Post by chocolate on Aug 22, 2017 13:04:35 GMT -4
Thread: www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/6v4lyk/native_americansindigenous_peoples_of_reddit/
The ones with the number of upvotes are the main comment, the other quotes withing the bracketed numbers, are replies to that comment. Top 10 highest voted comments have been posted. Among reply comments, I posted the relevant ones, i.e those that describe the living conditions, not all of them.
This is going to be very long
1. [+14.4k]
2. [+13.0k]
3. [+5405]
4. [+4686]
5. [+1958]
6. [+1470]
7. [+1369]
8. [+820]
9. [+748]
10. [+446]
The ones with the number of upvotes are the main comment, the other quotes withing the bracketed numbers, are replies to that comment. Top 10 highest voted comments have been posted. Among reply comments, I posted the relevant ones, i.e those that describe the living conditions, not all of them.
This is going to be very long
1. [+14.4k]
I'm from a reservation in WA state and am half Native American. It's not that bad here. The thing is, all tribes are different. There is a lot of heroin and meth abuse. Generally, the dealers are not the native people but a lot of the users are. My sisters are all addicts.
Other than everyone having a bunch of broken down cars lol it's not much different than a small town.
I start work as an attorney for my tribe. As in house counsel, next week. The tribe has paid for everything for me. They fully funded my undergrad at a top, private university and they funded my law degree. They pay for my healthcare, they pay for each kid to have school clothes twice a year (300 twice a year). They have their own food bank and resource center. A gym with personal trainers. You get the gist.
Edit: it's my aunties birthday so I gotta go to a dinner but I'll be back to answer questions later!
Second edit: ok ok, "not that bad" is relative. I mean you read about terrible places with dogs running loose and this "Gary, Indiana" image and I meant it's not all like that. Yes there are a lot of bad things and even in my life I've experienced more tragedy than most people do. But I love my tribe and my people and to me, it's just a part of life.
Other than everyone having a bunch of broken down cars lol it's not much different than a small town.
I start work as an attorney for my tribe. As in house counsel, next week. The tribe has paid for everything for me. They fully funded my undergrad at a top, private university and they funded my law degree. They pay for my healthcare, they pay for each kid to have school clothes twice a year (300 twice a year). They have their own food bank and resource center. A gym with personal trainers. You get the gist.
Edit: it's my aunties birthday so I gotta go to a dinner but I'll be back to answer questions later!
Second edit: ok ok, "not that bad" is relative. I mean you read about terrible places with dogs running loose and this "Gary, Indiana" image and I meant it's not all like that. Yes there are a lot of bad things and even in my life I've experienced more tragedy than most people do. But I love my tribe and my people and to me, it's just a part of life.
There's a reason non natives are dealers on reservations: jurisdiction.
On the rez, the non tribal folks only have to worry about the feds, as the county and state police leave the policing to the tribal police - who don't have jurisdiction over non tribal folks.
On the rez, the non tribal folks only have to worry about the feds, as the county and state police leave the policing to the tribal police - who don't have jurisdiction over non tribal folks.
I'm an attorney for a tribe. Drugs are a massive problem as is human trafficking. Our tribe had 64 heroin overdoses in 14 days after members got their per cap checks on June 1st. Not to mention undeveloped laws. Some tribes, Oklahoma Cherokee for instance, have laws as developed as any state. Others, such as the one I work for mostly play it by ear. Simple land transfers or drafting easements can get complicated because there might not be a legal mechanism to authorize them. Taxes and Medicaid are huge legal issues for tribes right now.
Depending on which tribe you're working for you're going to have an interesting experience ahead of you.
Depending on which tribe you're working for you're going to have an interesting experience ahead of you.
Always depends on who's on top. I've seen reservations from one end of the country to the other, and they can be crazy corrupt, or just uncaring, or ridiculously into doing everything for the rest of the tribe.
My nearest rez, they've been a couple decades in the making for a massive cash flow, and have been pumping it back into the community, and it's amazing to see. They're throwing tons into spiffing the area up while preserving culture and history, easy access to drug rehabilitation and education, child care, jobs, etc, and, maybe it's because they're on the smaller end, but I haven't seen this level of success in too many other areas.
They went from a bingo hall with some slots to a massive resort casino in 20 years, and apparently saved every little bit they could to make it happen without any sort of debt to anyone else to build it.
On the other end, I've seen a couple reservations where the peeps in power are practically a mini-mafia, and everything is in disrepair...
My nearest rez, they've been a couple decades in the making for a massive cash flow, and have been pumping it back into the community, and it's amazing to see. They're throwing tons into spiffing the area up while preserving culture and history, easy access to drug rehabilitation and education, child care, jobs, etc, and, maybe it's because they're on the smaller end, but I haven't seen this level of success in too many other areas.
