A roadside message on the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation along New Mexico’s Rt. 70 reminds native and non-native people that pride is a core value of the Apache people.

Tires are often placed on roofs to prevent structural damage and shingle removal caused by strong and unpredictable winds.

The skeletal remains of a horse bake in 100+ degree temperatures on tribal land of the White Mountain Apache near Cibecue, Arizona.

For Native people, land is central to their communal and individual sense of identity. Land is not looked upon as a commodity to be bought or sold for profit but rather something that provides wisdom and spirituality. Native people are rooted to their land from birth to death.

When COVID-19 hit Arizona, it affected indigenous communities, including the San Carlos Apache tribe. Like many tribes, San Carlos closed its community in an effort to contain the spread of the virus. Nearly a year after the first confirmed case, the average number of positive COVID-19 cases was down to 0.6% a week, according to San Carlos Apache Healthcare Corporation. It was a dramatic turnaround in a community where a third of the population was infected over the past year.

Unrestrained by the confines of a child car seat, a toddler peers from a car window while the driver exits a convenience store on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Lame Deer, Montana.

With a median household income ranging between $2,600 and $3,500 per year, 97% of the population on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota live far below the U.S. federal poverty line.

Rugged hills, tree lined creek beds and wide open grasslands define the natural beauty of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota where Native people, beset by many challenges, embrace simplicity and share closeknit relationships.

A Conoco station in Lame Deer, Montana, on the Northern Cheyenne reservation, is a popular spot for truckers and travelers passing through town on Highway 212. Violent crimes and burglaries on the reservation have led to tribal members forming their own vigilante group, the People’s Camp.

The need for adequate housing on the Blackfeet reservation in Browning, Montana, is critical. As a result, many families end up living with relatives and friends.

Federal law bans the sale of alcohol on Native American reservations, unless the tribal council allows it.

On the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Browning, Montana, the average person lives on a third less than Americans did during the Great Depression.

Young Native people are among the most at risk for suicide. Their lives are often cut short for reasons including violence at home, high unemployment rates, addiction to narcotics and sexual abuse.

According to the Children’s Defense Fund, nearly 1 in 3 Native American children are living below the poverty line. Here, an unsupervised child plays in dirt on the Blackfeet Reservation in Browning, MT.

99% of police and emergency calls on the Pine Ridge Reservation are alcohol related.

The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is just two miles from the town of Whiteclay, Nebraska (above). Until recently, 4 million cans of beer were purchased in Whiteclay annually by the residents Pine Ridge, where the sale of alcohol was prohibited. Whiteclay had four liquor stores and population of 14.

An homeless and intoxicated Native American woman chants in her native dialect in the small town of Las Vegas, New Mexico.

At least 60% of homes on the Pine Ridge Reservation need to be demolished and replaced due to infestation of potentially fatal black mold. However, there are no insurance or government programs to assist families in replacing their homes.

Native American men wait for a liquor store to open in Whiteclay, Nebraska where alcohol impairment, panhandling and public urination are ongoing problems.

Horses that live in the Americas today are descendants of those first brought by European explorers and settlers in the early 16th century. Here, wild horses inhabit the land of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.

On the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, there is no industry, technology or commercial infrastructure to provide employment for its residents, contributing to an unemployment rate of 90%.

Lack of access to good public education plagues reservations that continue to be racked by poverty. More than 20% of Native Americans over the age of 25 haven’t completed high school. Here a young father sells dream catchers to support his family at the historic site of the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890.

Two-thirds of adults on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota suffer from alcoholism.

The Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota is home to the poorest communities in the United States. The average life expectancy on the reservation is the lowest in the United States...47 years for men and 55 years for women.

The annual unemployment rate on the Blackfoot Reservation in Browning, Montana stood at approximately 69% prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.