NAVAJOS' DILEMMA: GO HOME OR GO TO WORK

posted by Michael Chihak

It's the Native American dilemma.

Arizona's reservation lands are among the most economically deprived places in the state. And that takes into consideration the economic value, including jobs, that casinos bring to Native American lands.

But little else is available in their homelands for educated Native Americans, so may of them depart the reservation to seek work. And those who depart for educational reasons are less and less likely to return home.

Many want to, with strong cultural and familial ties constantly tugging at them.

Yet, the job opportunities simply don't exist. Take the Navajo Nation, for example. Navajo tribal rolls show just more than 300,000 members. Until just a few years ago, half or more lived on the vast reservation. Today, Navajo Times Editor Duane Beyal says, it likely isn't even half.

Karen Francis-Begay, special adviser to the University of Arizona president for Native American affairs, says in an interview for Friday's Arizona Week that Native American students not going back home after getting their degrees is understandable.

"A lot of them end up in survival mode," Francis-Begay says. "They have to pay loans and have a means of survival. So often times, almost readily, the job market that is available to them is away from home and is off the reservation."

She says she herself is an example of that phenomenon, having grown up on the reservation but leaving to go to college. That left her with ongoing guilt and doubts about her decision, Francis-Begay says.

"Myself, for some time, often questioned why it was that I didn't go back and work in my community," she says. "But a tribal elder had told me, you're making such an important contribution in helping our young people."

Hear more from Francis-Begay, Beyal and from Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly tonight on Arizona Week, at 8:30 MST on PBS-HD-6 or online at azweek.com.