They went from a bingo hall with some slots to a massive resort casino in 20 years, and apparently saved every little bit they could to make it happen without any sort of debt to anyone else to build it.
On the other end, I've seen a couple reservations where the peeps in power are practically a mini-mafia, and everything is in disrepair...
2. [+13.0k]
I currently live in a pretty isolated reserve way up in northern Canada, so I'm sorry that I'm not quite who you were asking. The living conditions are pretty awful. The trailers/houses are very run down and often just plain dirty. People get animals they can't afford and allow them to reproduce to a point where we probably have more dogs than people. The "rez dogs" are the worst bc they are violent and not cared for. We have no animal control so people don't care and let their animals run free. Many of the people here are either on drugs, alcoholics, or had too many kids to afford to leave. Most of the people here have never graduated high school (most only make it to grade 10). Imagine all the stereotypes you hear about my race and you'll get a pretty good idea. Not all the reserves are ugly and run down. I've been to a few that are very nice and where the houses are actually suitable for living. The people have their issues, but they aren't bad people. We were all raised on this idea that what we label we wear (druggies, alcoholics etc.) is all we can ever be. I thought it was normal to have children in your teen years because that's all I was exposed to. I like to think that there is hope for my home to restore the sense of community and clean this place up, but there's a reason all the people who were able to leave never came back. I tried to do what little I could by tutoring students for free while I tried to balance school and work but it wasn't really enough. I graduated high school this year, and I am leaving for university at a school a good 20-24 hour drive away from home and I'm not sure that I want to come back. Sorry for my answer being blunt, but it's the truth for my reserve. I hope this isn't true for any others.
I'm from a reserve in Manitoba, Canada, and I can confirm that most, if not all, reserves are like this. Mine has had a few drug busts recently. Cocaine has become a big problem. Healthcare is shit. Housing is shit. As a result of everything being shit, the people are too, shit. Education is another big problem on my reserve. Most recently, suicides were becoming a little too common. That has since subsided a bit.
I live off reserve and will be attending university, come september.
I live off reserve and will be attending university, come september.
My ex is Opaskewack Cree from The Pas. Can totally relate to everything you said, especially the suicide. She has only been back once (she was raised in Calgary), but says the anytime she needs motivation in life, she remembers where she came from and thinks about what her life would have been like if she didn't get out. She completed her Bachelor Degree in Indigenous Studies last year at UBC and wrote the LSAT last Fall. Not surprisingly, she wants to get into Treaty Law. Both of you are the positive examples that the community needs, and I hope you succeed at everything you put your heart into.
I've worked in a number of reserves in Manitoba. Pretty well all of them are exactly what you've described. There's a few nice ones, but by in large they're run down, and the people seem "stuck".
The people I've worked with were very pleasant. Most had addictions, but were still functional. The biggest thing I saw in a lot of the men is what I can only describe as "lack of purpose"... For people outside of reserves, whether you like your job or not, it's something you do every day and gives your life structure. Might just be my perspective, but I'm a guy and if I didn't have some responsibility each day (a job for example), I would get horribly depressed and likely fall into a lot of the same patterns they have.
Unemployment rates on the reserves I've visited are astronomical. The ones who I was working with were typically broke the week after pay-day as most of their pay went directly to their addictions... Very sad to see.
In my experiences, they have a truly beautiful culture. Sense of community is unfucking real up in the reserves I've been in. They're stuck in a cycle, and we've had plenty of governments come and go that have tried various strategies to help break this cycle, but there is no solution...
I honestly don't believe there is a solution to it. Money isn't the answer. Getting them integrated into our society will kill their culture. Education is a huge thing, but as there's very, very few skilled labour jobs or professional jobs on a reserve, most people who leave never come back; leaving behind a very hard world that just lost another bright mind.
It's rough.
The people I've worked with were very pleasant. Most had addictions, but were still functional. The biggest thing I saw in a lot of the men is what I can only describe as "lack of purpose"... For people outside of reserves, whether you like your job or not, it's something you do every day and gives your life structure. Might just be my perspective, but I'm a guy and if I didn't have some responsibility each day (a job for example), I would get horribly depressed and likely fall into a lot of the same patterns they have.
Unemployment rates on the reserves I've visited are astronomical. The ones who I was working with were typically broke the week after pay-day as most of their pay went directly to their addictions... Very sad to see.
In my experiences, they have a truly beautiful culture. Sense of community is unfucking real up in the reserves I've been in. They're stuck in a cycle, and we've had plenty of governments come and go that have tried various strategies to help break this cycle, but there is no solution...
I honestly don't believe there is a solution to it. Money isn't the answer. Getting them integrated into our society will kill their culture. Education is a huge thing, but as there's very, very few skilled labour jobs or professional jobs on a reserve, most people who leave never come back; leaving behind a very hard world that just lost another bright mind.
It's rough.
