Posted by Sam Richards
This article will throw a new light on the issue of the socioeconomic conditions of Native Americans. Remember that there are nearly 600 federally recognized tribes within the borders of the United States. And at least one of them is getting rich off of liquid black gold. Mind you, as you can read in the article, it is not without negative consequences that always come with sudden infusions of money into any system. But it’s worth thinking about.
Of course, oil refineries ALWAYS bring pollution and this will be no different. Pollution will destroy natural resources and harm people’s health. Cost-benefit.
It is never a bad thing to have new jobs and an abundance of money come into your town, which has previously been poverty ridden. However, it can be a scary thing to give people who have not had wealth in the past a lot of money in a very short time. This can be compared to winning the lottery for some of these people, and we all know what affects that can have. A sudden influx of wealth, can lead people to do things that they otherwise would have never thought of. These things could be anything from drug use, to frivolous spending which can cause them to lose this new wealth very fast. This wealth influx can also have damaging effects on families; typically people change when then get something they did not once have. This can be a change for the better however; in most cases this is a change for the worse. Like I said before this can cause drug use, which can have a very damaging effect on both family and self, this could also lead to a crime influx in this reservation. Typically money and drugs can cause people to resort to crime, and this will also bring new criminals to the area. The sudden influx of jobs could also bring overcrowding to the area, which otherwise would not have been there.
However with that being said I personally think that the new oil projects in this area will be very beneficial, not only for the tribe but also for their territory. This has already brought a very large boost to the economy of this area, and will allow these people to have much better opportunities in life. These jobs not only in the oilrigs but also in the new casino will provide this tribe with jobs and money that they otherwise could not have gotten. With the money from these jobs they will be able to provide a better lifestyle, which could include schooling for their children, so they can they get even better jobs. This is a great opportunity if it is utilized well for these tribes to get ahead and once again have a prominent presence in this country. If they do think that they have been wronged by being put on these lands, which they have in some ways (more their ancestors than them). This is an opportunity to make up for that in a way, these people have been presented a great situation here, which many in their situation have not been. It would be sad to hear that these people just wasted all of their money on material items, or blew it all in the casino. I think that the oil drilling is a great opportunity and hope it will benefit these people, and give them a chance to make something great out of themselves and their families.
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Main Blog Response 6
Present day living arrangements were primarily influenced by the past history of the USA, was largely determined by conflicts between Native Americans and pilgrims. Today as in the past, living in the USA is in a sense, Darwinism, or survival of the fittest, in which your actions can determine what you accomplish and where you will end up. Your characteristics largely determine what you can accomplish, with some influence cast by your restricting surroundings and status. Similar to King of the Mountain, those that set rules making it harder to gain access to the top of the mountain were smart enough to set rules in the first place, because now they can be enforced for their benefit. The infamous issue plays out and still remains between free will and determinist theory, even when referring to what occurred when Native Americans were forced to move off their land. Did they exercise free will, or was it an unavoidable situation due to the power of the pilgrims.
Today, Native Americans are doing the best they can with the resources they have at their disposal. Resource endowments based on where they relocated is a matter of luck, but maintaining efficiency when using one’s resources is most important. For instance, certain tribes are considered to be very successful, with high profit casinos distributing wealth amongst a community, and outsiders bringing business to their personal economy. The same applies to the recent lease payments oil companies are providing tribes to use their land to drill oil in oil-abundant areas, such as the million-acre Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.
The tribes and their members are simply using this to their advantage. They are very well aware that they would never have been relocated there if the government was aware there were billions of barrels of oil available. They consider it payback for forcing them to move in the first place. In fact, the jobs created as a result of this have allowed Native Americans to experience a sense of wealth and disposable income, as they’re seen driving around in expensive trucks and spending “extra” money at the casino. It also tends to attract outsiders as well. Most interesting is that those tribe members who decided to move off the reservation because they couldn’t find work are now found returning to ample jobs and considerable pay.
More than anything, I believe this gives the tribes and their members an opportunity to start with a clean slate. Does it necessarily justify the harsh actions that were taken against them in the first place? Absolutely not. But it may relieve the feelings of injustice and oppressive inequality that their people were faced with for at least a little while. In order to take utmost advantage of this situation, the reservation should try to distribute their wealth amongst other suffering tribes and reservations that aren’t as lucky. It would certainly be a step in the right direction, and might serve to be more meaningful than using the income to buy expensive pickup trucks and Hummers.
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After reading the article, I also had some mixed views. I do believe that the discovery of this large amount of oil was overall a positive thing that happened to these tribes. The revenue that is brought in from the oil drilling is being used to benefit the tribal members and many different ways. Native Americans have been getting the short end of the stick since the Europeans landed here. Every history class that I have taken told the same story of the genocide of Native Americans. Soc 119 was no different, but showed me many things that a simple history class could not. From the various charts that Sam showed us in class, we learned how Native Americans are at the bottom of many statistics, including income and education. It was only right that these Native Americans discovered oil and can now enjoy the profits made from it. There seems to be an extreme amount available and it should help these Natives for a long time. Every time I think of Native Americans with a lot of money, I instantly visualize a casino. Although that may be one use for the money, I know there will be plenty of more beneficial uses. The money earned will help extremely reduce poverty in the tribes and is creating many jobs. It is nice to know that these tribes can finally repay all of their debts. I do believe that this is a bit of karma; these tribes are finally getting something back after all being mistreated for so many years. Although nothing will ever make them forget how wrong they were treated, this should at least help. This new source of income should brighten the lives of every member of the tribes, and the plethora of new jobs will help provide better lives for the new generations. This situation could have gone wrong if the government interfered with the discovery, and claimed some or all of the oil. We did not need to have a repeat of history, especially when it would deal with something so disturbing that we have been trying to forget for the longest time. It was right to let the Native Americans get a victory for once. The one negative to this discovery would be the pollution. In this day and age when the United States are trying to "go green" more pollution being added to the atmosphere is a very bad situation. The pollution in this case seems almost unavoidable. As long as the tribe member use the money for paying their debts and creating new jobs, and not wasting it on things that are not necessary, this could be a very heart-warming story that can be told to generation down the road.
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Part 2:Today, Native Americans are doing the best they can with the resources they have at their disposal. Resource endowments based on where they relocated is a matter of luck, but maintaining efficiency when using one’s resources is most important. For instance, certain tribes are considered to be very successful, with high profit casinos distributing wealth amongst a community, and outsiders bringing business to their personal economy. The same applies to the recent lease payments oil companies are providing tribes to use their land to drill oil in oil-abundant areas, such as the million-acre Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.
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Part 2: Today, Native Americans are doing the best they can with the resources they have at their disposal. Resource endowments based on where they relocated is a matter of luck, but maintaining efficiency when using one’s resources is most important. For instance, certain tribes are considered to be very successful, with high profit casinos distributing wealth amongst a community, and outsiders bringing business to their personal economy. The same applies to the recent lease payments oil companies are providing tribes to use their land to drill oil in oil-abundant areas, such as the million-acre Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.
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Part 3: The tribes and their members are simply using this to their advantage. They are very well aware that they would never have been relocated there if the government was aware there were billions of barrels of oil available. They consider it payback for forcing them to move in the first place. In fact, the jobs created as a result of this have allowed Native Americans to experience a sense of wealth and disposable income, as they’re seen driving around in expensive trucks and spending “extra” money at the casino. It also tends to attract outsiders as well. Most interesting is that those tribe members who decided to move off the reservation because they couldn’t find work are now found returning to ample jobs and considerable pay.
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Part 4: More than anything, I believe this gives the tribes and their members an opportunity to start with a clean slate. Does it necessarily justify the harsh actions that were taken against them in the first place? Absolutely not. But it may relieve the feelings of injustice and oppressive inequality that their people were faced with for at least a little while. In order to take utmost advantage of this situation, the reservation should try to distribute their wealth amongst other suffering tribes and reservations that aren’t as lucky. It would certainly be a step in the right direction, and might serve to be more meaningful than using the income to buy expensive pickup trucks and Hummers.
