I had tears coming down my face learning about the living conditons of this reservation. The items I'm posting below come from the Chairman of the San Carlos Apache Tribe. It was written in April of 2007 as he was requesting more funding from the government to assist with No Child Left Behind.
Here are some of the living conditions on this reservation from his perspective:
As you know, our Indian children struggle due to the staggering poverty and unemployment on the Reservation. This poverty leaves no part of life untouched. Our children cannot do well in school if they have no home, insufficient food, few supplies, inadequate transportation, poor medical care, unsafe communities, or broken families. The situation only seems to get worse.
The total population is 13,299 members. While we have worked hard to develop our Reservation economy, 76% of our Reservation population is unemployed compared to the national unemployment rate of 4.4% and the state of Arizona rate of 3.9%. We suffer from a poverty level of 77%. The communities on the Reservation are rural and isolated. This creates many basic needs for our students because of the lack of housing, overcrowded housing, poor nutrition, lack of school supplies, lack of opportunities, and public safety risks due to violent crime, domestic abuse, drug use, and gang violence. For example, in 2004, 64 babies out of 256 were born to San Carlos Apache tribal members addicted to meth, and 24-25% of pregnant women at San Carlos tested positive for meth. In 2005, the number of babies born addicted to meth was even higher. About 50% of all newborns at San Carlos test positive for alcohol or drugs. In 2004, there were 101 suicide attempts on the Reservation. The age range was 15 to 54 years old with 50 individuals being females and 51 being males. Of the 101 suicide attempts, two resulted in death.
Thank you for praying for us and our adoption of precious Kenna. We would also like to request that you pray for Cynthia and the Apache Tribe.
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