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Native American communities are the heartbeat of American Indians. No other place can provide a connected sense of harmony. It doesn't exist in mainstream America with preconceived ideas of how Native Americans live and worship. Yet, the environment that permits this unique sense of community is often a poverty stricken place. The Indian reservation is a harsh reminder.

The question of why Native American communities in the US and Canada are more poverty stricken than not, can be answered, in part, by looking at the system of U.S. government intervention in money and land management for the Native American.

There are approximately 500 federally recognized tribes in the U.S. Each tribal nation has its own culture, language, and governing body. Before the Europeans landed on this continent, Native Americans conducted government concerns through tribal councils and formed alliances with tribes. They went to war with other tribes.

We'll examine the land and trust practices in the US first and then move on to Canada. We may begin to see patterns emerge that tell us something of how the American Indian has continued in poverty and dependence upon the government.

United States Trust:

In the early 1800s when thousands of Indians nations were removed from their ancestral lands on the east coast (and later western plains Indians), the signing of treaties with the US government brought about the legal relationship. American Indians were not considered capable to mind the affairs of their land. It was determined that the federal government could do a better job and the lands were placed in trust with the US government as the fiduciary.

Minerals, lumber, oil, and gas existed on some of the treaty lands and companies leased land from the American Indians for the right to extract the valuable resources. Through the 180 years since, records were lost or destroyed and in 1996 Eloise Cobell filed a class action suit against the Secretary of the Interior. The lawsuit is still in the federal courts with no clear end in sight. The lawsuit has bridged three presidents, and four Secretaries of the Interior.

Reservations:

Reservations exist in both Canada and the US. Many reservations are comprised of extremely poor Indian communities. In the US, about 60 percent of the American population live in mainstream America. Those who return to reservations go back because they find no community when they go to mainstream America. Almost all American Indians have a great desire to pass down the Native culture and language, keeping Indian communities alive.

Opportunity

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