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Ever since I was a little girl, there has always been a controversy about Native Americans. I remember learning about who they were. I knew that they first owned the land that the white men then stole from them. We shared thanksgiving with them and called them Indians. Movies like and Pocahontas put ideas into our heads and don't give an accurate depiction of what the Native Americans are really like. To this day, I still do not know a lot about Native Americans, their history, their culture, or how their lives are affected today. I do know that they are important people, they have hundreds of tribes, and the tribes were granted land within the United States. From what I have learned since I have gotten older and through Sam's class, I know that Native Americans are not well off and struggle immensely. They have very little money, high suicide rates, and many people are alcoholics. It concerns me to even hear that people of any race,type, or culture have to suffer and be apart of the severe statistics. It is clear that the Native Americans need help to survive and keep their culture alive.
I believe that when they found oil, it was a great thing for them. But all great things have flaws, failures, and uncertainty. The Native Americans are high in debt and the money from the oil and the jobs will help release some of the burden from the debt. The greatest thing about the oil find is the new jobs that now exist throughout the reservation. Jobs allow for people to get out of their house, be on a daily routine, have a schedule, avoid drinking as heavily, and allowing them to finally have a steady income. Jobs bring happiness into families and allows them to have dinners together, be more responsible, and allow for the tribes to come together again. The concern that I have, is where are the native Americans going to spend the money? They need to spend it wisely. Saving it for the children's education, to buy a new home or to fix their home that they have now, and for every day life items that they haven't been able to purchase due to tight money situations.
The owner of the casino is also concerned with how they are spending the money, especially with the rise of revenue the casino owner has been receiving. The tribes need to be educated on how to spend their money, instead of large sums of money being thrown in their face. It can be overwhelming, shocking, and they may not realize what to do with it. The native Americans have every right to spoil themselves a little because they should be able to treat themselves
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Since I am in debt up to my eyes because of college I often dream of having oil found on my land or winning the lottery because there would be so much less stress in my life. This is essentially what is happening to these Native Americans who live on this reservation that has had oil discovered beneath its land. Part of me is very happy for these people because they put up with a lot of shit over the past 300 years and they deserve a break more the any other group of people in the United States. There land was taken and they were given what was assumed to be unwanted land. Then in 1950s more than a tenth of their land was taken from them so that the government could build a lake. They had an unemployment rate between 40 and 50 percent and now they have money, jobs, and some pride. But I think we need to look at some of the possible negative repercussions of having a windfall of money land in your lap.
I have often read stories of people who had been living in poverty, winning the lottery and then a couple years later they were once again in poverty. When you are used to not having any money and then all of a sudden you get an ass load of money, it is hard to know how to use the money responsibly. It is like not eating anything but plain bread for 5 years and then walking into an all-you-can-eat buffet. You are going to go nuts and eat until you through up. That is why when I first started getting allowance from my parents, they taught me how to divide up my money and use it responsibly. The article states that a particular casino’s profits increased almost 3 million dollars after the oil was discovered. Also it is a known fact that Native Americans have the highest concentration of alcoholics of any other racial group. This makes me worry about how they might try to spend their money. I’m sure there are many very smart recipients of the money who are using it wisely and it is their money to use as they like, but I think that perhaps there should be help available to help them spend it wisely.
You can also see other repercussions that are going along with the newly discovered oil. People reported that the oil rigs light up the sky at night because of the burning off of excess gas. This is not a desirable trait to have in a town. Also they are looking into placing an oil refinery on the reservation and they have to consider the population affects that it might have on the community. Native Americans are known to have a high love for the earth and hopefully the dollar bill signs won’t encourage them to allow this refinery to take root.
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I think that it is a good thing that this large amount of oil was found on the land of a group of people who needed the money as compared to say a wealthier establishment. While the second part of the post does mention a couple true facts about how drilling for this oil will bring more pollution and how it will negatively affect the environment as well as the people living there. But for these people, the repercussions of the drilling probably does not mean as much to them now that their livelihood are changing for the better. Sure when we think of Native Americans, we think of a group of people who are in touch with mother earth and care about the environment around them. But it looks to me like they may have found the value of the almighty dollar, and that the environment has taken a backseat. But then again, we may not have gotten the whole side of the story. There could be a large group of people on that reservation who wish that these oil barons would just get off the land. But in a sense of how they have normally lived compared to this oil boom, I really cannot blame them. How many of us would really take the environment in lieu of big money settlements for drilling oil. If a group of 12,000 people is receiving nearly 250 million dollars from the government and oil companies plus royalties in the span of a year, that equals out to over twenty thousand dollars a year per person. I'm not going to lie when I say that I would probably take that money over the welfare of the environment. An issue would be if the government would decide that the Natives are making too much money, and decided to kick them off the reservation, seeing as it is federal land. But I feel that considering the ethical values of people nowadays, they wouldn't get away with it. Another issue is the health repercussions of the drilling. With all of the pollution occurring because of the drilling, odds are that many people might get sick due to it. I'm not sure if the Natives have stronger or weaker immune systems due to the presence of other people. but the bottom line is that any health issues are going to cost major money for those Natives, because I'm sure they do not have much in the way of health insurance. So with the cost of medical help, chances are that some of the natives will probably end back where they began, in poverty. In the end, this is a good thing for the Natives, it's just whether or not this is too much of a good thing.
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ect of civil war. The civil war saw bloodshed among brothers, cousins, fathers, uncles, within a country that was seen as being free and prosperous it was a history that we as a country would like to forget. I mean with the Native American it’s a very well kept secret so to say, I mean you put these people on crap land in the middle of no where and think o0o0 they’ll be fine. I mean they get their own land and everything!? What!? NO they were simply moved to an area that we as society at the time deemed as unimportant. Personally the fact that they just found out that there could be up to 4.3 billion barrels of oil on this shit patch of land is awesome. And good for them "If they knew there was billions of barrels of oil here, they would never have put us here," said Spencer Wilkinson Jr., general manager of the Four Bears Casino on the reservation.
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If they knew there was billions of barrels of oil here, they would never have put us here," said Spencer Wilkinson Jr., general manager of the Four Bears Casino on the reservation. That statement says it all, however with technology getting better and more advanced, scientists were able to discover this huge amount of oil lying beneath the shale, thus those living on the land (the Indians) are due their royalties.
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I found this article to be extremely interesting, especially after all of our recent class discussions talking about Native Americans and how their lives are today. As we have discussed in class, Native Americans suffer the most poverty, alcohol abuse, suicide rates, etc. They are having an extremely difficult time here in the United States, and clearly there was an enormous amount of wrong doing towards them when their land was taken from them so many years ago. So the fact that at least one of these tribes is finally getting some good luck is reassuring and great to hear. This large mass of oil that has been found has many benefits, and benefits a variety of people. First off, it benefits our country and our economy because of the money it is generating, and it is also benefiting the world as a whole because oil is a limited resource that we can always use more of. It also obviously benefits the Native Americans living on this land, because for the first time in decades, there is a burst of new jobs and sources of income. This new oil business is giving meaning to many lives that had previously been living from day to day. It is providing tons of money to the area, giving the people living there nicer cars, homes, and neighborhoods. What needs to be done now is to educate these people in how to spend their money wisely. As the article said, casino profits have nearly doubled in the past year, where this money should be going to improving the standards of life on the reservation and sending the youth living there off to college so that they can have a better future. Also, although it is great that we have found all of this much needed oil, this will also cause a lot of pollution to this area, so precautions must be made to protect the air and the Native Americans living there. Finally, although these particular tribes have stumbled on some luck, this cannot and should not be seen as taking away from the years of discrimination and bad treatment. After all, this was their land to begin with, so in perspective they have been cheated out of all of the other places in this country where oil has been found. We have to ensure that the money this oil discovery is generating is used to improve the quality of life for these Native Americans, so that one reservation at a time, the Native Americans will have an equal place in society with all other races and cultures.
