Since the first Europeans landed on American soil, Native Americans have been in peril. Having lost hundreds of thousands of lives, most of their tribal land, and many aspects of their culture, Native Americans have been a somewhat static culture in recent years. However, the bleak economic situation present on many reservations threatens to erode the remaining elements of Native American culture, because Native Americans can no longer afford to stay on the reservations. Dispersion threatens the remaining elements of cultural unity. Another tremendous problem facing modern Native Americans is the issue of legalized gambling. While legalized gambling on Native American reservations was intended to help solve some of the economic problems faced by Native Americans, it has actually created problems because few Native Americans are making money from the casinos and the casinos have brought outside problems onto the reservations. If Native Americans can conquer these two challenges, they have a good chance of rebounding in the 21st century.

             The bleak economic situation that exists on most Native American reservations has several causes. The primary cause is that reservations were created in the least-desired areas, and generally offer a lack of natural resources required for various industrial purposes. In addition, education on reservations is notoriously sub-standard, making it difficult for Native Americans to compete with non-Native Americans to become students at universities, which, in turn hampers future employability. In addition, cultural problems such as alcoholism increase unemployment rates among adult Native Americans and create problems in the home, which hamper Native American children in their efforts be competitive in the school environment. However, there is hope that Native Americans will be able to conquer the existing economic situation. For example, some tribes have begun running call centers on reservation land.