These Stark Photos Show What Life On A Native American Reservation Is Really Like

Mustafa Gatollari - Author
By

PUBLISHED Aug. 21 2017, 8:50 a.m. ET

UPDATED Nov. 18 2019, 2:33 p.m. ET

There's a big, harmful stereotype surrounding Native Americans living on reservations, and it's that there are more than a few of them who are enjoying, fat, tax-free checks cut from their big casinos that are out of the government's grasp. And it's simply one that is not true.

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It's a perception that isn't rooted in reality, according to Twitter user @lilnativeboy, Allen, who shared some bleak photos that put the reality of reservation life on blast for the world to see.

It's not pretty.

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In his series of tweets, he highlights the problems people face on a Navajo reservation in New Mexico. It's hard to believe that there are entire communities of people living in an industrialized nation who are exposed to the conditions he lists. As Allen explains it, there are homes without electricity, running water, or even addresses which makes navigating or receiving any deliveries difficult, to say the least.

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Obtaining clean water was a struggle. 

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He reports that trash removal services were non-existent, so residents were forced to dig holes and burn their garbage.

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The remoteness of the reservations meant that daily dangers that have been mitigated or can be dealt with swiftly in modern societies pose much greater threats.

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According to @lilnativeboy, it was not uncommon for non-residents to come into reservation land to sexually assault Native American women.

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Hospitals and grocery stores were nearly non-existent.

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His tweets sparked a larger conversation about the grim situations many Native American families suffer right here in the USA. Even having access to decent food is a struggle.

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Apparently the problem isn't just in America, either.

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So if you didn't know, now you know.

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