Constance Owl: Native youth face obstacles across country

Greetings fellow Native students! In considering a focus for this week’s article, I found some very disturbing statistics that made me truly appreciate being a member of the Eastern Band. Do you know how fortunate we are to be members of a tribe that has enjoyed economic success and sustainability for many decades? There are many Native American tribes that have not been so fortunate. For the Eastern Band, our home on the Qualla Boundary of beautiful Great Smoky Mountains is a fortunate advantage for tourism.

The majority of Indian Country (and especially for those in remote locations) continues to suffer from high rates of poverty and unemployment with some tribal communities experiencing unemployment rates near 70 percent, additionally, more than 23 percent of all Native Americans live in poverty. Many of the poorest counties in the United States are located on Indian reservations. Because of chronic underfunding in federal housing dollars, many Native youth live in overcrowded dilapidated homes and attend schools which rely on the federal government for funding and yet, remain in critical condition. The result is that these communities suffer high rates of alcohol and substance abuse, violent crime and significant health disparities compared to the rest of America.