It's an entirely different situation with Native Americans though because they aren't immigrants. Their families didn't move across an ocean to escape repression or a poor economic situation. The people he's talking about are folks who moved across the state to a place with opportunities. In the case of many reservations, they're not huge places with a huge expat base. Moving to a even a nearby town could mean that the kids and grandkids grow up never meaning a single person from their cultural background off of the reservation.
It's not like the Cubans who moved to little Havana. It's not like the Chinese who moved to Chinatown. It's not like the Italians who moved to little Italy. It's hard or impossible to keep it going if you're the only one with your culture in a new place. And even if there are a number of Native Americans there, they all have very unique cultures per tribe and per reservation.
It's not like the Cubans who moved to little Havana. It's not like the Chinese who moved to Chinatown. It's not like the Italians who moved to little Italy. It's hard or impossible to keep it going if you're the only one with your culture in a new place. And even if there are a number of Native Americans there, they all have very unique cultures per tribe and per reservation.
As a Canadian, I am truly shocked. All we are taught is to respect First Nations, that they have a rich history, that calling them Indians is an insult, and that we respect their lives and nurture understanding. If I knew that reserves were actually like this, I would have an entirely different view on the situation in Canada. Thank you for your post, I learned a lot more about the situation of First Nations people in reserves from you then any discussion at school has.
3. [+5405]
I grew up on an off the rez and I've always had mixed feelings. Yeah there's a lot of alcohol and drug abuse, but ya know me and my cousins were better off than most other families. I knew about the fights, stabbings, rapes people's parents who OD'd. I never had to see those things but everyone knew about them.
We just kinda dealt with it using humor. Only recently when I left for school did me and my friends from other reservations have started to deal with it.
I think a huge part of the rez' fucked upness is due to a lack of education. I feel bad sometimes cause I know I was a pretentious little shit. I thought I was smarter than people on my rez because I got to go to a predominantly white school. The rez school system is shit, when I went to school there they wanted to boost 6 year old me into the 5th grade. I wouldn't say the kids don't want to learn they just think schools a waste of time because it doesn't teach them well, or anything they think is valuable. I will say it's much cooler when you get to learn where to dig roots, go fishing and hunting, and learn your language from your grandparents rather than hear about the mitochondria. The resources just aren't available for the students to apply themselves off the rez.
I think depending on your family the experience can vary. My moms family is pretty traditional so I see a lot more culture surviving and that's cool af. I had a lot of freedom as a kid befriending rez dogs and riding my bike down the creek. Having airsoft wars in the horse pasture, going rafting down the rivers, so as fucked up as the rez is I had a great time. I love my home, despite all the problems.
And there's a lot of problems that can really fuck you up if you're not careful. I didn't realize it wasn't normal to see your aunty get beat, walk in on your dad passed out with bottles, seeing your grandpa deal pills down the street, or have to go to 9 funerals in 1 month.
People are still healing and I don't think the problem can be solved through a single way. My mom always preaches about ceremony and college, and it works for some people, but others have had to deal with way more bullshit. I don't know what people need. I think about it a lot and it'd make me happy if people could get off the rez more, but from what I know people hate it.
Being off the rez sucks sometimes. People don't get your sense of humor. People treat you weird and you have to tell non natives that we exist all the time. They either put you on some weird pedestal or tell you you're a drunk.
Idk sometimes the rez ain't that bad if you avoid your meth head relatives.
We just kinda dealt with it using humor. Only recently when I left for school did me and my friends from other reservations have started to deal with it.
I think a huge part of the rez' fucked upness is due to a lack of education. I feel bad sometimes cause I know I was a pretentious little shit. I thought I was smarter than people on my rez because I got to go to a predominantly white school. The rez school system is shit, when I went to school there they wanted to boost 6 year old me into the 5th grade. I wouldn't say the kids don't want to learn they just think schools a waste of time because it doesn't teach them well, or anything they think is valuable. I will say it's much cooler when you get to learn where to dig roots, go fishing and hunting, and learn your language from your grandparents rather than hear about the mitochondria. The resources just aren't available for the students to apply themselves off the rez.
I think depending on your family the experience can vary. My moms family is pretty traditional so I see a lot more culture surviving and that's cool af. I had a lot of freedom as a kid befriending rez dogs and riding my bike down the creek. Having airsoft wars in the horse pasture, going rafting down the rivers, so as fucked up as the rez is I had a great time. I love my home, despite all the problems.
And there's a lot of problems that can really fuck you up if you're not careful. I didn't realize it wasn't normal to see your aunty get beat, walk in on your dad passed out with bottles, seeing your grandpa deal pills down the street, or have to go to 9 funerals in 1 month.
People are still healing and I don't think the problem can be solved through a single way. My mom always preaches about ceremony and college, and it works for some people, but others have had to deal with way more bullshit. I don't know what people need. I think about it a lot and it'd make me happy if people could get off the rez more, but from what I know people hate it.