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This article is very interesting and very exciting in my opinion. I am very happy to see that a people WE destroyed and basically threw off their own land, are now finally benefitting from having been placed on basically what was once the shittiest place anyone could live on. It really upsetting when you think about how there a whole don’t ask don’t tell idea with how the US. Government basically committed one of largest genocides in human history. But they are very well due this reward. In class Sam has said that Native Americans suffer from the lowest levels of poverty as well as suicide and just an overall bad way of living. In the article their talking about how people are finally returning back to the reservation that for years has been viewed as a very depressing place. The Native Americans are rightfully due their tax free area and should be receiving their rightful amount of repatriations. The entire subject of the Native American destruction is very similar to the subject of civil war. The civil war saw bloodshed among brothers, cousins, fathers, uncles, within a country that was seen as being free and prosperous it was a history that we as a country would like to forget. I mean with the Native American it’s a very well kept secret so to say, I mean you put these people on crap land in the middle of no where and think o0o0 they’ll be fine. I mean they get their own land and everything!? What!? NO they were simply moved to an area that we as society at the time deemed as unimportant. Personally the fact that they just found out that there could be up to 4.3 billion barrels of oil on this shit patch of land is awesome. And good for them "If they knew there was billions of barrels of oil here, they would never have put us here," said Spencer Wilkinson Jr., general manager of the Four Bears Casino on the reservation. That statement says it all, however with technology getting better and more advanced, scientists were able to discover this huge amount of oil lying beneath the shale, thus those living on the land (the Indians) are due their royalties. Their land is consisted of a 1500 mile area in North Dakota, which is basically an area that no ordinary person would ever want to live on; it consists of Rollin hills and prairies and basically referred to as the Bad Lands. It is a good thing and anyone that is going to freak out about how their receiving all this good things should be informed and taught that what we did awhile ago was a very destructive thing. Today there is over 600 nationally recognized tribes, imagine what the amount of people there were 300 years ago living on this red land??! It’s a very crazy thought to think about.
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Since I am in debt up to my eyes because of college I often dream of having oil found on my land or winning the lottery because there would be so much less stress in my life. This is essentially what is happening to these Native Americans who live on this reservation that has had oil discovered beneath its land. Part of me is very happy for these people because they put up with a lot of shit over the past 300 years and they deserve a break more the any other group of people in the United States. There land was taken and they were given what was assumed to be unwanted land. Then in 1950s more than a tenth of their land was taken from them so that the government could build a lake. They had an unemployment rate between 40 and 50 percent and now they have money, jobs, and some pride. But I think we need to look at some of the possible negative repercussions of having a windfall of money land in your lap.
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So let me try to understand. In the 1700s and 1800s we fought with the Indian Tribes that lived here long before Europeans crossed the Atlantic to the promised land. Because the colonists found the Indians to be “savages” (they did not exactly like their European American neighbors either) they were attacked and later forced to leave their homes and move to reservations. Those that survived the move were left without livelihood, guidance and most of all any pride, a situation that has continued for almost 200 years. Now the American Indians have a stroke of good fortune. Who would have thought that the worst land our government could have found for them two centuries ago would now turn out so valuable. So after years of total disrespect, except for the $70 million a year subsidy, this particular tribe has jobs, some control over its own destiny and just maybe a scintilla of self respect. So what that the roads are clogged with Hummers. So what that oil wells are not particularly environmentally friendly. This is an opportunity for thousands of impoverished and ignored Americans to determine their own destinies. Certainly they will make mistakes. Some will waste their new found wealth. But inevitably a few of the 12000 tribe members will relocate back to their homes, have the opportunity for employment and become productive members of society. To suggest, in a negative context, that American Indians are getting rich from black gold and that this is in some way undeserved, is unfair. We accept that twenty year old football or basketball players obtain contracts for millions of dollars a year of salary to play a game but criticize tribal workers for simply earning wages where none were previously available.
Of course there are environmental concerns. Similar worries apply to natural gas drilling, mining for coal and certainly to nuclear power plants. All of these sources of energy have environmental consequences. Even windmills could be considered eye sores and are less efficient in power production when compared to older and clearly more polluting sources of energy. The problems cannot be ignored, but neither can our country’s need for energy. More importantly there is a choice. The inhabitants of the 1500 square mile reservation have a representative government that can determine the direction of the tribes. Right or wrong it is a choice for the tribal leaders and their electorate to make. It is not for us to judge that choice.
I do not entirely understand why the reservations have separate laws from the rest of America or why they continue to receive subsidies. It is not that they do not deserve some recognition for their hardships and after all—a deal is a deal! It is just that other ethnic groups including Blacks, Asians, Hispanics and others have also faced hardship and discrimination. Maybe they too should get stipends. But if our laws allow the reservations to choose for themselves and their decisions allow them to better their opportunities and those of the families, I say “go for it” even if this choice results in a couple additional Hummers clogging their roads.
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This article kind of makes me angry. Yes, it’s great that the residents of the reservation are now going to have a lot more wealth and a better economy, and yes, a lot of happiness will probably come from that wealth, but that doesn’t solve all the problems that they and other Native American reservations have. So there is oil on this reservation, and people are now going to be wealthy. Does that solve the years of poverty that they suffered beforehand? Does it make up for the lack of resources they had before, or for the people who had to move away because of lack of jobs? Not to mention the fact that the only jobs available because of this oil boom are entirely dependant on a finite resource that pollutes the environment and degrades human health.
At first when I was reading this article, I thought “How lucky they are!” If I found out that my house in my hometown was built on an oil deposit and that my family and I were going to be fabulously wealthy, I would feel like the luckiest person alive. But then I realized that in comparison to some of the Native Americans living in this country, I already pretty much am the luckiest person alive; I can go to college and my parents have jobs and I never had to grow up in extreme poverty. A lot of these people will have money now, but that doesn’t erase the past. It doesn’t erase the fact that we took all their land from them, and that the only reason they got land with oil in it is because the government was ignorant of any possible resources of value on that land. The manager of the casino said it, and it’s true: "If they knew there was billions of barrels of oil here, they would never have put us here.”
Even more recently than the 1800’s when the reservation was “given” to the Native Americans (if that’s the correct word, since the land was in all reality theirs to begin with), more wrongs have been committed against these specific tribes. The article mentions that in the 1950s, part of the reservation was flooded by the government to create a reservoir. Ironically, this reservoir is named “Lake Sakakawea”—a name of Native American origins. Ironic, but mostly just sad.
I just wonder how much good this money will actually do for these people. Yes, money is necessary to live, and this money will do some small reparation to the years of injustice that they’ve gone through, but that doesn’t make it right that any of the injustices happened in the first place. Oil money is no replacement for an apology, or for simple recognition of the wrongs done. And oil money isn’t going to cure a lot of the social ills that could be and probably are present due to past poverty—abuse, alcoholism, gambling problems, etc, aren’t going to go away because people suddenly have money. Several generations from now, this reservation might be at the same level of happiness and wealth as average Americans—probably just in time for the oil to run out, and for them to sink back into poverty. There needs to be a more permanent solution, and one that applies to more tribes than the few with surprise oil reserves.
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Having read this article, the only thing that I could say is, good for them. The native americans that live on that reservation deserve this oil find. So many native americans are in poverty on reservations stretching across the country. It is about time that they had some kind of good luck. Knowing what happened early in American history I am all for casinos and oil, anything that could help these people. I know that some people say respect the land you guys are Indians, but I think that they, like us, should use everything that has been given to them.
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This article is very interesting. After reading the first half of the article, all I could think about was KARMA. It is absolutely karma that the Native Americans who were kicked off their land many years ago, were placed right on top of a multi-million dollar oil field.
It’s hard to decide if I think that putting the oil rigs on the reservations is a good idea. It does seem like a positive thing, since the tribe members did not have many jobs available in 2000. And now with the oil industry moving in, jobs are plentiful, and anyone who wants to work can work. It seems like not such a good idea because the tribe members, who were poor for so long have all this new found money, and it doesn’t seem like they know exactly what to do with it. For example, the revenue that casinos have been bringing in each year have jumped from $4.5 million to $7.2 million. The article also says that people who until recently been living in poverty, have been driving around new cars. I don’t blame the people on the tribe for wanted to spend their new money, money that they probably feel they were cheated out of many years ago, I just hope that they learn to invest it, save it, and use it for the better of their family, so they never have to live in poverty again.
Like I said, I’m not sure if this is a good idea or a bad idea. It’s clear that the oil industries are just exploiting the native Americans again. Yes, they are getting tons of money for the oil from the land they were forced to move onto, but what about their health? It said in the article, that they are extracted over 4 million barrels of oil from under a reservoir. Yes, new technology is capable of doing it, but what if some freak thing happened, and the entire oil bubble underneath contaminates the water? That would cause devastation not only for the people but also for the environment.
One woman also said that her home is lit up from the lights and the oil flares from other oil drills, so now she wants one on her land. Not only is the damage in the environment possibly water contaminating, it is also light pollution too. In addition to the environmental issues, this oil drilling also has negative health effects on the people as well. This is taking place right outside peoples’ homes, not some remote location in Alaska. According to the second article, there are over 600 toxic chemicals that are released and transferred in the petroleum refining industry, releasing 75% into the air, 24% in the water and 1% in the land. That is definitely not something I would want to be living around, breathing in, drinking in, or living on. Definitely something to think about.
