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Native American politics remain divided over different issues such as assimilation, education, healthcare, and economic factors that affect reservations. As a nation living within the United States of America, the Native American people face conflicting opinions within their tribes, essentially those living on federally approved reservations. Interactions with the federal government and the overall American culture surrounding them influence day-to-day tribal life. Native American culture as a whole rests between the divide of the traditionalists and those who wish to trade the ''old ways'' for improved conditions. ==Poverty and culture== “Approximately 14 percent of all American Indians in 1980 lived on large reservations with reservation poverty of 40 percent or higher.” (〔Sandefur, Gary D. American Indian reservations: The first underclass areas?〕) Despite the conditions, Natives continue to live on the reservations because they see it as a cultural center for their particular tribe, value the implied sense of community, and receive government-funded benefits that they wouldn't gain otherwise. (〔). As a cultural center, the reservations serve as a holding place for the old ways of Native American customs. “In the southeastern or Woodland tradition, those old ways are most often connected to myths, stories, music, and dance.” 〔Gregory , H.F. "Pete”. The Stories of the Old People. http://www.louisianafolklife.org/LT/Art icles_Essays/creole_art_stories_old_peo.html〕 There are some unwilling to share the “old ways” with outsiders because they feel it is sacred knowledge not easily given away to someone not of Native lineage.〔 As an example of continuing the traditional ways, one Native American said, "Time evolves and comes to a place where it renews again. There is first a purification time. Then there is renewal time. We are getting really close to this time now. We were told, we would see America come and go. In a sense America is dying, from within. Because we forgot the instructions on how to live on earth.” Organizations such as Native American Community Development Institute have been created “as an alliance of the major Indian nonprofits and several Indian businesses in the metropolitan area committed to community-building through sector economic development and large-scale development.” 〔Native American Community Development Institute. http://www.nacdi.org/default/index . cfm/about-us/background/〕 They are devoted to the increase in economic innovation, and accomplish their mission by focusing on the growing number of Native youths and not placing a priority on traditional ways. Native Americans suffer not only the highest poverty rates of all ethnic groups in America, but also the highest unemployment and disease rates.〔Carlson, Peter. (In the year of 'Dances with Wolves,' everybody wanted to be on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. Nearly a decade later, it can hardly get a quorum ) ''The Washington Post''. February 23, 1997.〕 Drug and alcohol abuse is common among the youth as well as teenage pregnancy and suicide. One native says, "Indians don't want to be dependent, but when it's either that or starve, the choice is clear." 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Native American reservation politics」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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