The high cost of gas and food make life on the reservation even more difficult than usual

[Jilly_in_VA]

During a hot, hazy morning on Oregon's Warm Springs Indian Reservation, resident Jake Billy leans on his car and tells a story. Once a long time ago there was someone special in his life.

"I almost married that girl," he says. "It was very close. It was iffy."

Things didn't work out. But Billy stayed in touch with his ex and her family. When his ex girlfriend's sister died recently, he wanted to go to the funeral a three hour drive away. But he just didn't have the money for gas. "I said my goodbyes from here," he says.

These kinds of heart wrenching decisions illustrate the quiet assault of inflation on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, located about 100 miles southeast of Portland. Had Billy been able to go to the funeral, he would have been able to offer emotional support to the family. "Which is something that natives do," says Billy. "It's our culture."

o other single group in the country is feeling as much financial strain right now as are Native Americans. A recent poll from NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found inflation has caused a staggering 69% of Native Americans significant financial problems.

According to census data, close to 27% of Native Americans live in poverty. That's significantly more than the rest of the country, which averages close to 15%.

https://www.npr.org/2022/08/20/1117689118/poll-69-of-native-americans-say-inflation-is-severely-affecting-their-lives

[progree]

1. Grocery shopping without a car, or if the gas is too expensive

The closest full-sized grocery store is as much as 40 miles away for some living on the reservation

In order to get to the bus, Thrasher rode her bike two miles. She loads the bike on the front of the bus before boarding. Twenty-five minutes later, she takes it off the rack once she's arrives at the store.

"I have a question," she says to the woman working in the Safeway grocery store. "Can I park my bike here while I do my shopping? I don't have a lock."

Thrasher then heads into the aisles to do her shopping. She knows she'll only be able to carry one bag home on her bike, and she only has one hour until the bus returns. She has just 32 dollars. She says what she's planning to buy today will last her a couple days.

In the frozen foods Section, Thrasher pauses while she looks at the blueberries. A small bag costs $3.99. She'd like to buy the bigger one, but it's too expensive. And she might not be able to carry it on her bike ride home. So, she goes for the small bag.

After shopping, Thrasher heads to the bus stop and waits. Then, another 25 minute ride with her rapidly defrosting blueberries.

Back at the Warm Springs Reservation, Thrasher takes her bike back off the bus. Then she puts her arms through the handles of the shopping bag, like a backpack for her ride home.