The Clear Impact of Partnership With Native Americans

Published January 26, 2020    By Helen Oliff

Partnership With Native Americans (PWNA) brings much-needed relief to 250,000 Native Americans each year. This aid is accomplished through partnerships across more than 300 tribal communities in 9 priority states. Many of these areas are located in isolated, hard to reach areas, meaning geography has an impact on the everyday lives of those we serve.

You likely don’t think about how geography affects your daily life, but for the people living on these reservations, geography impacts their access to basic amenities, nutritional food, and job opportunities, and can contribute to a feeling of isolation.

Viewing the interactive map of the reservations PWNA works with, it’s easy to see why assistance is needed.

• The Navajo Nation spans more than 27,000 square miles across New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. There are only 13 grocery stores for its 175,000 residents. About 30% of residents haul water for drinking, cooking, bathing and other daily needs. About 40% live in homes with incomplete plumbing. Strides are being made to bridge the digital divide, but today only half of students lack internet access at home.
• The Rosebud Reservation is located in South Dakota and the remote nature of the reservation means many roads are often in disrepair and transportation options are limited. Unemployment reaches as high as 80 percent due to the lack of job opportunities.
• The Zuni Pueblo in New Mexico is the largest of the 19 pueblos in the state, but it has the lowest per capita income. Their entire land base is about 724 square miles. About half of the students are not completing high school, and impoverishment impacts 40% of the residents.

PWNA is working in partnership with these communities and others like them to provide emergency response and preparedness, capacity building such as leadership and nutrition training, school supplies for K-12 students and scholarships for high school graduates, health services, animal welfare, food and water donations, and much more.

These are only snapshots of the challenges people living on the reservations face, and a glimpse of the impact you can make by donating to PWNA. Help us change these realities and donate today.