Being off the rez sucks sometimes. People don't get your sense of humor. People treat you weird and you have to tell non natives that we exist all the time. They either put you on some weird pedestal or tell you you're a drunk.
Idk sometimes the rez ain't that bad if you avoid your meth head relatives.
I am from a suburb of Toronto, when I was in highschool I had an opportunity through the YMCA to travel to a reserve in Alberta, and then billet a boy of the same age here for, a weeks time, in both provinces. Man, when we first arrived in Alberta, on the reserve, it was shocking to say the least. Everything you said was very apparent, especially the dogs, I'm an idiot 17 year old from the suburbs, I see a dog, I want to pet! Nope. The houses we were in had concrete floors for sleeping on! Yo!! That was not something I was used to or expecting what so ever. I had all these nice name brand clothes, and half of these guys have nothing. Btw, The kids were some of the nicest people I ever met. I keep that trip near and dear to my heart. It changed how I looked on life afterwards. I still have a sign in my room that says " Welcome _____ High school " because like fuck, I was not throwing that out. Shit'll make me tear up if I am drunk enough.
4. [+4686]
I grew up on the rosebud reservation in South Dakota. It was fine I guess. After moving off the reservation I realized that everyone was poor but my family just happened to be slightly less poor since both my parents worked a lot to try and give us a good life.
It felt like a small town with a lot of culture that is very important. People flocked to pow wows, rodeos, sporting events and whatever was going on. If it wasn't that then the older folks were drinking. I don't ever want to go back, there's just no opportunity there.
It felt like a small town with a lot of culture that is very important. People flocked to pow wows, rodeos, sporting events and whatever was going on. If it wasn't that then the older folks were drinking. I don't ever want to go back, there's just no opportunity there.
I'm originally from the Winnebago rez in Nebraska, but got adopted out and was raised in Iowa. I had a childhood friend with essentially the same story, except he was from Rosebud.
We both came to the conclusion that we were both extremely lucky to have made it out. Going back to visit our families, it seems like everyone we knew are either alcoholics or drug addicts (mainly meth addicts, including both of our moms as well as our aunts and uncles).
We even both had siblings who decided that they wanted to get to know our biological families better, so they went back to live on the rez with them when they came of age and are now really bad addicts. It's so sad.
We both came to the conclusion that we were both extremely lucky to have made it out. Going back to visit our families, it seems like everyone we knew are either alcoholics or drug addicts (mainly meth addicts, including both of our moms as well as our aunts and uncles).
We even both had siblings who decided that they wanted to get to know our biological families better, so they went back to live on the rez with them when they came of age and are now really bad addicts. It's so sad.
Mitakuye oyasin. I was a firekeeper at an ogalala lakota sundance in the Rosebud Res for about 7 years. Kind people, accepting and good-natured, and it did me good to see that many traditions are still being kept alive, but I had to stop going a few years ago.
The spiritual side of the sundance became rife with politics, petty grudges, and hate. The energy shifted and people started getting hurt. One man even died in the circle right in front of me.
I miss it, and I hear very little from my brothers and sisters these days. It makes me sad when I think about it, but I know of several young people from the families I became acquainted with that have made it out as they say.
The res is a black hole. I don't know what the answer is.
The spiritual side of the sundance became rife with politics, petty grudges, and hate. The energy shifted and people started getting hurt. One man even died in the circle right in front of me.
I miss it, and I hear very little from my brothers and sisters these days. It makes me sad when I think about it, but I know of several young people from the families I became acquainted with that have made it out as they say.
The res is a black hole. I don't know what the answer is.
I stayed at the pine ridge reservation for a short time. Can definitely agree with no opportunity, the unemployment rate is high 80%. The culture is also amazing, I was lucky enough to spend an entire day listening to all the stories they have and how their beliefs work, as well as participating in a sweat lodge. It's definitely a unique experience and it's actually very cleansing
5. [+1958]
So my tribe isn't federally recognized only state recognized.
However, I will still speak on it. I moved to my tribal area to obtain my Master's degree and it's very different from the city I grew up in.
I work in a little shop in town, and the amount of people who come in drugged out or drunk is staggering.
There also seems to be a big divide between culture and religion. I live in the south, so there are a lot of churches here. The church Natives don't agree with the culture that was established before Columbus made contact, and the spiritual people don't believe in church. I've heard nasty comments from both sides.
However, it's one of the most loving communities you would ever know. I could be standing in line somewhere in and within five minutes a stranger will have a complete conversation with you, pray for you, and tell you to have a good day on top of all that. Back home, strangers really didn't talk to anyone they didn't know.
EDITED TO NOTE: My tribe, the Lumbee, does not have a reservation.
However, I will still speak on it. I moved to my tribal area to obtain my Master's degree and it's very different from the city I grew up in.
I work in a little shop in town, and the amount of people who come in drugged out or drunk is staggering.
