With unemployment hovering around 50 percent and incomes far below the poverty level, there always seems to be a recession on the Navajo Nation.

"They’re freaking out out there, but to us, we’ve always had 50 percent unemployment," John C. Whiterock, a youth pastor, told the Associated Press. "To us, that’s just part of life."

Tribal members rely on farming and arts and crafts when times are tough. "They always say if you have livestock, you’re rich," Delores Claw said.

Other say they the state of the economy doesn't have a major impact on reservation lives. "If there is a downturn, it doesn’t matter. If there is an upswing, it doesn’t matter. We are happy," Trib Choudhary, an economic development specialist for the tribe, told the AP.

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Navajos Largely Unscathed by Recession (AP 5/17)