Good post. The other day I was talking to a person who was bemoaning the fact that Indians lived on terrible reservations in squalor. I said “ why don’t they just leave?” She said “it’s because they are so poor and it is two hours to anyplace from their reservation.”
I said “no it’s because their government check comes to the reservation”.
My ancestors walked behind a wagon till they got to Texas without a single government check and they have done alright.
Yeah, it’s hilarious. His comments are so out of date you wonder what rock he’s been living under.
There have been endless programs for Indians but like you said, easier to wait on the rez for the check. You could always tell when it was payday in Flagstaff: the San Francisco bar was full. And Jim Babbitt Ford sold outta pickups.
It’s an attitude. They gotta get past it and try to get ahead. Everyone will help them. But you gotta try.