Life on the Reservation

Life on a Native American Reservation is very tough and unfair.  These reservations were set up in the mid-1800's by the Federal Government to remove Native Americans from the everyday life of "Normal" America, and were treated extremely unfairly.  The lifestyle on these reservations is compared to third World/ developing countries.  These reservations are primarily located in the western United States, where it is very hard to cultivate crops and many Native Americans had to comepletely change thier lifestiles from farming to ranching. Out of the nations 550 something tribes, there are only 310 reservations, so many have to share a reservation or don't even have one to live on  Some of the poorest counties in America are counties with Indian Reservations on them.  Ever since their founding in the 19th century, they have been poorly kept by the government and have little funding, and most living there rely on food stamps and other donations.  These reservations are still in terrible condition and many are left unkept, just like the one in Smoke Signals.