Help us eradicate poverty on the reservations
Each year, on Oct. 17, the United Nations recognizes International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, which “presents an opportunity to acknowledge the effort and struggle of people living in poverty and a chance for them to make their concerns heard.” While poverty touches lives around the world, in urban centers and in impoverished countries, it’s also affecting Native Americans living on many reservations in the U.S.
There are number of misconceptions regarding the financial standing of Native Americans, including presumptions that Native Americans are “casino rich,” attend college for free and get seemingly endless amounts of funding from the federal government.
The reality is that 35 percent of Native American children live in poverty, 40 percent of Native Americans live in sub-standard, overcrowded housing and 23 percent of Native families live with food insecurity. Partnership With Native Americans (PWNA) works toward minimizing those challenges every day, by addressing immediate needs like access to healthy food, water and school supplies, and emergency relief during disasters. While supporting these immediate needs, PWNA also works toward increasing reservation self-sufficiency through long-term solutions like scholarships, community gardening projects and training and development for emerging leaders.
In close consultation with reservation partners, PWNA listens to the needs of the communities it serves. Instead of swooping in with one-size-fits-all stop-gap measures, PWNA is committed to the long-term well-being of each community, respecting their self-determined goals for their tribes, honoring the reservation programs and initiatives underway.
If you believe in this mission as strongly as we do, we encourage you to honor International Day for the Eradication of Poverty by joining our efforts. Donate today!
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One Comment
I am not going to quote FDR word for word and comma by comma his speech to the nation when he rolled out the Social Security Act of 1935. He gave a direct warning that dependence on relief was like administering a narcotic. It would cause a breakdown in society and bring about all kinds of social problems. On an Indian reservation there is a concentrated population dependent on [government funding]…Diana Ross sung of the “love child” having all sorts of life problems. Maybe people should stay on the reservation, they have no idea what awaits outside their community. I am part Blackfeet and I guess one of extremely few who grew up in a two parent middle class home. I didn’t grow up in poverty. I spent most of my adult life away from the reservation and border towns. Since I came back to the reservation a few years back, I’m scraping by on Social Security.