Native American Urban Dwellings
Taken out of their family support systems and cultural networks and forced into urban environments, “urbanized Indians” have been subjected to discrimination and neglect while being denied access to adequate housing and healthcare. According to Poon, some reports suggest that health issues facing tribal people on reservations are actually compounded and made worse for those in the city. In order to access health care, many Native Americans living outside reservations are forced to travel to the nearest reservation; Ojibwe tribe member and Melissa Walls says, “We drove an hour literally to go to the doctor, to go to the dentist, to get our eyes checked,” she says. “But when you grow up in that context, you don’t label it as an inequity or disparity. It’s just sort of your reality.” Indian Health Service is the primary care provider for most Native Americans, responsible for providing healthcare under treaty agreements between the federal government and Indian tribes, but according to Annie Belcourt, the majority of Native Americans live in urban settings and therefore have very limited access to Indian Health Services facilities.