Their present life

Their way of life : a radical change

In the United States, the Indians have been American citizens since 1924. In the 20th century, their way of life was entirely changed. In the end of the 19th century, the Americans forced them to go to school so that Indian know-how and culture disappeared. The Indians live especially on tourism and handycraft. They adapt their traditional art to new patterns and modern fashions. They now work in all professional areas. However, 45% of the Indians live under the poverty threshold. In some reservation, unemployment rate is 90%. Life expectancy of Indians is 46 years whereas that of Americans is more than 70 years. This is due to three main reasons :

tuberculosis and diabetes for the Indians are about seven times higher than for the white Americans;
the death rate due to alcohol is six times higher than for the white Americans;
one out of six Indians teenager tries to commit suicide.

Their privileges

To repair the errors made by Europeans in the past, American and Canadian governments give to Indian members a few privileges. Here are some examples of Indian rights :

they don't pay taxes;
their studies and their health charges are reimbursed;
housing is less expansive for them.

However, these privileges have bad consequences : most of the white people consider they pay taxes so that Indians can have these rights.

The preservation of the Indian culture

There are only ten Indian languages left whereas there were hundreds of languages existed before the European arrival. To preserve the Indian culture, Indians tribes often get together during big traditionnal roundups called powwows. They make up, sing and dance in order to link their tragic past with their uncertain future. The powwow period begins at the end of Spring and ends at the beginning of Autumn. Some powwows are reserved to Indians whereas others are opened to anybody. In the United States, more than a thousand getting-together are organized in a year.

Author : Julien L.
Last update : June 2005