Research Paper on Indian Reservations
1
Hope for a Future:
The Downfalls of Rural US Indian Reservations
Anna Elsen
December 15, 2012
DOWNFALLS OF RURAL US INDIAN RESERVATIONS 2
Hope for a Future: The Downfalls of Rural US Indian Reservations The past and current struggles of Native Americans have created nonfunctional and dependent societies on tribal lands across the United States. Native Americans have a desire to live in an independent society that can function while still maintaining their long and vibrant culture. There are many factors that must be accounted for before any steps to better the reservations are put in place. The importance of education on reservations is virtually nonexistent. About 70% of Native American high school students will drop out before their senior year (Walters, 2011). Child abuse, poor living conditions, teen pregnancy, crime and ramped substance abuse are the major traps that reservations have fallen into. The elimination, or at least a decrease in these evils, has the potential to bring reservations to the independent and functional position they desire to be at. As a result of ineffective treaties and contracts between Native Americans and the US government, many Native American reservations face corruption or are already fully corrupt. Therefore, the root of the issues must be identified and given proper attention by both the US government and Indian officials. In order to identify the causes of corruption and the traps of murderous sins on reservations, one must first understand the history between Native Americans and the US government and how the US reservation system came to be. In 1830, President Jackson signed the Indian-Removal Law beginning the reservation system in the United States. President Jackson is known as a monstrously racist white supremacist and is a large reason why Native Americans are in the position they are today. Andrew Jackson is to blame for the Trail of Tears in 1836. By demanding over 16,000 Cherokee Indians to
Hope for a Future:
The Downfalls of Rural US Indian Reservations
Anna Elsen
December 15, 2012
DOWNFALLS OF RURAL US INDIAN RESERVATIONS 2
Hope for a Future: The Downfalls of Rural US Indian Reservations The past and current struggles of Native Americans have created nonfunctional and dependent societies on tribal lands across the United States. Native Americans have a desire to live in an independent society that can function while still maintaining their long and vibrant culture. There are many factors that must be accounted for before any steps to better the reservations are put in place. The importance of education on reservations is virtually nonexistent. About 70% of Native American high school students will drop out before their senior year (Walters, 2011). Child abuse, poor living conditions, teen pregnancy, crime and ramped substance abuse are the major traps that reservations have fallen into. The elimination, or at least a decrease in these evils, has the potential to bring reservations to the independent and functional position they desire to be at. As a result of ineffective treaties and contracts between Native Americans and the US government, many Native American reservations face corruption or are already fully corrupt. Therefore, the root of the issues must be identified and given proper attention by both the US government and Indian officials. In order to identify the causes of corruption and the traps of murderous sins on reservations, one must first understand the history between Native Americans and the US government and how the US reservation system came to be. In 1830, President Jackson signed the Indian-Removal Law beginning the reservation system in the United States. President Jackson is known as a monstrously racist white supremacist and is a large reason why Native Americans are in the position they are today. Andrew Jackson is to blame for the Trail of Tears in 1836. By demanding over 16,000 Cherokee Indians to