Fighting Poverty in the Poorest Place in America
- Did anything in the first video shock or surprise you in terms of poverty in America? Did you know that the very poorest Americans live on Indian Reservations? Although this first short video can be heart wrenching and depressing, did you find anything positive in the young “warrior” Robert Looks Twice’s attitude toward his situation, especially near the end when he talks about “the muddy road” and the “easy road”? Based upon his words and thinking, in your opinion how important is the “attitude” of poor people themselves in the effort to fight poverty in America? Is there any role for social justice to assist young people like Robert or should we expect them simply to work hard and keep a good attitude as all that is needed to succeed in America?
- In video #2, we learn the story of young Louise Clifford, whose Lakota Sioux name is “Stands Against the Wind.” What touches you most about her story? Clearly, her Sioux people are trying to help her in the ways that they can by giving her a prayer feather, a bag of marbles representing her family, and a Lakota name that reminds her to be strong. A deeper question to ask is this: Is the U. S. Government, which overseas all Indian schools, providing good schools and education to these poorest Americans? What do you you think are the most important areas where the government might make changes for the better, based upon what you have seen in this second film?
- In video #3, we meet 18-year-old Elaina and see the struggles that she faces to reach her dream of a better life. Is there anything hopeful in her story or in the mother boyfriend and stepfather in her life? If you could give Elaina advice about what to do next to succeed in the mainstream world and to get out of poverty, what you advise her to do?
- Video #4 is especially valuable for the statistics that it works into the flow of the story of little dancing Tashina Iron Horse. There are 15 people who sleep in her house each night. Some 80% of the adults in her community suffer from alcohol addiction. They get the alcohol off the reservation in a white “town” of 11 people who sell 4 million cans of beer each year to their Indian neighbors. At the end of the film, we see Tashina dancing with narrator Diane Sawyer. How hopeful are you that Tashina will escape from poverty to a better life? Based upon the statistics above and the role that white businesses have in reinforcing the struggles that the Lakota face, what seem to you to be the biggest challenges that young people like Tashina must overcome to have better lives in America than the ones that they are now living?
- Do you find anything hopeful in this final video in the five-part series? Explain. More than the other videos, this one shows how much the U. S. Government has played a role in creating poverty on the Sioux reservation. If this is true, might the Government have a big role to play in helping to solve the poverty issue there? Based on this and the other videos in the series, what are some things that the Government could do, in your opinion, to help Lakota people create better lives for themselves? What are some things that the people themselves could do to create better lives above the poverty line?
