One of last remaining unique ways to make money on an Indian reservation is gambling. It is difficult for a country, a state or even a city to make it's living off of gambling. Often what happens is a rather severe stratification. The owners of gambling dens and the investors in casinos, which are often foreigners, make lots of money and take that cash out of the community. The working stiffs-the average Native American-gets the minimum wage jobs and scrounges for tips.

Not only that, but there isn't a lot of potential for career advancement in a gambling town. Its not a model that will take an impoverished community and propel it toward wealth. However it is a model that several Native American communities have tried. In times of recession, a bad economic model becomes disastrous.

Alcoholism is a problem of historic proportions in the Native American community. Like smallpox in the blankets, it was a gift from the invaders that keeps on giving.

When you combine alcoholism with unemployment you have desperate poverty. There weren't that many good jobs on the reservation before the recession hit. It is hard to see how things could be better now.

The answer for Native Americans is the same as the answer for anyone who owns a lot of land. Make an income for the people by using the land to produce fuel, food, or fiber. One of the surest ways to increasing the wealth and well being of the tribes is through exploiting any natural resources. Since some Indian reservations and Indian nations have different laws and jurisdictions than the US as a whole, they can drill for oil or mine coal and minerals even if the leftists in congress and the executive branch don't want them to.

In parched areas of the nation a discovery of underground aquifers could be a boon to an Indian nation. They could sell the water. Large areas of desert land could be idea for exploiting two types of solar energy. Electrical and thermal. Some Indian tribes could be 'the green' energy source of their region.

Almost every biology and botany lab in the country is being used to check out some new oil producing plant or algae. Some particularly clever scientists are finding uses for weeds that can grow just about anywhere. They just need large patches of land to grow the plants. Tribal nations could provide this land at a price that benefits the entire tribe.

So the answers for impoverished Native Americans may be two-fold. Some should choose to leave the reservations and join the rest of the country directly. Others should choose to stay on the reservation and exploit the natural advantages of their lands for the benefit of the tribes.

Learn more about this author, Michael Skinner.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

---

Add your voice

Know something about Why are Native American communities in the US and Canada more poverty stricken than not??
We want to hear your view. Write now!