The point isn't "are they poor?" or "why are they poor?" but "how do you lift a community out of poverty?". There are many poor communities across the country,

The point isn't "are they poor?" or "why are they poor?" but "how do you lift a community out of poverty?". There are many poor communities across the country, in all races and creeds. The past can't be rewritten- focusing on "you are poor because X happened in the past" is just telling someone there is no reason for hope. The way out involves both external and internal forces; external in the sense of support for development of infrastructure and economic activity, internal in the sense of a willingness and belief of capability of change. Many tribes who have successful casinos don't see significant improvements depending on their payout structure, because simply giving money to people with no financial literacy is a recipe for loss. This is true for all communities facing poverty.