The Reservation

Indian reservations were supposed to provide Native Americans with their own land and resources. They were supposed to be a home to the people living there. In practice the Natives were trapped on this land. You were stuck in a place where the unemployment rate was so high you only had two options; you could either leave your culture to go earn money for your family, or stay with everyone and struggle along. Even when new laws were passed to help benefit the Natives their lifestyle changed very little. Many households still can’t afford running water, they have to fill tanks and return every few days to the nearest water source. This water source could dry up at any point throughout the day, enforcing a strict first-come-first-serve rule. This creates tension between the residents resulting in a higher rate of conflicts.

Other factors should be mentioned as well. Whenever an adult- or anyone really- is depressed and can’t do anything about their situation who (or what) do they turn to? On reservations the answer is alcohol more often than not. It’s often seen as easier to drown out one’s sorrows than to face the world every day, knowing there’s nothing you can do to change what you see. Other options include anger and recklessness. Combined, these factors contribute to a high death toll on reservations.

When you come from a long line of the above situation it’s difficult to see a way out. It’s takes a strong person to rise above all the chaos and seek a life that’s dangerous, new, and unknown. That path is filled with ups and downs, uncertainness and cheats. A whole new lifestyle is waiting outside that plot of land. Some may find that they are too scared of that unknown to try to get out. Many have already accepted that their life won’t change. That no matter what they do they will always be pushed back into that tiny, fenced-in, alcohol ridden part of the world with no hope of escape. Sometimes it’s even easier to except this as your life.