I’ve been trying not to say it, but I’d like this thread to get a little more traction and shed some more light on the situation.
The simple fact is that our government created a system of dependence to the state with handouts of state money to the native people through multiple generations. What this has in turn created is a region of the U.S. where alcohol and drug abuse, physical abuse, and teen suicide are 5+X the national average. I’ve been serving the youth in this area since 2009, long enough to watch kids grow up and in some cases already have kids of their own.
I can’t tell you how many young men I’ve had tell me, “Sure, I’d love to get a job and work in (XYZ field), but then I wouldn’t get my money.” That same person ends up going through different levels of the legal system instead. Not a general statement, simple unfortunate fact. (That I’ve witnessed several times.)
These same people are often considered second class citizens compared to the predominantly “white” people on the road system.
From the ETN website:
This is what I want to see the mission of Electroneum, financial inclusion and opportunity creation do, to reach these people and help them succeed. I believe more people would choose to do something given a different opportunity.
Please, understand, there’s plenty of young people who choose what they want to do in life and go after it, but the odds are against them. There are families that choose to have a better life for themselves, but daily struggles are wearing on them. Some just giving up and leaving their family and communities behind. Similar situation on the native res’s in the “lower 48” too.
As stated above, I don’t want to paint a horribly bleak picture, but these are the daily struggles and statistics. Fact is, the native communities are very tight knit, and demonstrate the true nature of what human communities can be a lot of the time. I learn so much every time I’m up there.
