at their local Indian Health Services (IHS). This system, while providing crucial services to many youth, families and elders, does have some shortcomings. For this reason, tribal members who work for the tribe or in other governmental or private companies off the reservation seek health insurance benefits for their families like most working American families. The health benefits provided to tribal employees are similar to the insurance other governmental employees have. This differs from the free healthcare provided to all registered tribal members because the IHS system limits beneficiaries to only the providers available at the IHS clinic, while the tribal insurance operates on a preferred provider network like many private insurance plans, allowing beneficiaries to seek healthcare from providers they select within their network. In Arizona, if tribal members do not have health benefits through their jobs, they may also apply for AHCCCS (which is the Arizona Medicaid option for low-income individuals and families) or use the Indian Health Service clinics.
 
Housing: Tribal members are also able to apply for government subsidized housing. For instance, the White Mountain Apache tribe has its own housing authority division, which is run much like the government housing authorities in various states and often found in urban centers. According to government regulations both on and off reservations, applicants for subsidized housing must meet certain income requirements to qualify for reduced-price housing. In most cases, the family unit who qualifies must pay 1/3 of their combined monthly income for housing. This is the case whether the person has a job or if they are living on government assistance such as disability benefits, unemployment benefits, social security, or TANF (Temporary Aid for Needy Families, a national needs-based income assistance program). One challenge with government subsidized housing both on and off the reservation in areas with high poverty and unemployment rates is that there is not enough housing for everyone who qualifies and applies. For the White Mountain Apache tribe, this results in long waiting lists for housing, which may be one contributing factor to overcrowding in homes on the reservation.

While it is true that some tribes were relocated from their lush homes to barren areas (such as the Cherokee from Georgia to Oklahoma in the Trail of Tears), some like the White Mountain Apache live on ancestral land which is 1.7 million acres of beautiful canyons, mountains, aspen trees, and ponderosa pines - with a vibrant Tribal Game and Fish department, and even their own species of trout native to their land called the Apache Trout. The Navajo ancestral lands are located within and near the four sacred Mountains of Blanca Peak in Colorado, Mt. Taylor in New Mexico, San Francisco Peaks in Arizona, and Hesperus Peak in Colorado. This, of course, encompasses great geological diversity.

First, we must recognize the extent of the injustice. For many, we are talking about systematic forced removal from land (that where their homes), and attempted genocide of many tribes of people. In the 19th and 20th centuries, Indian children were forcibly abducted from their families by government agents, sent to boarding schools (which were government funded and often church-run) hundreds of miles away, and beaten, starved, or otherwise abused when they spoke their Native languages (The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, US Indian Boarding School History). Digging into Native American history is incredibly eye-opening, sobering, and heart-breaking. The more you research and learn, the more one is able to understand how complex the wounding has been. One does not just ‘move on.’

With this said, a common misconception is that US citizen taxes subsidize everything for Native Americans. Native American reservations have a distinct relationship with the US government. Yes, they are a part of America’s welfare system but there are many, many resource gaps resulting in generational poverty. “Resources” do not only pertain to money but to having emotional, mental, spiritual, physical, and social support (Payne, 2005).

In the recent years great strides have been made with Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) being the first Native American to hold the governmental position of Secretary of the Interior….[recent efforts]

What is the Doctrine of Discovery?
The Doctrine of Discovery is a series of papal bulls (a public decree, charter, or letter patent issued by the Catholic Church's pope) written between 1450 and 1493 that gave European nations the right to claim lands not ruled by Christian rulers. The doctrine justified the colonization of Africa, the enslavement of its people, and Christopher Columbus's landing in the Americas. How can we address the Doctrine of Discovery?
Education is important to begin to understand this concept, how it still impacts communities today, and re-think our attitudes toward how we interact with that part of history. Mark Charles (Navajo) and Soong-Chan Rah wrote Unsettling Truths: The Ongoing, Dehumanizing Legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery to call for truth-telling and reconciliation to address the injustices of the Doctrine of Discovery.

VIDEO: "What is Doctrine of Discovery" by Mark Charles

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