What is it like to live on an Indian reservation?

Quality of Life on Reservations is Extremely Poor.
Often, three generations of a single family live in one cramped dwelling space. The packed households frequently take in tribe members in need as well. Additionally, most residences lack adequate plumbing, cooking facilities and air conditioning.
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What are the benefits of living on an Indian reservation?

Brienne explains the perks of living on a reservation: "We don't pay the same taxes (we do still pay to some degree), and we get housing assistance, which means when our houses start to break down, someone's guaranteed to come fix it free of charge.
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Can I go live on an Indian reservation?

Keep in mind that reservations are not tourist attractions, but rather places where people live and work. Some Native American reservations you can visit include: Navajo Nation: Consider attending the annual Navajo Nation Fair, held in September in Window Rock, Arizona.
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What is it like growing up on an Indian reservation?

“... Indians on the reservations suffered from poverty, malnutrition, and very low standards of living and rates of economic development”-Kahn Academy. Families were given plots of land and U.S. citizenship; however, in most cases, plots of land were miles apart from one another and housing was limited.
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Are Indian reservations safe?

Indian reservations nationwide face violent crime rates more than 2.5 times the national rate, and some reservations face more than 20 times the national rate of violence. More than 1 in 3 Indian women will be raped in their lifetimes, and 2 in 5 will face domestic or intimate partner violence.
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What Life On A Native American Reservation Is Really Like



Do Native Americans pay taxes?

All Indians are subject to federal income taxes. As sovereign entities, tribal governments have the power to levy taxes on reservation lands. Some tribes do and some don't. As a result, Indians and non-Indians may or may not pay sales taxes on goods and services purchased on the reservation depending on the tribe.
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Why are Indian reservations so poor?

To explain the poverty of the reservations, people usually point to alcoholism, corruption or school-dropout rates, not to mention the long distances to jobs and the dusty undeveloped land that doesn't seem good for growing much.
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Is alcohol allowed on Indian reservations?

Federal law bans the sale of alcohol on Native American reservations unless the tribal council allows it.
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What is the poorest Native American tribe?

There are 3,143 counties in the United States. Oglala Lakota County, contained entirely within the boundaries of the Pine Ridge Reservation, has the lowest per capita income ($8,768) in the country, and ranks as the "poorest" county in the nation.
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What are the average income levels for Native Americans?

Income. Based on the 2015-2019 ACS for American Indian and Alaska Native population, the median income of American Indian and Alaska Native households was $43,825 – slightly higher than the median income of African American households, which was $41,935. The Hispanic household income for that same period was $51,811.
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Can a non Indian live on a reservation?

The United States Supreme Court has explained that, as a general rule, tribes do not possess authority over non-Indians who come within the borders of an Indian reservation. This rule is particularly strong when the non-Indian's activity occurs on land that the non-Indian owns in fee simple.
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Why is food so expensive on reservations?

The original report found that Native Americans on reservations and in nearby communities tend to spend more on food than the national average, living on generally lower incomes than those outside Indian Country, under circumstances that make food access more difficult due to distance and transportation issues.
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Can a white person join a Native American tribe?

Every tribe has its own membership criteria; some go on blood quantum, others on descent, but whatever the criteria for "percentage Indian" it is the tribe's enrollment office that has final say on whether a person may be a member. Anyone can claim Indian heritage, but only the tribe can grant official membership.
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Can you buy land on an Indian reservation?

Indians can't own land, so they can't build equity. Reservation land is held “in trust” for Indians by the federal government. The goal of this policy was originally to keep Indians contained to certain lands.
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What Indian tribe is the richest?

Today, the Shakopee Mdewakanton are believed to be the richest tribe in American history as measured by individual personal wealth: Each adult, according to court records and confirmed by one tribal member, receives a monthly payment of around $84,000, or $1.08 million a year.
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Can I go to college for free if I'm Native American?

Native American students who are California residents will no longer have to pay tuition or fees at one of the nation's largest public-university systems — a decision that some say is a long-overdue acknowledgment of past harms.
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Do casinos help Indian reservations?

A portion of the gaming revenue gets shared with individuals in tribes where the casinos are located. The money also benefit communities — supporting education, buildings and services. And casinos also provide jobs in the thousands, although exactly how many is not clear.
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Who owns Indian reservations?

The 56 million acres of reservation land currently under Indian ownership are held in trust for Indian people by the U.S. federal government. Consequently, approval by the secretary of the interior is required for nearly all land-use decisions, such as selling, leasing or business development.
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What benefits do Native American get?

Available Native American Benefits
  • Funds saved for potential disaster relief.
  • Law enforcement on reservations.
  • Tribal prisons and other detention centers.
  • Administrative services for land trusts and natural resource management.
  • Tribal government payments.
  • Construction or roads and utility services coming into reservations.
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Do natives drink Lysol?

Some Indians cannot afford liquor and instead drink the cleanser Lysol. One Lysol drinker told family counselor Archambault that his technique was to puncture the plastic container, strain the liquid through a piece of bread into a jar, mix it with water and then gulp it down. "You get a real quick high," he explained.
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Why don t Indian casinos give free drinks?

The reasons are sometimes moral, sometimes economic. The new generation of casinos faces varying guidelines established by local legislators who didn't always support their arrival. Paying for drinks has left lovers of the freebie, like Lynette Gross of Indiana, bummed. “It just makes it more fun.
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What housing problems do Native Americans face on reservations?

Native Americans in tribal areas have some of the worst housing needs in the United States. They face high poverty rates and low incomes, overcrowding, lack of plumbing and heat, and unique development issues.
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Can Native Americans vote?

The Snyder Act of 1924 admitted Native Americans born in the U.S. to full U.S. citizenship. Though the Fifteenth Amendment, passed in 1870, granted all U.S. citizens the right to vote regardless of race, it wasn't until the Snyder Act that Native Americans could enjoy the rights granted by this amendment.
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How do Native Americans live today?

Today, 78% of Native Americans live off-reservation, and 72% live in urban or suburban environments. Those policies had devastating effects. Relocated tribal members became isolated from their communities.
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