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there are definitely some great things to come out of this. Native Americans for the most part (and excluding the select few who own casinos) are very very poor. they also have no well paying jobs available to them. For these people who were dirt poor to finally have more jobs that pay well can not be looked at as a bad thing, but must be very cautiously looked at especially because it is dealing with oil drilling which can potentially be dangerous, and bad for the environment. On the note of how horrible all us white people are for taking the natives land and how bad I should feel, I really don't. we came we saw we conquered, poor indigenous people lost. the Irish and Scottish lost to England, and the Greeks lost to the Persians for more land it has been happening since the beginning of human history. Some Native tribes used to fight each other for land and other such things, Whitey just happened to be much more successful at it. Now they get to have 18 year old white boys blow their college loans on gambling and cry back to mom and dad for help. That is much more than my Mick ass will ever see from Hugh Grant
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While the abundance of new jobs and wealth on the reservation benefits the Native Americans, I do not know how much the jobs and wealth will benefit them in the long run. After the oil has been extracted, the government will move out; thereby, leaving the Native Americans with no jobs and a preference for the standard of living they experienced during the oil extraction. I worry the Native Americans are taking their new found wealth and spending it frivolously on Hummers, trips to the casinos, and expensive trinkets. The Native Americans should be saving their money to last them after the jobs are gone. They should be putting it towards higher education for the young tribe members. The young tribe members will then be able to support themselves and live a life beyond the Native American poverty. They should be putting it towards fixing up the community. The community could probably use repairs regarding roads, parks, and schools. Better schools especially could mean better education. With a good education, the chances of Native Americans going to college or starting their own businesses would increase.
Another concern I have is how their current lifestyles match their tribe’s way of life. I would not be surprised if their ancient ancestors disapproved of their current way of living. The Native Americans lived off the land and had respect for Mother Nature. I hardly doubt that tearing up the land beneath a lake is respecting nature and living with the land. The new cars do not exactly contribute to a clean environment. I would have thought the Native Americans would be proud of their ancestry and would strive to preserve their culture to share with others.
Finally, if the Native Americans continue to spend their new wealth in irresponsible ways, I will feel no sympathy for them when they sink back into poverty. This tribe has an opportunity. Apparently anyone who wants to work can work. Every tribe member should be taking advantage of this opportunity. The tribe members should also be investing their wealth wisely. The money should be put towards higher education for the younger members so they can work at good jobs. The money should be saved for rainy days. The money should be put into projects that will last and serve the community: schools, roads, health care, parks, etc. The money should be put into reviving their ancestry and possibly creating a tourist destination. This would ensure visitors and income after the government pulls out of the area. There is so much they could be doing with their wealth apart from Hummers and casino trips that would serve them better in the long run. This tribe has been given an opportunity and it seems as though the majority of them are wasting it.
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Part One: To be completely honest the first thing I thought of when I read this article was "aren't Native Americans supposed to be all about respecting the land and all that kind of stuff". But then I thought "screw that shit" the government moved them from their homes and basically forgot about them. I like the gentleman in the article who said "if they knew there was oil here they never would have put us here", that goes without saying. It's also the perfect example of how much the government doesn't care about what happens to Native Americans. If the government would have known there was oil there they just would have shoved them somewhere more out of the way. I would also be willing to bet that there were conversations going on between the oil companies and government officials on ways they could get to the oil and not pay the Three Affiliated Tribes. These people absolutely deserve the money that their making from the oil. I think Sam made great points about what has happened to Native Americans throughout history, and it's sad that most people really don't know how bad it was. The history classes that I took in middle school and high school didn't really tell the story of genocide, they told the story of white Americans making the brave journey across the continent to settle in new lands or the story of Indian aggression against white innocent christian people who were just trying to improve the land.
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Part Two: So the way I see it… these people deserve this money. Hopefully they really will put it to good uses like, building good schools, investing in social services, and the most important of all sending as many as their children to college as possible. Something about the article I found very upsetting was the fact that the casino profits increased something like 70%, that's exactly the wrong way for these people to spend their money. That is one of the drawbacks to being poor for so long, you finally get some money in your hand and you just go nuts. Maybe this article will shed some light on the reservations that weren't fortunate enough to be forced onto land where there happened to be a huge oil reserve. But at least the people of the Three Affiliated Tribes caught a break.
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My initial reaction to the first article (the one that did not mention the health risks) was one of gladness because I believe the Indians deserve some good fortune after all they have had to suffer through. I believed it was ironic that the United States government tried to give the Native Americans the poorest land. By doing so, they have lost some of the most valuable land. The Native Americans deserve the right to control the oil on the land as it is rightfully theirs anyway. However, the lasting health effects once again prove that most good things come at a price. Not only are they damaging the environment by drilling, but they are exposing themselves to chemicals which can lead to lung cancer as well as other diseases.
When I read the second article I started to consider pollution and how it affects the current situation. As someone who cares about the environment, I focused much of my attention on the toxic chemicals going into the environment. However, I cannot condemn the Indians for the pollution the drilling is creating. I usually advocate the large oil companies should be forced to have tighter guidelines for drilling and refining oil. However, these companies have the wealth to be able to do so. Another factor which contributes to my thinking is that this is their land, and therefore they should get a say in how they wish to use it, even if it is not in the most environmentally friendly way. Lastly, I considered how many toxins we place into the environment. The rest of the United States drives gas guzzling vehicles, use many prepackaged products, run air conditioning all summer long, take long showers, and have jobs in many different types of industrial plants. All of these actions harm the environment, and the gases that re released from cars and industries pollute the air as well. We cannot blame the Indians for polluting because oil refining is the only chance for many of them to have money at all.
The health repercussions are one of the saddest parts of the oil on the Indian’s land. However, we are all facing future health problems with the amount of pollutants in the air. Unfortunately, the Indians are at much higher risk because they live on the reservation with the oil refinery. I do not believe that they have the opportunity to not have the oil refinery due to health and environmental problems because they have no money and no jobs otherwise. The oil refinery has finally given them hope that they will be able to afford decent housing and schooling for future generations. Even with the negative attributes, the money is far to valuable to the Native Americans to be given away.
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Reading this article I couldn’t help but wonder when we are going to take over this reservation.
I mean after hearing about our takeover and how we basically pushed the Native Americans to the farthest, most desolate corners of the United States where they really do not have any opportunity to make money.
Well now they do, and they are, but for how long? Especially with the (again) rising cost of oil prices and the declining number of oil reserves in the US. I think it is only a matter of time before a major company decides its time to bully their way into this Native American reserve and start mining their own oil, and the government is most likely going to turn their head on the who situation.
Where are the natives going to go this time? They can move to somewhere even more desolate and secluded, that is until they discover another way to make money, and guess what? Time to move again…
I really understood what Sam said in class about the takeover and I wasn’t too happy about it. I never really looked into the situation growing up, I always just thought the Native Americans founded our country and over time just started to decline in number to where they just took a backseat. Boy was I wrong, I can see why Sam gets so upset over this issue
Reading this article is almost saddening. It’s a feel good story that just seems like its about to go wrong. The tribe is going to use the money to pay off debt, and bankroll such things as roads, health care and law enforcement. All is well and great for now, until the takeover begins.
Which makes me think, reservations like Turning Stone in New York, which have established casinos that are making good money. I’m surprised that they have been around this long, the only thing helping them is that the gaming license in New York is still pending. I’m sure once it officially passes, the local government will move right in on that operation and take over.
I was really entertained by reading the comments that others were leaving. Most were very sympathetic towards the Natives and basically said the same things that I have said…but others were very harsh and rude towards them, saying that the government needs to come in and take a stand because they have no rights and are getting everything for free. Really? That’s the way someone sees it. It’s amazing to see how blind some people really are in this country. I’m not saying I’m perfect, but if I’m going to voice my opinion on a subject I make sure I know the background facts before I open my mouth.
