Quote:
Originally Posted by icenine
Doesn't Alaska have a high suicide rate, especially among Native Americans?
I remember reading an article in the LA times about the high suicide rate among young people, particularly on reservations.
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There is an enormously high suicide rate among Natives on reservations where life can be the same as a pauper in a Third World country. Where I always annoy fellow Natives is where I say, "then leave."
In most -- but not all -- situations the Federal Reserve land a tribe squats upon is NOT their ancestral homeland. Hence, there shouldn't be any romanticized attachment to it. But there is, just as many folks cling to certain urban areas (Watts, East LA, Harlem, South Chicago, etc.)
even as it changes around them and makes them feel even more disenfranchised. I am often reminded of the old Sam Kennison routine where he suggests sending U-Hauls instead of food to folks living in certain parts of Africa because you "live in a fucking desert!"
But, without getting too much into it, the Federal government essentially pays many Natives to remain isolated, ignorant, and detached from society as wards in exchange for general compliance. And every day, they eat the cheese. But I have a degree, a job and have placed other Natives in handcuffs so I'm a definitional sellout to them.
Eventually, like folks that choose criminality, you just observe and say "screw 'em" dropping the hammer every chance you get to preserve those trying to make it. It's the only logical thing to do with folks willingly existing in such a manner.