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for work is not readily available on many reservations and many turn to mainstream American life, while keeping ties with their reservations. For some, the mainstream road to success is too harsh and void of community. Others may thrive in the workplace and make excellent money (iron workers for example) but establish few social connections and return to the familiar way of reservation life and close communities.

Some reservations do well financially and provide a thriving environment for their tribal nations. They may or may not have casinos. With the onset of Indian casinos, some states have attempted to impose state laws in an effort to balance state budgets. In some instances, Indian casinos rightfully are required to pay state taxes if the non-Indian developers own the casino.

Generally states cannot impose state taxes on reservations or land held in trust, but federal taxes apply.

Canada:

The Indian Act of 1876 amended and consolidated previous treaties. It effectively made indigenous people in Canada wards of the state and also defined who and who was not an Indian. Any woman who married into American Indian tribes obtained Indian status with full rights. On the other hand, an indigenous woman who married a non-Indian male lost her Indian identity and all rights along with it. "Half breeds" had no Native rights.

As wards of the state, the Indian Act allowed the government to take resources such as timber away from the native land without compensation. It also provided for legal punishments or Natives who left the reservation. The Act increased government powers and made Natives dependent on the Canadian government. Natives on the reserve, as their reservations are named, were forced to carry identity cards.

With the discovery of gold and the gold rush, the government made new treaties with the indigenous peoples. Today, with rewrites of the Canadian Indian Act, the rules have changed, become lax, or simply are not followed. Communities remain poor and in need of financial resources.

Financial help today:

Statistics on Native American communities tell us that in 1989, Native American median incomes were about 62 percent of the income for the mainstream American population. Native Americans who lived in mainstream America had incomes nearly twice as large as those living on reservations.

Financial entities are in place today through the CDFI (Community Development Financial Institutions). US Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner recently announced

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