There also seems to be a big divide between culture and religion. I live in the south, so there are a lot of churches here. The church Natives don't agree with the culture that was established before Columbus made contact, and the spiritual people don't believe in church. I've heard nasty comments from both sides.
However, it's one of the most loving communities you would ever know. I could be standing in line somewhere in and within five minutes a stranger will have a complete conversation with you, pray for you, and tell you to have a good day on top of all that. Back home, strangers really didn't talk to anyone they didn't know.
EDITED TO NOTE: My tribe, the Lumbee, does not have a reservation.
6. [+1470]
I grew up on one here in Canada. The plus side is that being related to everyone meant we were like a big family. When we were kids we all played together and got into trouble together. When we got into trouble it was something that my aunts, uncles and parents all shared the responsibility of setting us straight for. Family always seemed very important to me as a kid and I am both humbled and glad I grew up there as a young kid because it taught me a lot about family, sticking up for each other and sharing. When my father was alive he shared a very active role in native politics here in Canada because he was a lawyer who helped our community we lived on, so I also got to learn about ALOT of the injustices that happened to both my family and natives pretty much everywhere. When we were kids, me and all my cousins also all went to school together. Some of us went to normal public school, away from the reserve, but after a while some of my cousins ended up being taken out of public school because of their learning disabilities and they went to a school on the reserve that was sort of like an "alternative" school. The community I lived in tried very hard to help it's members. There was a school for us if we needed to go to it, the elders of our reserve were taken care of. Some of them had helpers come to assist them in their daily lives that the band paid for. The band also paid for camps in the summer to help keep the kids like us pre-occupied when we were younger. I would say pretty much every day I spent living there was an interaction with my extended family. Whether it was me playing with my cousins, or even my other relatives looking after me, my extended family was all around me and I am grateful for the experience now. When we all went to the same public schools, we ran the playground. Nobody fucked with us. Again, family is very important growing up on a reserve. You stick up for your family, but at the same time, you fight with them just like every other family. The only difference is mine is far, far bigger than yours probably.
Now the bad parts:
As we grew older, many cousins of mine dropped out of high school, or never pursued a post-secondary education. Illiteracy rates are very, very high in native communities. Many of my extended family just couldn't cut it eventually in an educational world, so they dropped out. When you're a kid there's a sort of innocence that comes along with it, and you lose that when you get older. You lose it even faster growing up on a reserve, where your parents might have severe mental health issues, substance abuse issues or other worse things that stem from the past. Many of my cousins quickly got pregnant and had kids of their own when we were barely young adults ourselves. Many of them also got into drugs or other things as we grew up. When my parents separated, my mom took me and my brothers and moved away from the reserve because she was white. When we moved away, we moved away from many problems that might've became my life if we'd stayed. Many of my cousins I grew up with playing hockey on our street have since died from drug overdoses for example and it makes me sad now just typing this out. Drama and problems often manifest themselves when we all get older, they often feel amplified on a reserve where you're surrounded by family who are also struggling with the same issues. At least here in Canada it's also encouraged for many native people to date and get married to other native people in sort of an unspoken idea of preserving a native bloodline, so more often than not, growing up on a reserve or living on one means you often know or are friends with natives from other surrounding native lands. It's also partially that communal thing that helps perpetuate this. Many native bands also have council members who mis-manage funds given to them by the government. Here in Canada at least, native money isn't regulated or watched. Rumours of band members embezzling money or mis-managing it in other ways were always prevalent whenever politics were brought up.
I should also be clear here too: I grew up on one of the nicer reserves. The band I am from happens to be one of the richest ones in western canada. There are reserves all across both our countries who are far, far worse socially and financially. Bad things are prevalent in every native community to varying degrees though. People have issues. Again they feel amplified on a reserve. When I was 12 years old me and my younger brother saw a cousin of ours kill a dog with a hammer once. I remember times when there were lots of cops there, on a manhunt for someone I was related to. About 20 years ago there was also a very highly publicized SWAT team shoot-out on the one I grew up on. I have cousins who've hanged themselves out of depression, or have been killed drinking and driving. There are far more issues on a reserve then say 2 miles down the road in white suburbia. Part of this is the pain and suffering native people have suffered as recently as 40 years ago. Virtually all my native family your grandparents age suffered in residential schools sixty years ago where they were physically and sexually abused. My great-grandmother used to have pins pushed into her tongue by nuns if they caught her or anyone else talking in their native language. It gets far worse than that, I don't need to explain it. Google it if you're curious. My point is, those people are all still alive today, and they've passed all that grief and suffering down to their kids who are my relatives my parents age, who've in turn, handed that down to the people my age and beyond. It's a cycle that doesn't stop. Where I live my last name, gets me hassled by the cops when they pull me over, they hassle every native person here just like they hassle black people down in America.