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This is good for the three affiliated tribes. Any amount of money to these people is a blessing. The fact that the money and business and new way of life all came from the oil industry seems kind of ironic since the ancient tribal people we're very in touch with their natural world. I think that some people would say this is a bad thing for the tribe since they are going against the ideology of their ancestors. But i bet most of the people who would say that aren't from within the tribe. Most of the members of the tribe see this as a great break for them. It is the first time in 200 years that these people have actually had the ability to be like the members of the society that currently controls their land. I wish more industries saw the affect that they could have on these people. Instead of outsourcing manufacturing to a developing nation over seas, why not outsource it to a Native American reservation? These people are just as desperate for jobs and an acceptable standard of living as most people in developing nations and would work for lower wages than American citizens too. The costs of shipping overseas are much higher than the costs of shipping within our continent. Not only would it reduce shipping but it would be beneficial to the local economies to have more people with disposable income.
These Native Americans are using what they have to make for themselves and their children better lives than their ancestors ever had. Its sad to me that it is having to come down to business to save these peolples and show them a life that might begin to repay the enormous debt that they are owed. The government has the resources available to help these people but it chooses instead to go to war halfway around the world. It gives aid to countries all across the globe. All it takes is for one tribe to begin to be self sufficient is one good source of income. Out of that many opportunities would arise.
A lot of people in class were struggling to understand the point that sam was drilling into our heads during lecture. They were thinking that he was saying that we are directly responsible for the treatment of Indians. And that we are doing things in our day to day lives to put them down and ignore them. I dont think this is what he was saying. I think he was trying to say that the way we learn about the history of our country is wrong and that from an early age Americans are made to believe that this land was made for you and me. But not he indians. We are left in the dark about the way the original people of America live. He was saying that we need to be educated about things that are occurring right where we call home and not be ignorant about the state of our society.
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“State demographer Richard Rathge said 28 percent of people on the reservation were living in poverty in 2000, the latest figures available. More than 40 percent did not have a job at that time.” This statistic really just blew my mind. Twenty eight percent were living in poverty! In the year 2000! That seems so outlandish! Being in this college bubble really consumes you and then when you hear a statistic like that it really gets you thinking. The money that I spend in a day on average could probably last them a week or a month. That is truly insane. This just goes to show how great the oil rig is for these individuals. “Anybody who wants to work can work.” If only that were the way it was for all of us.
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It’s great that a community can remain a community. These people stuck together even though they didn’t really have anything. It would be great to see that they will still be as close knit if they all become rich or “earn a nice little cushion” from the oil payments. It’s also nice that those people who had to leave the community to find work are able to move back to the area with their friends while still being able to find work and make good money.
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You said bringing pollution was a bad thing. To an extent it is, but oil drilling and refining is and has been an integral part of our economy for a very long time. I do not think that is a valid reason to view this as a bad thing. If we stopped drilling for oil, we'd run out. If we ran out, our society would stop, in a very literal sense. So, we should just be glad this community can benefit from this so greatly. This will have a huge impact in a lot of people's lives for generations.
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When I was younger I had the opportunity to visit an Indian reservation in rural Arizona. Having been able to have such an opportunity, It is obvious just how life changing the discovery of oil on a reservation can be. Typically everything on a reservation is run down, broken, or obsolete. Very little money flows through these reservations and squalor is rampant. Such a huge infusion of money due to oil discovery has the potential to change fortunes around. It is possibly the first lucky break these three tribes have had in at least several hundred years. The only major downside I see from this article is how attached the three tribes may become to revenue seeking oil companies. If they are not careful, they may end up trading all of their land in exchange for money from oil companies. At first glance it almost seems ridiculous that native Americans would be so adamant on selling their land for money. But given the circumstances, this possibly is an opportunity they could ill afford to pass up. They just need to be careful not to let it get to their heads. These oil rigs will damage the environment and drive the ecosystem out of the area. These effects certainly go against what natives stand for, so they need to make sure that they do not get too greedy.
An idea that sprung to my head was that these three tribes should distribute this revenue beyond just their own borders. They have every right to benefit from this cash, but to me it would be nice to see them help other Native American tribes as well. There are many other reservations out there that desperately need help and receive little of it, if anything at all. There appears to me many of millions of dollars to be had in this venture, so why not donate some of it to help other tribes out? This act of philanthropy could go a long way in helping disenfranchised native Americans out. Things like a new school, new paved roads, and improved housing can go a long way.
In a historical perspective I found it interesting that these Native Americans, perhaps for the first time in hundreds of years, are being paid back fairly for their land. For too long the United States found it prudent to offer fraudulent treaties (or just ignored treaties in the first place) and forcibly removed Native Americans from land. It is unfortunate that it took a highly desired resource like oil to switch this policy, but it could be argued that it was one of the few things capable of cutting through the issue. But in these circumstances, as long as these tribes don’t get too greedy it could turn out to be extremely beneficial.
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At first glance, the development of the oil and petroleum industry in this area, especially by the Three Affiliated Tribes seems to be contradictory to the fundamental beliefs of most Native American tribes. Respect for the earth, environment, and wildlife are ideals that are typically promoted as being truly Native American. However, there is another Native American ideal that many are likely to overlook in this situation. People often also see the indigenous American people as a society that makes the best use of their resources in a highly efficient way. This situation does not seem to be any different.
These tribes are using the land that they were given and making use of it to benefit themselves and their local economy. A previous author stated that the resources of the land where tribes are located are a matter of luck. This could not be truer. Some tribes are thriving based on the resources that are available for their use, and others are struggling due to a lack of any valuable resources. It is only right that these people, who the land fundamentally belongs to in the first place, are able to benefit from any commodity that is located there.
This situation also demonstrates another positive ideal held not only by Native Americans, but Americans in general. Moving forward and being socially or economically progressive is a value held deep within the soul of America, it’s called the American dream. In a land that has struggled for over a century, an explosion of industry has initiated progress. Due to this oil boom, many jobs are being created and millions of dollars are being earned. Assuming only the best of the wealthiest residents, this money is ultimately going to be funneled back into the community to further benefit everyone in the tribe. To say these Native Americans are in the wrong for being opportunistic is preposterous.
I think this all goes back to a recurring theme in Sam’s lectures; how can I get to the top of the hill? Some people might just jump through the hoops and go to school, get an internship, and secure a job for the rest of their lives. To those people, they have lived the dream, and potentially reached the top of the hill. The Three Affiliated Tribes are simply doing the same thing. They have found the side of the hill that is the best way to the top and they ought to be taking advantage of it. This example shows that one cannot always get there on his own either. As previously mentioned, the resources contained within the reservation are by pure luck and it is by that luck that they are now getting closer to the top of the hill.
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The first thing I felt after reading this article was surprised that these three tribes would even allow companies to come onto their land and drill wells to extract oil. I always thought that Native Americans felt that the land and environment and such was sacred, and obviously allowing oil wells on their land would severely contradict this belief. The second article also stated that the tribes were considering allowing construction of an oil refinery on their reservation which only compounds my surprise. The oil industry is one of the most polluting industries on earth, and yet these Native Americans are still allowing it or at least considering allowing it on their land. Construction of wells, and especially a refinery, will ensure widespread and massive pollution to the water, air, and land of their reservation, all the while also endangering the health of their peoples. This thing brings me to my second thought. It is sad that Native Americans' situation is so dire that they must resort to allowing such a danger to them happen. While there are many negative effects from oil drilling and refining, there are also many positives that the activity will bring to the reservation. This includes jobs, money, and hope that they can pull themselves up out of poverty with the new found wealth around them. It is this that the tribes think about when presented with this opportunity, as opposed to the negative health and environmental effects. In the article it talks about how there were never any jobs on the reservation and now that they are abundant, many of those who moved off are coming back with the promise of securing a good-paying job. The influx of money from the companies paying to extract oil from their land also can fund much needed improvements to the reservation, such as healthcare, education, and basic sanitation. In this way I definitely feel that the oil has been good for the tribes. Another interesting thing brought up in the article was when someone said that if the government had known there was billions of barrels of oil below their land, they would have never put these tribes there. It is ironic that after centuries of being mistreated and disrespected by the government, and being kicked off their lands and thrown onto ones that were useless or undesirable, that at least one tribe would be lucky enough to be put on a land with a resource that will allow them to prosper somewhat and have some control over their future. Pretty much no Native American tribe in the US has this chance. It's funny to know though that if the government had known of all this oil, they would have never given this land to the tribes. I bet even know they are probably like 'damnit, if only we had known'. However, despite the environmental issues possible, I'm happy to see that some Native Americans may finally have a chance to succeed and prosper as most Americans have been.
