22% of the 5.2 Million American Indians in the US live in tribal lands called reservations
Living conditions have been cited as “comparable to the Third World” (Living in conditions of poverty and lack of necessities)
Many factors contributed to the challenges indigenous Americans face today, but pressing issues exist in economics, health, and housing
Problem: Unemployment, Government benefits and poverty wages, Forced to leave reservation for work
Tribal and Federal governments are the largest employers of reservations, private industries lack on reservations
Many households are overcrowded and earn only government benefits (Social security, Veteran income, or Disability)
4/10 ~ 8/10 adults are unemployed in reservations, and indegenous Americans who are employed, many are earning below poverty wages
28.2 percent of African Americans live below the poverty line and 38 ~ 63 percent of the African Americans living in poverty on the reservations
Heads of households are forced to leave reservation to seek work, grandparents raise their grandchildren
Extended families pool(collect) meager(insufficient) resources to meet basic needs
Poverty still extended by these blended families is understood as a gap between overall need and need that goes unmet
(Blended families are likely to live in poverty than nuclear families)
Problem: Homelessness, Overcrowding, Substandard housing, Absence of utilities
Indian country has a severe housing crisis(critical situation) despite IHA(Indian Housing Authority)s efforts
Need for adequate housing is intense
90,000 homeless or under-housed Indian families exist, 30% of the reservation housing is overcrowded and less than 50% of the reservation housing is related to public sewers
Many American Indians are living in substandard housing (40% of reservation houses are considered inadequate)
Waiting list for tribal housing is long, needing three years or more waits
As Indian families do not turn away family members or anyone who needs a place to stay, overcrowding is inevitable
Noticeable absence of utilites
On a seriously stretched budget, utilities are viewed as luxuries compared to food and transportation.
Combination of overcrowding, substandard dwellings, and lack of utilities has significantly increased the potential for health risk,
(Especially in rural and remote areas where there is a lack of accessible healthcare)
problem: Low life expectancy, Indian Health Service low of funds, Small number of Pharmacies or doctoral service outside the communities, Health and welfare problems
Average life expectancy for indigenous Americans has improved, yet it still trails that of other Americans by 5 years
55% of American Indians rely on Indian Health Service for medical care, yet this agency meets only 60% of health needs
Due to underfunding, Indian Health Service is crisis driven leaves a wide gap in adequate and preventative health care for many people on reservations
Compounding the problem further, pharmancies and offices outside of hospitals are completely non-existent in some communities
Pressures to shift from traditional way of life toward a Western life style dramatically impacted the health and welfare of Native people and created terrible epidemic of chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, tuberculosis, and cancer.