National

Native Sun News: Rapid City group aims to address disparities

Monday, May 23, 2016

Rapid City Collective Impact (RCCI) fellows and others involved with the groundbreaking project gathered on April 19 for an Emerging Leaders Celebration at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City. Photo by Jesse Abernathy

Rapid City Collective Impact comes in with a bang
Initiative sets community precedent
By Jesse Abernathy
Native Sun News Correspondent

RAPID CITY –– At least half of this city’s Indigenous, or Native American, population lives in poverty, according to statistics from City-Data.com, which is one of the highest rates in the nation.

In real numbers, that translates to between 7,500 and 10,000 Indigenous citizens, based on in-community estimates and recent collegiate research figures that place Rapid City’s Indigenous population anywhere from 15,000-20,000, which translates to an approximate range of 20-30 percent of the city’s total population of near 70,000.

Utilizing a set of annual income thresholds that vary by family size and composition, the federal government in the form of the U.S. Census Bureau defines poverty as follows, as set forth on the bureau’s website: “If a family’s total income is less than the family’s (categorically corresponding income) threshold, then that family and every individual in it is considered in poverty. The official poverty thresholds do not vary geographically, but they are updated for inflation using Consumer Price Index (For All Urban Consumers, or CPI-U). The official poverty definition uses money income before taxes and does not include capital gains or noncash benefits (such as public housing, Medicaid and food stamps).”

Federal poverty thresholds for 2015 range from $12,331 yearly for a single individual, with no children, under 65 years of age to $45,822 yearly for a family of nine or more individuals. For lone elders 65 years of age or older, the poverty threshold necessarily dips to $11,367 yearly.