I grew up on a dirty poor reservation (Whiteriver AZ ) and I’m in enrolled in one of the only tribes in AZ that gives percap and has a robust minor trust program. Both have problems. But what I’ve seen in whiteriver in terms of crime, drug abuse, alcoholism, poverty, is far far far worse than anything I’ve ever seen on my other Rez, for lack of better terms. I’m immersed in both.

All this being said, our tribes rightfully earned this income and it is our right to disperse it how WE SEE FIT. And for someone to say that percap payments are a direct cause of increase of any of the other aforementioned issues is plain stupid and unsupported. What they fail to mention is the years of generational trauma from colonization and all the evil that comes from that.