I realized a long time ago, that black people in America and native people in all of north america share a lot of parallels. Especially when it comes to how they're treated by the cops. It's just never been as much of an outrage with native people. You'll see everyone stepping over that native guy passed out on the sidewalk downtown, while they act concerned with say, black lives mattering or rights for transexual people.
I guess if I was to TL;DR: Living on a reserve is fucked up. My dad didn't want to raise his kids there, and I certainly wouldn't wanna raise mine there either. The only thing I am grateful about it for is learning about the importance of family, community and sharing. (Sorry if my post was too long.)
Now the bad parts:
As we grew older, many cousins of mine dropped out of high school, or never pursued a post-secondary education. Illiteracy rates are very, very high in native communities. Many of my extended family just couldn't cut it eventually in an educational world, so they dropped out. When you're a kid there's a sort of innocence that comes along with it, and you lose that when you get older. You lose it even faster growing up on a reserve, where your parents might have severe mental health issues, substance abuse issues or other worse things that stem from the past. Many of my cousins quickly got pregnant and had kids of their own when we were barely young adults ourselves. Many of them also got into drugs or other things as we grew up. When my parents separated, my mom took me and my brothers and moved away from the reserve because she was white. When we moved away, we moved away from many problems that might've became my life if we'd stayed. Many of my cousins I grew up with playing hockey on our street have since died from drug overdoses for example and it makes me sad now just typing this out. Drama and problems often manifest themselves when we all get older, they often feel amplified on a reserve where you're surrounded by family who are also struggling with the same issues. At least here in Canada it's also encouraged for many native people to date and get married to other native people in sort of an unspoken idea of preserving a native bloodline, so more often than not, growing up on a reserve or living on one means you often know or are friends with natives from other surrounding native lands. It's also partially that communal thing that helps perpetuate this. Many native bands also have council members who mis-manage funds given to them by the government. Here in Canada at least, native money isn't regulated or watched. Rumours of band members embezzling money or mis-managing it in other ways were always prevalent whenever politics were brought up.
I should also be clear here too: I grew up on one of the nicer reserves. The band I am from happens to be one of the richest ones in western canada. There are reserves all across both our countries who are far, far worse socially and financially. Bad things are prevalent in every native community to varying degrees though. People have issues. Again they feel amplified on a reserve. When I was 12 years old me and my younger brother saw a cousin of ours kill a dog with a hammer once. I remember times when there were lots of cops there, on a manhunt for someone I was related to. About 20 years ago there was also a very highly publicized SWAT team shoot-out on the one I grew up on. I have cousins who've hanged themselves out of depression, or have been killed drinking and driving. There are far more issues on a reserve then say 2 miles down the road in white suburbia. Part of this is the pain and suffering native people have suffered as recently as 40 years ago. Virtually all my native family your grandparents age suffered in residential schools sixty years ago where they were physically and sexually abused. My great-grandmother used to have pins pushed into her tongue by nuns if they caught her or anyone else talking in their native language. It gets far worse than that, I don't need to explain it. Google it if you're curious. My point is, those people are all still alive today, and they've passed all that grief and suffering down to their kids who are my relatives my parents age, who've in turn, handed that down to the people my age and beyond. It's a cycle that doesn't stop. Where I live my last name, gets me hassled by the cops when they pull me over, they hassle every native person here just like they hassle black people down in America.
I realized a long time ago, that black people in America and native people in all of north america share a lot of parallels. Especially when it comes to how they're treated by the cops. It's just never been as much of an outrage with native people. You'll see everyone stepping over that native guy passed out on the sidewalk downtown, while they act concerned with say, black lives mattering or rights for transexual people.
I guess if I was to TL;DR: Living on a reserve is fucked up. My dad didn't want to raise his kids there, and I certainly wouldn't wanna raise mine there either. The only thing I am grateful about it for is learning about the importance of family, community and sharing. (Sorry if my post was too long.)
Most of the time in my experience, when white people want to sincerely help, many native people just think you're being nosey. I would say be patient.
Native education is hard. Up until maybe as recently as 80 years ago, most native communities learned by passing knowledge down verbally through stories, songs and dance. Native people historically didn't even have a written language. This might be why it's so difficult for native people to learn even in today's world. You take a culture based on verbal history and then plunk it's kids down in the seats of a class room and force them to try and learn a new way and they'll always have problems.
Problems both ingrained in their way of life, and problems from various circumstances. There are native communities here in Canada where they don't even have proper running water. Maybe both parents are also alcoholics and drug addicts. If you tried to sit a kid down going through all this to learn, their mind is probably already pre-occupied with worse problems. A child can only see immediately in front of them. Issues at home will always be on their mind more than where they spend 6 hours a day being forced to learn something.
My only advice is be patient. To the point where that patience might even test you. Many native kids grow up with no positive role models. You're the one who's going to need to be their rock if they need one.
