TOTALLY GEEKED!

ed11563 · Guru

Reservation question

I know what to do_sometimes · Frozen Sucks!

I wonder the same thing Ed. Thing is, the Native Americans are supposedly well taken care of welfare and housing wise. They are entitled in the truest sense of the word, to more welfare type programs than any other American.

Nobody Just Nobody · Rib-it! Rrrib-it!

I don't know very much but I do know there is tons of scholarship money out there for Native Americans. And by tons that means if you can document that you are truly a Native American then you can go to college for free.

Ohfour · Hooker

The reservation that my SILs family lives on is like a 3rd world country. Its unbelievable. They are the poorest of the poor. Gs band is a supporter of NAHA. They donate a lot of their income to the poorest reservations.

And it not true that everyone gets scholarship money. SIL didnt get a dime and hes 100% Apache...

I know what to do_sometimes · Frozen Sucks!

Ohfour wrote:
The reservation that my SILs family lives on is like a 3rd world country. Its unbelievable. They are the poorest of the poor. Gs band is a supporter of NAHA. They donate a lot of their income to the poorest reservations.

And it not true that everyone gets scholarship money. SIL didnt get a dime and hes 100% Apache...

He didn't get it or wouldn't take it? I hear that many of the tribes turn their backs on the aid.

Ohfour · Hooker

I know what to do_sometimes wrote:
Ohfour wrote:
The reservation that my SILs family lives on is like a 3rd world country. Its unbelievable. They are the poorest of the poor. Gs band is a supporter of NAHA. They donate a lot of their income to the poorest reservations.

And it not true that everyone gets scholarship money. SIL didnt get a dime and hes 100% Apache...
He didn't get it or wouldn't take it? I hear that many of the tribes turn their backs on the aid.

Thats a valid question. I will have to ask him.

Nobody Just Nobody · Rib-it! Rrrib-it!

Ohfour wrote:
I know what to do_sometimes wrote:
Ohfour wrote:
The reservation that my SILs family lives on is like a 3rd world country. Its unbelievable. They are the poorest of the poor. Gs band is a supporter of NAHA. They donate a lot of their income to the poorest reservations.

And it not true that everyone gets scholarship money. SIL didnt get a dime and hes 100% Apache...
He didn't get it or wouldn't take it? I hear that many of the tribes turn their backs on the aid.
Thats a valid question. I will have to ask him.

My daughter was offered scholarship money because she is part Native American. She didn't get though because she didn't come with papers...

Ohfour · Hooker

Oh, he has papers! Lol! My grandbabies are 1/2 Apache. They are considered bi racial...

Nobody Just Nobody · Rib-it! Rrrib-it!

Ohfour wrote:
Oh, he has papers! Lol! My grandbabies are 1/2 Apache. They are considered bi racial...

My daughter is watered down!

Ohfour · Hooker

They jokingly call my grandbabies "those white kids". The first time i heard them say that, I was like "what????". Lol!

Nobody Just Nobody · Rib-it! Rrrib-it!

That's funny because everyone thinks my daughter is Mexican because of all her dark features. Everyone else in the family is so pale!

just Czech · Give Me Grand's!

The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is the poorest in the nation. It also has the highest rate of alcoholism per capita of any reservation.
What ticks me off about the high alcoholism on that reservation is that it is a DRY reservation and they get ALL the alcohol from a little hell hole of a town, named Whiteclay Nebraska. Three bars sell over 3 million cans a beer yearly to the natives that come across the border from South Dakota. Yet, no one lives in Whiteclay. Hmm, odd don't you think?

Yes, ed, long story, but the money is needed.

O4, the Apache are wonderful people, a very proud people. They were the last natives brought under government control.
I am surprised your SIL did not get the funds for college.
Here, if you have 1/16 blood, you are native/tribal.

just Czech · Give Me Grand's!

Nobody Just Nobody wrote:
That's funny because everyone thinks my daughter is Mexican because of all her dark features. Everyone else in the family is so pale!

Sorry, but this is funny. Our DS if full Mexican and the natives ask him which tribe he belongs too. LOL

Nobody Just Nobody · Rib-it! Rrrib-it!

just Czech wrote:
Nobody Just Nobody wrote:
That's funny because everyone thinks my daughter is Mexican because of all her dark features. Everyone else in the family is so pale!
Sorry, but this is funny. Our DS if full Mexican and the natives ask him which tribe he belongs too. LOL

Oh I know. It's not offensive to me. Her dad was really dark. You could really see the Native American in him. Jet black hair, dark brown eyes, and very olive complected skin. She is a spitting image of him.

FNW · Guru

A friend of mine adopted her sister's child. The moms were 1/4 Cherokee. They had to get tribal permission for the adoption. She said she wished she never claimed Indian heritage because it was a PIA.

That's all I know about the Indians.

huskerbb · Guru

My mom grew up right next to the Pine Ridge in South Dakota, one of the most impoverished places in the nation. Most who live in the Pine Ridge are native.

I currently work inside the Ihanktonwan. It has a mix of white and natives.

The Pine Ridge is bad. Poverty, crime, and alcoholism are rampant. It comprises one of the poorest counties in the nation. Jobs are scarce.

The Ihanktonwan is better, though many natives still live in poverty. There are jobs, but a LOT of natives don't even want one. When you ask most high schoolers what they want to do when they graduate, most whites here will say college, start farming, get a job, etc...

Most natives simply say "the tribe will take care of me"--and plan on living off the government and the tribe their entire life.

The problem is that while the tribe gives them a house, and the government or tribe pays most of their bills--they will never escape poverty. They have enough to live on, but that's about it.

Nobody Just Nobody · Rib-it! Rrrib-it!

I've heard alcoholism is a huge thing among them. Worse than the average population. I do keep up with nursing stuff and watched a movie awhile back. It was about a reservation nurse. She talked about the alcoholism.

huskerbb · Guru

Pine Ridge Statistics as of 2007
•Unemployment rate of 80-90%
•Per capita income of $4,000
•8 Times the United States rate of diabetes
•5 Times the United States rate of cervical cancer
•Twice the rate of heart disease
•8 Times the United States rate of Tuberculosis
•Alcoholism rate estimated as high as 80%
•1 in 4 infants born with fetal alcohol syndrome or effects
•Suicide rate more than twice the national rate
•Teen suicide rate 4 times the national rate
•Infant mortality is three times the national rate
•Life expectancy on Pine Ridge is the lowest in the United States and the 2nd lowest in the Western Hemisphere. Only Haiti has a lower rate.

Nobody Just Nobody · Rib-it! Rrrib-it!

Yes, I remember in the movie she talked about diabetes and diabetic related diseases.

huskerbb · Guru

It's sad--but part of it is self-inflicted. There are many scholarships and opportunities available to those who want to break the cycle and get out of there--but sadly, most return to the rez at some point.

Ohfour · Hooker

I dont know if yall remember or not, but a couple of months ago my son in laws uncle was found dead in his yard on the rez. His other siblings all got away from it, he just couldnt break the cycle...he would leave, but always came back. Some people just either dont have the skills or dont have the courage to leave. Its a horrible cycle. And with all the FAS babies that are born, the tribes are slowly killing themselves off. Its heart wrenching. .