Natives Today

Poverty

To start with, around 1 in 4 Native Americans live in poverty – that's more than double the national average. No other group in the US has a higher poverty rate. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2022)

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​Military
Surprisingly, Native Americans join the US military at the highest rate of any other group in the entire country. Around 19% of Native Americans have joined – compared to 14% of all other groups. In fact, they have fought in every major US conflict, even when the government did not yet recognize them as full citizens. (U.S. Department of Defense)

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Casinos

However, you might have heard that Native Americans get rich from casino businesses, and that most of them are doing just fine financially. But that's not the full picture. While some tribes do run casinos, the money doesn't reach everyone equally – and in reality, most Native Americans have no connection to casino profits at all. As a result, the poverty numbers say it all.