Think what you will...

But here is what is going on in our part of the world

The Rez in the news:
Food Drops on the Navajo Rez

Food drops not going so well

also: we had a funeral today for a man from our church who froze to death.  While the weather has been cold, it hasn't been that cold so I asked around trying to figure out how it happened.  Do they live in a hogan without any electricity and not have any firewood? I was told that he went outside, possibly to drink, and must have passed out and they did not find him until morning.  Sad.  Frustrating. unreal.

I read all of the comments on the news articles, and thought about the death of this man, and as someone who lives here, I still don't know what to think.  Some people do live in shacks, and have "crap" all over their property (as one comment suggested), yes-many still live without running water or electricity, many of the elderly do not speak or understand english very well.  Many are on food stamps and welfare.  Some on the otherhand, seem to still live a traditional lifetyle--herd sheep etc.  Some people who work here do so because they love helping, and sometimes I have a hard time feeling like any of the "help" does any good in the long term.