User:TABaldwin/Reservation poverty

Isolation tends to lead to depression and poverty. With depression and isolation afflicting so many Native people, it is not surprising to see the rates for suicide and homicide correlating to the populations in poverty. The Indian Health Service found that in areas with high poverty rates, the percentage increases for suicide and homicide cases, the numbers decrease with a lower percentage of poverty.

There is something called a food desert and there are a significant amount of them in the United States. A food desert is described as a low-income area with a substantial number of people who do not have access to affordable and healthy food options. 23% of Natives living on reservations are food insecure with some reservations having as much as 50% of the people living with food insecurities. This means that the reservations are suffering from low-income and low access to food. Low access is described as 33% or more of the population living in rural areas where stores providing affordable and healthy foods are more than 10 miles away from their homes. Another issue we see with this trend is that certain diseases are linked with food insecurities. If some of the closest places to purchase food only consist of processed foods, such as gas stations or quick marts. People are only able to access food that has high sugar and sodium as well as saturated fats, these options only lead to a higher risk of obesity, heart disease and diabetes. Which is already rampant in Native American communities.

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https://purdue.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01PURDUE_PUWL/5imsd2/cdi_elsevier_sciencedirect_doi_10_1016_B978_0_12_818956_6_00011_7

Why do Indigenous people not leave reservations?
Although a lot of reservations are poverty stricken, not all are affected in this way. For those that are, there are many reasons people stay. It is important to understand the complexity and validity of their decisions. The following list are not the only reasons but some with the biggest impact.

If people are not able to live well on reservations, why are they still there? Reservations are one of the only places people can go to celebrate and learn more about their heritage and history. It is a cultural hub for most Native Americans. You have people that have experienced the same life circumstances and also speak the same language. There is a huge sense of community and family on Indian lands. A lot of families live together, often taking care of elderly family members, making it so they cannot leave home. One of the largest reasons that is not very well known, is that when people leave the reservation, they forfeit services allowed to them. These may be things like health services or food assistance.