Native education is hard. Up until maybe as recently as 80 years ago, most native communities learned by passing knowledge down verbally through stories, songs and dance. Native people historically didn't even have a written language. This might be why it's so difficult for native people to learn even in today's world. You take a culture based on verbal history and then plunk it's kids down in the seats of a class room and force them to try and learn a new way and they'll always have problems.
Problems both ingrained in their way of life, and problems from various circumstances. There are native communities here in Canada where they don't even have proper running water. Maybe both parents are also alcoholics and drug addicts. If you tried to sit a kid down going through all this to learn, their mind is probably already pre-occupied with worse problems. A child can only see immediately in front of them. Issues at home will always be on their mind more than where they spend 6 hours a day being forced to learn something.
My only advice is be patient. To the point where that patience might even test you. Many native kids grow up with no positive role models. You're the one who's going to need to be their rock if they need one.
Yeah, people still have their pride. No one wants to feel like they're a charity case.
I have known a native community since I was five. I moved to Canada when I was 10 and I live in the white suburbs. Recently, when we were asked about what could be done in my "philosophy" class (I'm in university), I shared my experience. I talked about this girl that I've known since I was a child, who's about the same age as me. She is a soon-to-be mother and she didn't graduate high school. I'm about to finish college. I talked about the lack of infrastructures (no hospital but a police station, no restaurant, no shops, closest city at one hour drive from the reservation, etc.). And I concluded by saying that white people can't help the natives. It will have to come from them first. Everybody (even people who had no experience whatsoever of reservations but just stereotypes and prejudices) disagreed. But I know, that I am not wrong. I am not saying that white people should never help. I think initiatives should come from the natives and then be supported by the federal government. They need hope, they need to believe that there is something better out of there. They need role models.
7. [+1369]
I grew up between the Salt River and Gila River reservations around Phoenix, Arizona. When I was a kid it was pretty fun having such a large area to just walk around with a bb gun and no one cared where you were or how long you were gone for. We could dig in the ground and find broken pottery from other generations which is pretty crazy to think about now.
There were a lot of drunks who would show up at our house at 2 am and my grandparents would help them out with food or a place to sleep. There was only one little gas station/store to get groceries along with a smoke shop.
I generally have good memories of being there.
We now have casinos which really helps the community provide for itself. Our tribe focuses on building the community and gives very little to individuals in percapita distributions. Other tribes give more money to their members, but it seems like that causes more drug and crime problems.
My tribe has the highest rate of diabetes in the world, or at least it did when I wrote my capstone research paper on it for nursing school. We spend a lot of money on hemodialysis.
There is a ton of death. We dig our own graves by hand. Compared to other funerals that I have gone to off the reservation, there is something very special about digging your loved one's grave. Being in the ground, inhaling the dirt where your family member will soon rest. It's powerful.
I live in the city now but I return frequently to visit family.
There were a lot of drunks who would show up at our house at 2 am and my grandparents would help them out with food or a place to sleep. There was only one little gas station/store to get groceries along with a smoke shop.
I generally have good memories of being there.
We now have casinos which really helps the community provide for itself. Our tribe focuses on building the community and gives very little to individuals in percapita distributions. Other tribes give more money to their members, but it seems like that causes more drug and crime problems.
My tribe has the highest rate of diabetes in the world, or at least it did when I wrote my capstone research paper on it for nursing school. We spend a lot of money on hemodialysis.
There is a ton of death. We dig our own graves by hand. Compared to other funerals that I have gone to off the reservation, there is something very special about digging your loved one's grave. Being in the ground, inhaling the dirt where your family member will soon rest. It's powerful.
I live in the city now but I return frequently to visit family.
The tribes I am familiar with in my area give massive percapita distributions (>$100k a year), but to my knowledge, they force you to stay on the reservation to receive it. I can see how that would create the significant cultural issues with drugs and an unhealthy dependency on the tribe.
8. [+820]
I grew up on the Navajo Nation; the largest reserve in the U.S. All my family still reside in the area, but I got to leave for college. For the most part, you are isolated from everything civil. We did not have running water or electricity until I was about 10. My father and uncles had jobs 10 hours away and would make frequent weekend trips home, and the nearest town is probably a good hour drive. I did not realize how difficult our lives were until I moved away for college. As children, we had the vast open landscape as our playground. We hiked, camped, played tag, all without boundaries or worries that strangers were lurking. It was a close knit community, and families were clustered across the reservation. For example, if you were to visit a family friend, then you could pretty much walk on over to visit their grandparents, siblings, etc. I would make frequent trips home during college, and suddenly there is a disconnect between you and your home. You leave home impressed with this overwhelming grief. Not only is alcohol rampant on the reservation, but the quality of life is just unbelievable. Payday loans, fast food joints, and package liquor govern the Navajo people. These border towns are the only outlet we have for groceries and supplies, but the convenience of all these establishments leave us in an unhealthy state of mind. Like someone said, it's a vicious cycle and it becomes evident when a close friend or family is absorbed.