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As a response to this article, I think that the Native Americans deserve what they got. To enrich people's lives and create job opportunities, why not? Especially in a community where people are obviously struggling. I'm really glad that after all this time, the government is not forcing someone out of their land. These tribes that are living on the land that contains the oil, have a chance to prosper and achieve things that Native Americans have never been able to before. They can be given a proper education, and hopefully be raised in a more educated manner. They will be aware of the high poverty rates, alcoholic rates, and drug rates of Native Americans therefore, hopefully lowering them. With this economic boom comes a few downfalls: people might not adapt well to the sudden wealth, they could invest in things that won't benefit in the long run, and some people might not find the need to work. If people don't adapt well to the new found wealth, sometimes it can turn the economy right back around or lead to loss of jobs held by lower income families. If this oil had been found a hundred years ago, Native Americans would have been stripped of their right to the land and it would have been taken by the government. The fact that America has come this far, to not only let the Native American tribes own their own land (instead of fight them for it), but to also keep the oil that proves great wealth, is amazing. The United States could have forced the Native Americans off of the oil land and generated millions if not billions of dollars for the U.S. government, but instead they allowed the people that found it, benefit from the oil. Not only were most Native Americans living near the oil compensated with a portion of the profits, but by finding this oil it attracted many people to their reservation which is also causing a boom in business. It was reported in the article that the local casino there has dramatically increased its profits just in over the last year. With this extra business comes extra jobs. By the amount of job opportunities becoming available, it is allowing families in need of work the option of returning home to work and staying together as a family. I believe that in Native American tribes, where they are very culturally dependent, benefit from staying together since adaption from the modernized world may be difficult with lack of money, lack of technological use, and other factors. After reading this article, does anyone believe that the United States was more inclined to letting the Native Americans keep their land this time because the United States felt guilty for removing them from their land during the discovery years?
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I believe that it is both a good and bad thing that this oil boom happened on Native American territory. One reason I believe it is good is because some tribes of Native Americans are finally making money and they will finally be able to move out of the poorest economic group. With the more than $179 million dollars in lease payments being made the Three Affiliated Tribes should be able to take care of many things they need, such as paying off their debts and providing health care. This money could also be used so that their children can go to college, and continue to move up in the world.
Another reason that I believe this is a good thing is because the Native Americans are sort of getting back at the government now. If the government knew there was oil where the reservation was, they would have moved the Native Americans to somewhere else, with probably less natural resources. The government tries to do whatever it can to bring the Native Americans down so for a couple of tribes to find this much oil on their land is awesome and a good way of getting back at the government.
I also consider this to be a bad thing. One reason that I think it is bad is because it is going against what the Native Americans originally believed. What I have always heard and learned about Native Americans was that they respected and cared for the land over everything else. I was taught that they didn’t let anything go to waste, so when they killed animals like buffalo made sure not to waste any or to kill more than they need. With this oil find the Native Americans will be digging and cutting holes into the ground. I feel like the ancestors of these current Native Americans would be very displeased if they see them destroying the land, rather than helping to protect it.
Another reason I consider this a bad thing is because of how bad oil refineries are. Oil refineries harm people’s health and they bring pollution. With the oil find being on Native American land I’m willing to bet that mostly Native Americans will be the ones working in the oil refineries. This is very bad for their health as they get all these chemicals and things into their bodies and those chemicals end up destroying their lungs and other vital organs. Also, there will be lots of pollution put into the environment because of these oil refineries. The one thing this country doesn’t need any more of is pollution. Also, all this pollution can hurt the Native Americans, as it could potentially get into their water stream and poison them in some way.
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This post is interesting. Many people would agree I think that Native Americans have this association with "being one with the land" and caring about the environment. However, here it seems these tribes in North Dakota has completely taken advantage of this "black gold". It seems that not only are the communities benefiting, but the people are as well. I think the other side of this story, the enviromental impact seems to be very large. I think this article provides hope for Native Americans but I while reading it I remember there are 300 other tribes that most of which are still struggling.
One interesting point that this article mentions but is overshadowed by the oil, is that this tribe already is receiving 60 million dollars in federal aid. Just where is all that money going? The article then goes on to say that a good majority of this oil money is going to towards public works. But where has all the money from the aid and the casino revenues been going? I realize there are a lot of people who live on the entire reservation but comparitively it doesn't sound like this reservation is doing that bad. I think the perspective of this article is the key.
The second article of this post presents a cost-benefit analysis. The determential effects on the environment vs the impoversed jobless reservation. I'm all for creating jobs, but at the expense of the enviroment, I don't know. Also I think it needs to said that regardless of this, the oil companies will always find a way to extract the "black gold" from the reservation. I think its best for the native americans to take advantage of as many of the benefits as they possibly can and keep as much of the money within the tribe as they can. That's the sad reality.
Also, whose to say that in 5 years when a lot of this oil is being extracted that the necessary precautious won't be taken to stop or significantly minimize the direct effects on the environment. Why can't some of this money that the native americans are getting be spent on conserving the land around the oil wells? If they are so concerned about it. There has to be some way to limit the impact on the environment although it is probably expensive.
I think one problem with the quick infusion of millions of dollars in this tribe will mostly likely be determental to the long lasting health of the tribe. Its like a bubble that the stock market builds up and crashes later on. There are all these jobs and money in the tribal system now, but wait until the wells dry up. There will be huge structures where the drilling took place and many of the native americans will be without jobs again. And maybe little money, because it seems like many of these native americans are squandering their money rather than saving it for the benefit of the future of the tribe.
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It seems to me that the Council of the Three Affiliated Tribes are presented with two win-lose situations; neither decision would come without consequences. On one hand, they'd have the ability to dramatically alter their collective lifestyles for the better. If they chose to build the refinery their numbers for poverty and unemployment (28% and 40%) would obviously decrease. However, would they be willing to pay the steep price for such a decision? As stated in the second article, the emissions from the refinery are shown to cause "cancer, neurotoxicity, reproductive toxicity, increased respiratory disease, decreased lung function, and premature death." To me, it seems like they'd be securing their short-term comfort at the expense of their long-term well being, not to mention the condition of the bodies of water, air and wildlife in their area. The wastewater produced by the refinery is often dumped in nearby streams, lakes, etc. and would potentially harm the area's ecosystem as well as individuals who are unaware that they are drinking contaminated water. They also go on to say that members of the Three Affiliated Tribes already suffer from the effects of "the existing multiple polluting stressors of several coal/lignite power plants, the USA’s first coal gasification plant, coal mining, oil wells, the states existing oil refinery, and farm land herbicide/pesticide use." How could the Council of the Three Affiliated Tribes justify the additional risk represented by the proposed refinery? It seems to me that building said refinery would only be magnifying an already harmful situation. Is the almighty dollar worth however many lives, those of plants and animals as well as humans, may be lost because of the pollution? It appears that many people believe so.
I do empathize with those responsible for making this decision. The Native Americans in that area, as well as similar locations throughout the US, were born into a situation that they'd obviously rather be removed from. They were also placed in these situations through no fault of their own; they were simply in the way of a rapidly expanding European colonization effort. I am somewhat comforted that this decision is theirs to make, and not completely out of their hands. At least they get to determine their fate in this situation. It's upsetting, however, that they're forced to chose between the lesser of two evils. If they chose to build the refinery, they're putting themselves, as well as the surrounding wildlife, in harm's way to bring some sort of affluence to their people. If they decline to build the refinery, they're dooming many of their people to the same situation they're already in for who knows how long. Thankfully, it's not my decision to make. I definitely don't envy the person whose job it is.
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Growing up in a family where my father is in the oil industry, and my uncle is in the timber industry; I have had a skewed sense of environmentalism. These industries have funded a complete side of my family and for the most part, and have gotten me to where I am today.
It is really both easy and hard to insult the oil industry to me. Like casinos, I can see the good and the bad. Oil is present in all parts of our economy. We have used oil to advance our country on so many levels. During World War 2 we used our oil supplies to defeat the axis powers. Even now we fight wars to secure our oil supplies for years to come(not I do not agree with this).
On the other hand I can completely see where oil has lead us to a bad place. It is not only bad for our environment, but also affects us directly. Like the article well put, oil refineries cause cancer in the surrounding areas along with many other bad consequences.
