Looking at the website, http://www.nativevillage.org/Messages%20from%20the%20People/the%20arrogance%20of%20ignorance.htm,I found that the average income on the Pine Ridge Reservation is approximately $2,600 to $3,500 per year.
The question came into my head as to, "how does anyone ever survive off so little in this kind of world today?" I thought my family was struggling with only 50,000 a year. But then again we have car payments, 5 people in a 3 bedroom household and many mouths to feed and people to enertain. Looking at these shocking facts, it makes me realize how well I really do have it. A lot of people struggle but this is insane.
I also didn't understand how anyone in the world could be unemployed and still survive. I learned that you have to work at least 20 a week in order to recieve food stamps or anything of the sort. So this is very puzzling and worrying. It is sadly understandable that the teenagers of this reservation are those of the 150% of people that commit suicide in the U.S. It does make sense on why sucide would occur in these areas but it is devistating. The likelyhood of diabetes is 800% higher than the rest of the U.S., which doesn't make sense because most of them barely eat throughout the year. The school dropout rate is over 70%. You would think that they would want to make sure they lived better than they have before and recieve an education rather than dropping out. Basically, this whole website is very eye opening and I recommed it to others who know nothing about the people who came before us.
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