Indians in lower 48 must be alot different than up here in Alaska. Been the only white boy in nativeland and saw another side of the picture; and was alot different than my conservative urban alaskan take on things.
Indians up here are being displaced in the scheme of things. They have lost bout everything they started with and process isn't slowing down with progress.
The alcohol is behind everything. 100 years back were 400 Indians in our community, now only 28 remain, 5 don't drink, and the rest spend every govt penny on booze. Pretty good sharing people just the same. Govt should give all the blm lands back to villages, much better caretakers than govt and might wean them off Great White Father welfare with development.
Had a 15 year old once tell me that Indians didn't blame us whites on the alcohol probs, it was just a clash of our cultures; pretty close to the truth too.
The state of WA has allowed the tribes to purchase existing hotels or casinos, refurbish them and bring them into the tribal lands. I read a report the other day, that the govt was angry with them because the tribal members were being paid more than the feds allowed from the casino business. Something like 35,000 a year. The elders were making 5 times that amount. There is something wrong in Alaska, that would see so many tribal members disappearing, or drinking to excess. Are you sure they didn't just move away, or not count them because they inter-married?