I can really see how this aspect of oil is causing serious harm. Like many others, I have unfortunately had to deal with the harmful affects of cancer. My mother had breast cancer, and I believe that if there is any way possible, that we should not cause this horrible disease on anyone.
It is really a double edged sword when it comes to oil refineries. Like casinos, it can cause great wealth to accumulate in a place where industry is hard to come by. On the other hand, these oil refineries are both dangerous to the people who work on them, and the citizens who live in the surrounding areas. It is really a shame that these are the only two industries available to the Native Americans who are just looking to establish themselves. It is very apparent that these are the last of the forgotten and misused people in the United States. I really with that the rest of us,who pretty much stole their land could give them something back that doesn’t harm them.
So when I think about the oil refineries that the Native Americans have, I think about the god and the bad. They are doing a job which many other Americans share. However, they are also doing something that harms a group of people that doesn’t need any more harm. They are doing these jobs not because it is there choice, but because it is one of their only options. I really wish there were better options available to these people who we have caused so much harm, but there are not. It is a cruel world, and I wish it were different.
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This is pretty ironic that this Native American tribe found out they are basically living on a goldmine. Even though oil is increasingly become a negative factor environmentally. The money they get from the oil may be good for them but ultimately will not be good in other aspects. Obviously them having a land rich with oil is good and bad for them. I’m glad the government did not try to take the land from the Native Americans. I am actually surprised that the government didn’t selfishly try and take it away because they have oppressed and bullied Native Americans in the past.
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This is great for this tribe, but it only benefits THIS tribe. I'm left to wonder if this tribe will share any of its new-found riches with any of the other tribes across the country. Even a few thousand dollars to one tribe could mean the difference between having cold water or hot water at home, and even having any running water at all. I'm not saying that in any way it is their responsibility to give to the other tribes, but I think it would be a responsible way to spend some of that new-found wealth. I pose the same question to all tribes that have found wealth through oil, casinos, or anything really. Again, it's not a responsibility, just a responsible thing to do.
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There are both good and bad that can come of this. I feel that the good does outweigh the bad. I may be slightly biased on this because I grew up in an oilfield town. Also I have seen a lot of the bad that can come out of this. At first glance added money will help the socioeconomic state on the reservation in one fell swoop taking the residents out of poverty. The tribe plans to use this added income to pay off some of the tribes’ debt and use it for important things like roads and healthcare. The casino general manager said that there are now locals that are spending their money in the casino showing that a lot more people on the reservation now have at least some disposable income. According to the article in 2000 close to forty percent of the population was out of work. It does not give current statistics but the current situation has added a lot of jobs which will help tremendously.
There are always negatives that will come from an abundance of money suddenly added to the community. One of the things I saw in the town I grew up in was the use of drugs and people not getting education. I think that one of the reasons for a lot of people not graduating high school was that a lot of people could get jobs as roughnecks at sixteen or seventeen and after they got the job they figured that there was no point to finish their schooling. Another problem that I have seen from a large oilfield industry is the abuse of drugs and alcohol. I have seen a lot of uneducated people suddenly making pretty good money and not knowing what to do with it and eventually turning to drugs. With the difficult taxing work that is involved in the oilfield a lot of workers turn to these to try to relax or unwind after work. Being that there is already a much higher percent of Native Americans that are alcoholics and drug abusers this could have a huge affect on the next generation. This could possibly snowball and cause these statics to grow to a much larger percentage of the population.
This could possibly be negated if the extra money coming into the reservation is put to good work. It was stated that they plan to put money to policing and if these considerations are taken into account I think that these problems could not be problems. If the tribes and the reservation as a whole makes more of an incentive for the children to stay in school and stay off drugs this oil field money could be a great thing for the community.
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While the abundance of new jobs and wealth on the reservation benefits the Native Americans, I do not know how much the jobs and wealth will benefit them in the long run. After the oil has been extracted, the government will move out; thereby, leaving the Native Americans with no jobs and a preference for the standard of living they experienced during the oil extraction. I worry the Native Americans are taking their new found wealth and spending it frivolously on Hummers, trips to the casinos, and expensive trinkets. The Native Americans should be saving their money to last them after the jobs are gone. They should be putting it towards higher education for the young tribe members. The young tribe members will then be able to support themselves and live a life beyond the Native American poverty. They should be putting it towards fixing up the community. The community could probably use repairs regarding roads, parks, and schools. Better schools especially could mean better education. With a good education, the chances of Native Americans going to college or starting their own businesses would increase.
Another concern I have is how their current lifestyles match their tribe’s way of life. I would not be surprised if their ancient ancestors disapproved of their current way of living. The Native Americans lived off the land and had respect for Mother Nature. I hardly doubt that tearing up the land beneath a lake is respecting nature and living with the land. The new cars do not exactly contribute to a clean environment. I would have thought the Native Americans would be proud of their ancestry and would strive to preserve their culture to share with others.
Finally, if the Native Americans continue to spend their new wealth in irresponsible ways, I will feel no sympathy for them when they sink back into poverty. This tribe has an opportunity. Apparently anyone who wants to work can work. Every tribe member should be taking advantage of this opportunity. The tribe members should also be investing their wealth wisely. The money should be put towards higher education for the younger members so they can work at good jobs. The money should be saved for rainy days. The money should be put into projects that will last and serve the community: schools, roads, healthcare, parks, etc. The money should be put into reviving their ancestry and possibly creating a tourist destination. This would ensure visitors and income after the government pulls out of the area. There is so much they could be doing with their wealth apart from Hummers and casino trips that would serve them better in the long run. This tribe has been given an opportunity and it seems as though the majority of them are wasting it.
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Although this wealth of industry and oil refinery may be helpful for the Three Affiliated Tribes economic status, I feel as though all this work is against what Native American ancestry originally believed in. Drilling holes into the ground and extracting oil isn’t exactly conserving the nature. If ancient ancestry came back and saw what was happening on this “red land” I don’t think they would be extremely content. I feel as though these materialist rudiments are against the Indian’s culture and yet no one is bad tempered now. The tribe officials say the oil has helped right a wrong done to the tribes in the 1950s, when more than a tenth of the reservation was flooded by the federal government to create Lake Sakakawea, a 180-mile-long reservoir. But now the government is drilling under this lake to obtain oil and no one is complaining. With this newly discovered oil, there is now a lot of attention being paid to their tribal land. Roads are crowded with gas guzzling cars and huge trucks and machinery are always present. Drilling for oil is highly damaging to the environment, so the Native Americans have to make a decision of whether the benefits of this economic boom outweigh the costs of the damage to the environment. In addition to damaging the environment, the waste produced by refining the oil is very damaging to people’s health. Like the article states, many people living near refineries were diagnosed with cancer due to the chemicals released by the refining process. Today, Native Americans are doing the best they can with the resources they have at their disposal. Resource endowments based on where they relocated is a matter of luck, but maintaining efficiency when using one’s resources is most important. For instance, certain tribes are considered to be very successful, with high profit casinos distributing wealth amongst a community, and outsiders bringing business to their personal economy.
Most interesting is that those tribe members who decided to move off the reservation because they couldn’t find work are now found returning to ample jobs and considerable pay.
More than anything, I believe this gives the tribes and their members an opportunity to start with a clean slate. Does it necessarily justify the harsh actions that were taken against them in the first place? Absolutely not. The reservation should try to allocate their wealth amongst other suffering tribes and reservations that aren’t as lucky. I can only hope that they decide to use their extra riches to help those in the community that are less fortunate, like those in the video who just “want to die.” Through a larger sense of community there are many improvements that can easily be made.
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WHY DON'T PEOPLE EVER THINK ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES OF THEIR ACTIONS UNTIL IT'S OVER WITH. Based on our discussions in class and the percentage of Native people living in poverty and also with the highest drug and alcohol addiction in the country, why would they jump on the oil bandwagon. The oil is giving the Native American's in the TAT leverage for the first time in over a century. They can provide jobs for their people, freedom from generational poverty, and a new start at life. Essentially they can provide the American Dream, but we all know that the reality of this dream was paid by in the blood of innocent men, women, and children of both Natives and African Americans.
In the Black community the influx of quick wealth has had it's problems to. The stuff that rappers talk about in their rhymes is not fictional. It's this theory of "get rich or dying trying" and it doesn't matter how many people you have to sell drugs to or how many people you kill making it to the top. When you are kept down for long and you have the opportunity to have something you only dreamed about.