Yesterday, I talked to a Native American guy from the Navajo Nation about the rez. He was a friend of my grandfather, and he was around 50 years old.
This might not be politically correct, but something he said really stuck with me. Our conversations got around to Black Lives Matter and what he thought of the movement, and he told me: "The difference between Indian activist groups and black activist groups is that the Indians don't make a difference. Black Lives Matter has a voice, but no one gives a shit about the rez."
This might not be politically correct, but something he said really stuck with me. Our conversations got around to Black Lives Matter and what he thought of the movement, and he told me: "The difference between Indian activist groups and black activist groups is that the Indians don't make a difference. Black Lives Matter has a voice, but no one gives a shit about the rez."
That's because there is no black voter base that politicians care about and there are no native politicians that have any real influence. No political leader will do anything beyond basic lip service to a group that has no political clout when they have a limited amount of political capital (and actual capital) to work with and other groups whose influence and voting power matter more.
Black voter base is important (15% of US pop) but they're considered a known quantity. Republicans thinks it's a waste of time to court them because they'll always vote democrat. Democrats pay lip service but then don't do anything because they know they'll never vote republican.
9. [+748]
I lived on the Fort Berthold reservation my entire life, growing up you never think you're poor because all your friends are too. The town I grew up in had a serious drug problem, we would find needles in the street and woods along with empty bottles of booze. We had one park and basketball court missing a hoop. A lot of our time was spent playing in the woods or following the older boys.
They used to make us fight because they'd say we have to because when we get older theres no avoiding a scrap on the rez. I've seen plenty of fights to know it was true. A lot of us grew up having family addicted to drugs and crime was a normal thing. The closest police is 33 miles up north. I just wanna say my town was worse than other towns on our rez. We share it with two other tribes and ours is the smallest.
When we would go to these other towns the kids would try to punk us and fight because back then people would hate on my tribe and call us cowards. So we would fight and get respect. As I grew up I went through things that fucked me up and made me different at a early age. By the time I was a teen I wasn't going to school and picked up smoking and drinking. I went to jail when I was 15. After I got out I didn't care to go back and did plenty of times after that.
I'm the last of that generation of boys. Most of my cousins/uncles and friends are dead. This is my experience growing up here. Some people had it better and some had it worst.
Today its different, more people and houses as well as a rec center and they're building a new school. The kids now are graduating and going to college. I can't help but think the teachers who've taught them tell stories about us and our school days as a way of helping kids wanna graduate and leave.
I already shared what trauma I've been through, I hate typing it all out because reading it makes me feel weird in a way and I start going down a rabbit hole in my head thinking of everything bad and I hate feeling sorry for myself. You can find it on my page, it ain't hard to find.
"See to live is to suffer, but to survive? Well... that's to find meaning in the suffering." - DMX
They used to make us fight because they'd say we have to because when we get older theres no avoiding a scrap on the rez. I've seen plenty of fights to know it was true. A lot of us grew up having family addicted to drugs and crime was a normal thing. The closest police is 33 miles up north. I just wanna say my town was worse than other towns on our rez. We share it with two other tribes and ours is the smallest.
When we would go to these other towns the kids would try to punk us and fight because back then people would hate on my tribe and call us cowards. So we would fight and get respect. As I grew up I went through things that fucked me up and made me different at a early age. By the time I was a teen I wasn't going to school and picked up smoking and drinking. I went to jail when I was 15. After I got out I didn't care to go back and did plenty of times after that.
I'm the last of that generation of boys. Most of my cousins/uncles and friends are dead. This is my experience growing up here. Some people had it better and some had it worst.
Today its different, more people and houses as well as a rec center and they're building a new school. The kids now are graduating and going to college. I can't help but think the teachers who've taught them tell stories about us and our school days as a way of helping kids wanna graduate and leave.
I already shared what trauma I've been through, I hate typing it all out because reading it makes me feel weird in a way and I start going down a rabbit hole in my head thinking of everything bad and I hate feeling sorry for myself. You can find it on my page, it ain't hard to find.
"See to live is to suffer, but to survive? Well... that's to find meaning in the suffering." - DMX
10. [+446]
You asked about reservations in the US, but I'll answer anyway. I grew up in the suburbs of Toronto, but my parents had roots in the north and we visited my grandma in a small northern community often. It's true that colonialism has left a legacy of addictions, abuse and other serious issues, but there's lots of great stuff in our communities too. My fondest childhood memories are of grandma making bannock with bear fat and the blueberries we picked. Most indigenous people in Canada do not live on reserves. Many of us have never lived on reserves. I have raised my kids in the city, but we spend as much time as possible hunting, fishing, playing lacrosse, and other traditional passtimes.