There is great diversity in Native America, with communities ranging in size from the 180,462person, 17 million acre Navajo Nation to the 394 person, 1,600 acre Viejas Band of KumeyaayIndians. Poverty rates vary as well, with such reservations as the Pine Ridge Reservation inSouth Dakota displaying rates of over 50 percent of the population in poverty in contrast to theMashantucket Pequot Tribe, which has very low poverty rates and high median income. Yet as awhole, Native people are more likely to be low-income and less likely to be homeowners.

Nationally, American Indians have some of the lowest rates of educational attainment andhighest mortality statistics. When focusing on geography, most rural and reservation-basedcommunities display high-poverty rates, low home-ownership rates, and low levels of businessdevelopment. In many of these communities, this condition is the result of years of historicalunderinvestment and underdevelopment.