I wonder if the tribes in North Dakota are aware of the destruction that they will cause by drilling. I wonder if this information is available to them or if they would even care. This is self-imposed genocide for capitalistic gain. Like I said I can't blame them for seizing the opportunity, however I would want for them to think about this. All that glitters isn't gold and I hope they realize this before they cause permanent damage to their communities.
Many times, we come across things that are very pleasing to the eye and immediately think that they will make everything better, however, it can be very destructive. Its understandable that the Native Americans had so much taken away from them and they feel they are finally getting their reparations, however, at what cost? They are putting their health in danger in order to make money fast. This might benefit them immediately but in the distant future they can become ill due to all of the toxins that they would be inhaling. Since they are actually living on the property that has all of the oil, drilling it would cause a serious amount of pollution that is much greater than they are able to handle.
Since they were stripped from their homes, raped, beaten, and forced to live on Reservations, it’s nice that they are finally being able to enjoy their new-found wealth, it can be used to improve life on the reservation, and give more opportunities to those who might not have been able to get the chance. I just hope that they realize what the outcome could be, and sometimes the consequences outweigh the illusion of happiness.
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I think it’s very just that these oil refineries are located where Native American tribes can profit off of them. In class, learning about the discrimination against these native people is so sick and unnerving. I had no idea that they were treated as horribly as they were. This really is something in American history that we don’t talk about because, as Sam said, America ‘wouldn’t have a soul’. We are built on fundamentals that say we are all created equally, but when we take over and relocate a group of people that we feel are below us in a way, it is completely hypocritical. We are living on ‘red land’ and it is sunfair that we did this to a group of people who did nothing wrong!!!
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After reading the article on the Native Americans and the oil that that have found on their land, I found it very interesting the fact that they are finally getting something it great I think. Most people see Native Americans as poor Indians, and when they first fist came to America years ago they had nothing they were all about reserving the land and then others came in and took it all from them. So I think that it is great that they were able to find all this oil on their land and that they get all these perks for allowing the drilling of oil on their land to occur.
As he article stated many of Tribe members were moving away because they were not able to get jobs living there, I think that it is a good thing that they found this oil because finally these Natives are moving back and are able to be making money. The article stated that some of them may not use the amount of money they are receiving the right way because they are no used to having it, However, I feel as though they deserve it because they have always been pushed out. In addition to that though, I feel that the money that they are receiving should be going towards all the debt that they have racked up over the years from not being employed. The article also states that the money is going towards roads and bankroll which is great.
This article did shock me a little, because since I was little we have learned that Indians have always been about preserving their land and oil refineries cause a lot of pollution. I guess times have really changed even for the tribes, I suppose that it has to though they would not be able to follow all traditions or they would be living a rough life in today's society. The fact that poverty there a few years ago was so high is amazing they lucked up and now receiving funding from the federal government, and are providing everyone with jobs is great. Many people may argue that this is not right that these people are getting all these benefits and jobs, but its karma I think because a long time ago this is what Europeans were doing to them. I feel as though if the Tribes living on this oil rich land, are using their money wisely and living life to the fullest that it is great that they have this oil rig. They have been a the "shit end of the stick" for a long time and they deserve to have these oil rigs in their backyards and get paid for it.
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I find it interesting that Native Americans, who are more often than not associated as being people who respect and love the Earth, would change their traditional culture for money. Yes, those people on the reservation desperately need money to help themselves and their society, but still I have to bring the question forward about putting a price on their traditions and dignity. Native Americans have been seen, for as long as I can remember, as being at one with nature. They use every part of everything they find for their livelihood. And now it seems the price for those traditions has been found. They now are just fine with mining for oil so they can reap the benefits the federal government will pay them for the oil. This makes me think of the movie "Avatar." How different would the story have been if the native people in that movie had decided to sell the unobtainium to the humans, instead of sticking with their traditions and ways of life.
I hope they take this lucky break and use it to the utmost advantage that they can. Things like this don't happen often to people, let alone a group of people.
I am happy that a group of people who have been so repressed caught a break. I find it kind of amusing that those who oppressed them thought they were putting these people on a useless piece of land, and now have to pay ridiculous sums of money in order to get those resources back. But I wonder how good of use these Native Americans will put this new found wealth. They say they want to use it to pay off debt, education, and law enforcement, but when people who normally do not have much wealth stumble upon some, it means play time. I've done some volunteer work in soup kitchens and shelters for the homeless and not well off people. I found it interesting that they day the welfare check comes in the mail almost no one shows up to get free meals. They go out to eat somewhere and blow their money on something that they really don't need to. They should try to save up money from those checks to get them back on their feet and use some to pay for things they need. Even with myself, I usually don't have a whole lot of money to my name, but when I get a paycheck I usually take some and blow it on something I could probably do without. This sudden injection of large amounts of cash to the Native Americans has the potential to pull them out of a hole, but they have to use it wisely.
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I think that it is great that there are oil rigs on American Indian land. I feel that it is great because it gives the world’s poorest, most alcoholic and highest suicide rate group of people an opportunity that was not there before. It gives them great paying jobs and maybe something to live for. On the one hand it rights a wrong that was done in the 1950s when over a tenth of their land was flooded in order to create a man-made lake by the federal government. It is great that they are now receiving one hundred and seventy nine million dollars plus millions of dollars more for royalties and tax revenue. They also will get six to seventy million dollars in federal aid annually from the federal government. This will be used to help the tribe pay off debt and bankroll roads, health care and law enforcement.
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I cannot help but to wonder if that is enough. I know that that is a lot of money rolling in but I can’t help but wonder is it really equivalent to the value of the land that we took all those years ago? Plus that value has to be compounding for interest and some payment should be made for the inconvenience of finding somewhere else to live, not having land to give to children etc. So is it really enough? Two hundred and forty nine million dollars divided by all the people affected by our ancestor’s genocide, it does not really seem all that much anymore.
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It is pretty unfair, isn’t it? Look. We are worrying about starting our careers due to slow economy and high unemployment rates but these tribes just won the lottery without doing anything as Lovina Fox put in this way – “it's the people who have haven't worked in years and all the sudden, they're driving new vehicles." Before I make comments about this article, I have to make sure the difference between minority and indigenous people. The society shows its attitude toward minority in sense of ‘inclusion’ and that of ‘exclusion’ for indigenous. As a consequence, indigenous people get support from the government to preserve their lifestyles while minorities are expected to be part of the society. In other words, a government cannot apply its laws and regulations to indigenous people and they live with their own rules. They are not always guaranteed with such exemption from the government. Sometimes, indigenous people are deprived of its status. It happens when they choose jobs that are considered to be ‘common’ in the society such as accountant, janitor, clerk, teacher, and so on. In this article, these three tribes were lucky enough to live on the land where such valuable resource is laid. Now, it comes with an issue whether these tribes should still be considered as indigenous people and they should be free from the governmental regulations that apply to similar industries or the tribes, from now on, should be deprived of its indigenous status and must obey the statutes. Now, the issue is getting complicated here since the oil field was buried there a long time ago and we just found out it is there. It has nothing to do with these three tribes. However, since the members of these tribes are getting jobs that are not related to their traditional lifestyles, they cannot be seemed as indigenous people anymore. As we learned from the class, this land is ‘red land’ and the Native Americans were living here long time prior to Europeans. It might be their possession and it is natural for the federal government to pay for the money that are quite equivalent to market price. However, I just want to mention of the remaining 597 tribes whose average income is much lower than other groups. Should these remaining tribes wait for the development in technology to realize they have great resources field that brings fortune in the future as the three tribes received? As a compromise, I suggest that the federal government gives these three tribes about 70% of the federal aid that they are currently receiving and uses the remaining 30% for the remaining 597 tribes in terms of scholarships, supplies, and financial aid. In this way, I believe the government’s burden on repaying the damages Native American got from the history would be lessened even though it is just a little bit.
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The Native Americans have always got the short end of the stick so to speak in the history of our nation, and how ironic it is that they now have the upper hand in such a prosperous economic situation. Over fifty years ago when most of the people left the reservation to find jobs because of the poor conditions that the Native Americans were left with, no one knew that the reservation was sitting on top of a mound of Texas Tea. Today, with advanced technology and the ever increasing need for energy, these distinct ironies has brought wealth and prosper to the community.
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