No country for native Americans | Filebox | World Bulletin

24.10.13

No country for native Americans | Filebox | World Bulletin: There are nearly 600 treaties negotiated between the United States government and Native people. The US has violated most of them. For example, if it were committed to respect the terms of its own agreement, it would have recognized the Lakota Nation`s ownership over much of the Midwest. This region is rich with the vast resources, including fresh water. However, these agreements do not reflect reality.

Many Lakota live on reservations like Pine Ridge, which are more like prison camps, and are the most impoverished places in the United States. Unemployment rates run around 70 percent. As of 2011, approximately 50 percent of Pine Ridge residents have been living below the federal poverty line. Like very poor countries of the world, life expectancy rates in this area is around the late 40s and early 50s, in sharp contrast to the rest of the U.S, where the average women lives to be 81 and the average man to 76.

Other statistics concerning the Native American population further illustrate their misery.