queenith21

This is the thinking that made me want to make this ama. Please try to understand that we are NOT RECEIVING MONEY FROM THE GOVERNMENT. The money tribes have is made through their businesses, usually casinos. Tribes can only open up casinos on land that already belongs to them. None of your taxes are going to any tribe. In fact the US government is constantly trying to take away more and more property from tribes. Unlike other businesses tribes usually spend all the money they earn back on the well being of the tribal members. Edit: someone pointed out to me that the government does give some money to tribal grants, but I doubt any individual gets that money, and if it makes anyone feel better, my trust fund, and monthly per capita payments get GUTTED by US taxes. The amount of money each member gets taxed from receiving payments from probably makes up more than what any grant is worth. 0ur tribe also puts a lot of money back into the city of Milwaukee.

Life insurance, free healthcare, free tuition plus books, money towards your first house, guaranteed job at tribe owned bussiness, elderly care, then money every two weeks earned by the tribe that is evenly split between the members.

It has everything to do with your environment. I’d say outside of the reservation a Native American has the same chance of having drug issues than any other person. On the reservation these issues can get pretty bad, and becomes normalized for people growing up there. Kids who live o the reservations tend to blow through their money or get mooched on by friends and relatives. If you handle your money correctly you could essentially live off it if you live somewhat modestly. So its bad to give people who are addicted to drugs money, but at the same time it gives them a chance at a new life. My aunt was in the grips of addiction on the reservation and with the tribes help she was able to move far away from the people enabling her. There are plenty of programs that offer money help, and addiction help through the tribe, but no one can force you can go to them.

That’s a great question. I think it depends on the individual. Despite all the money going into the community and the people, there is a lot of drug and alcohol issues in the reservation, and not a lot of kids take advantage of the education system. I think the issue is that kids who grow up on the reservation know how much money they are so for, and when they get the money on their 18th they go nuts, and their parents, friends, and other adults take advantage of them. I didn’t grow up on the reservation, and my parents didn’t tell me I was going to get anything until the day I actually got it. And even then they knew it was coming so throughout my childhood they taught me to be fiscally responsible. The environment you grow up in is paramount to how u use the resources that become available to you. I know some people who will squander everything they get in the first year, but I know if some that have started businesses, and use their benefits as a way to further improve their lives. It really comes down to the individual, and the people around you.

Sacred lands are a tough one. Usually when hear about this it has to do with burial land. Obviously I think burial land holdin a tribes dead, land that has always belonged to them, shouldn’t be messed with. Then there is just land, a fraction of what they used to have. Even still the US government is constantly trying to take back what little land has been allowed to most tribes. Next, my tribe already has a casino, it’s in Milwaukee, which is already a pretty crime ridden city. But the casino is located In what I’d say is the industrial area, so away from neighborhoods, and most crime is due to poverty, and the casino supplies the city with over 3000 well paying jobs. Plus the tribe gives back a lot to the city of Milwaukee in terms of fundraising, community event spaces, sponsorships, city planning and so on. Finally other natives, of don’t really have an opinion to their situation that is different to my thoughts on American Indians, most countries treat their natives pretty badly, I empathize with them. I mean in the 60’s the us would secretly sterilize native Americans to try to reduce the population, I heard something similar happened in Canada.