Economic issues NA

Question 1

what were the economic conditions like for NA during the 20th century?

Answer 1

• By 1968, 42% of NA were unemployed
• Median NA income was half the US average
• By 1970, 80% of NA reservation housing lacked running water and electricity

Question 2

What efforts were made to improve the economic conditions?

Answer 2

• The Indian self-determination act 1975 allowed tribes to control their own economic policies and receive federal funding
• Some NA developed successful businesses

Question 3

Example of successful NA businesses

Answer 3

• Navajo Nation developed a profitable business in agriculture and tourism
• By 1930, Navajo owned over 1.2 million sheep
• in the 1950’s Navajo Nation began doing tourism by creating the Navajo Tribal Parks System in 1957
• By 1980, over 500,000 tourists visisted Navajo lands annually

Question 4

How did the reservation system affect NA economically

Answer 4

• NA were given poor quality land making farming difficult and leading to food shortages
• in 1934, 20 million acres of NA land were desert or semi-desert making farming nearly impossible
• Many reservations lacked employment opportunities forcing NA into gov aid dependency

Question 5

Economic successes on reservations

Answer 5

• The Indian Reorganisation act 1934 protected NA land from further sale
• by 1990, reservation land had increased to 52.4 million acres

Question 6

How did the Indian Reorganisation act benefit NA’s economically?

Answer 6

• stopped the loss of native land by ending the Dawes act 1887
• returned 4 million acres of land to NA tribes between 1934-1950
• Created a 10 million credit fund to give low-interest loans to tribes and individuals

Question 7

What was the Indian reorganisation act

Answer 7

• 1934
• aimed to reverse damage caused by previous assimilation policies

Question 8

Limitations of the Indian Reorganisation act

Answer 8

• by 1950, about 35% of NA were still living below the poverty line
• Many NA disliked the policy believing it was another attempt of forced assimilation
• many tribes lacked resources to benefit from the opportunities

Question 9

What was the Indian Vocational Training act?

Answer 9

• 1956
• aimed to provide job training for NA and encourage them to leave reservations for work

Question 10

Positives of the Indian Vocational training act

Answer 10

• some NA gained skilled jobs in urban areas
• by 1968 12,000 NA had received training
• Skilled NA workers earned 30-50% higher wages than the untrained NA workers

Question 11

Limitations of the Indian Vocational training act

Answer 11

• by 1970, 40% of NA were still unemployed
• NA often faced discrimination and lack of support in cities
• the act focused on moving NA off reservations rather than improving the situation of NA’s

Question 12

What did the Indian Financing act do?

Answer 12

• 1974
• provided low-interest loans to NA to help them start businesses