What are living conditions like on an Indian reservation?

What are living conditions like on an Indian reservation?

Forty percent of on-reservation housing is considered substandard (compared to 6 percent outside of Indian Country) and nearly one-third of homes on reservations are overcrowded. Less than half of the homes on reservations are connected to public sewer systems, and 16 percent lack indoor plumbing.

How much money do Native Americans get a month?

Members of some Native American tribes receive cash payouts from gaming revenue. The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, for example, has paid its members $30,000 per month from casino earnings. Other tribes send out more modest annual checks of $1,000 or less.

What percentage of Native American do you have to be to get benefits?

Most tribes require a specific percentage of Native “blood,” called blood quantum, in addition to being able to document which tribal member you descend from. Some tribes require as much as 25% Native heritage, and most require at least 1/16th Native heritage, which is one great-great grandparent.

Can DNA testing tell if you are Native American?

These censuses asked additional questions of Indians about tribal affiliation. A DNA test may be able to tell you whether or not you’re Indian, but it will not be able to tell you what tribe or nation your family comes from, and DNA testing is not accepted by any tribe or nation as proof of Indian ancestry.

What is it like to work on an Indian Reservation?

But working on a Native American Indian reservation is unlike any other place where I have contracted to work. However, there is one constant that is the same no matter where I travel or operate.

Can a doctor work on an Indian Reservation?

In fact, some would say that the practice of medicine is experienced at its’ best when one is challenged with out-of-the-ordinary surroundings, unexpected conditions, and serving an underprivileged population. If you have ever had the opportunity to work on an American Indian reservation, you should jump at the chance and be honored.

What to know about working on the Navajo reservation?

There are office politics like any other place but everyone here takes their job very, very, very seriously (even more than other places you may work). Lunch is sacred (don’t mess with the 30 minute lunch break). Navajo reservation police are different from the local town police (jurisdiction sometimes overrides physical boundaries).

How much does it cost to visit an Indian Reservation?

Enjoy unlimited access for less than $1 per week. Violence is on the rise at a North Dakota reservation. And tribal officers are often powerless to stop it. An oil boom at the Fort Berthold reservation has attracted thousands of newcomers—and a wave of hard-to-prosecute crime. (Sierra Crane-Murdoch)

Can you work on an American Indian Reservation?

If you have ever had the opportunity to work on an American Indian reservation, you should jump at the chance and be honored. But with this type of experience also comes a few things that you should know when working at an Indian Health Service (IHS) hospital.

What to know when working for the Indian Health Service?

But honestly this was quite different. Working for the Indian Health Service is not something most people can ever train for. There is a different atmosphere of care and an air of expectation from a people who have been slighted by racial disparities for generations.

There are office politics like any other place but everyone here takes their job very, very, very seriously (even more than other places you may work). Lunch is sacred (don’t mess with the 30 minute lunch break). Navajo reservation police are different from the local town police (jurisdiction sometimes overrides physical boundaries).

Enjoy unlimited access for less than $1 per week. Violence is on the rise at a North Dakota reservation. And tribal officers are often powerless to stop it. An oil boom at the Fort Berthold reservation has attracted thousands of newcomers—and a wave of hard-to-prosecute crime. (Sierra Crane-Murdoch)