DOCUMENT RESUME ED 396 892DOCUMENT RESUME ED 396 892 RC 020 649 AUTHOR Baldwin, Barbara, Ed. TITLE Pathways from Poverty. INSTITUTION Western Rural Development Center, Corvallis, Oreg

DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 396 892 RC 020 649

AUTHOR Baldwin, Barbara, Ed.TITLE Pathways from Poverty.INSTITUTION Western Rural Development Center, Corvallis, Oreg.SPONS AGENCY Extension Service (DOA), Washington, D.C.PUB DATE 95

CONTRACT 93-ERRD-1-8502NOTE 37p.; Photographs will not reproduce adequately.PC' TYPE Collected Works Serials (022) Information

Analyses (070) Reports Descriptive (141)

JOURNAL CIT Western Wire; Fall 1995

EDRS PRICE MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS Adult Education; Capitalism; *Change Strategies;

Community Development; Economic Development;*Economic Factors; Higher Education; IndigenousPopulations; Minority Groups; One Parent Family;*Poverty; *Poverty Areas; *Public Policy; *RuralAreas; Rural Development; Rural Education; RuralFamily; Rural Sociology; Social Change; SocialNetworks

IDENTIFIERS Latinos; Native Americans; Social Capital; WelfareReform

ABSTRACTArticles in this theme issue are based on

presentations at the Pathways from Poverty Workshop held inAlbuquerque, New Mexico, on May 18-25, 1995. The event aimed tofoster development of a network to address rural poverty issues inthe Western Rural Development Center (WRDC) region. Articles reporton outcomes from the Pathways from Poverty workshop including teamplans for addressing poverty in their area; the importance of socialcapital in building community; Native American economic developmentefforts that incorporate sustainability and cultural relevance; theeffect of capitalism on the Palau islands; how sharing resources hasenabled low-income families in American Samoa to maintain economicstability; dLmographic, economic, and educational factors that affectthe status of Latinos in the United States, with implications for theAmerican economy; a study of single-parent families and welfarereform; rural minorities and the relationship between employment andpoverty; and the importance of rural studies in gaining understandingof rural poverty. Articles include: (1) "Pathways from Poverty" (Jane

Brass); (2) "Social Capital" (Marie Cirillo); (3) "The Circle of

Development and Indigenous Peoples" (Sherry Salway Black) ; (4)

"Palauan Perspective" (Ayano Baules); (5) "Poverty: A Matter ofValues" (Carol S. Whitaker); (6) "Focus on Latinos" (Refugio I.

Rochin, Jose A. Rivera) ; (7) "Is Marriage the Solution? TheSingle-Parent Family and Welfare Reform" (Janet M. Fitchen); (8)

"Employment Hardship and Rural Minorities" (Leif Jensen); and (9)"The Social Scientist and Rural America" (Emery N. Castle). Thejournal also includes updates on projects sponsored by WRDC andupcoming conferences. (LP)

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advisory committeeAlaskaAnthony NakazawaCooperative Extension ServiceUniversity of Alaska222: E. Northern Lights. SuiteAnchorage. AK 99508-4143(907) 276-2433FAX (907) 279-2139A N ATN @ ACAD2.ALASKA. EDU

GuamRandy WorkmanCommunity Development InstituteUniversity of Guam

132 UOG StationMangilao. Guam 96923(671) 734-2506FAX (671) 734-1462WORKMANR@ U0G9.UOG.EDU

HawaiiLinda CoxDept. of Ag. & Resource Economics3050 Maile Way, Gilmore 115University of HawaiiHonolulu, HI 96822(808) 956-6755FAX (808) 956-2811LCOX @ UHUNIX.L.HCC.HAWA II. EDL:

ArizonaBruce R. BeattieDept. ot' Ag and Resource EconomicsEcon Bldg. # 23 Room 208University of ArizonaTucson. AZ 85721(602) 621-2581FAX (602) [email protected]

CaliforniaGeorge GoldmanCooperative ExtensionDept. of Ag. & Resource Economics207 Giannini HallUniversity of CaliforniaBerkeley, CA 94720(510) 642-6461FAX (510) 642-6108GOLDMAN @ ARE. BERKELEY .EDU

ColoradoSheila Knop, Program CoordinatorCenter for Rural Assistance138 Aylesworth N.W.Colorado State UniversityCooperative ExtensionFort Collins, CO 80523(303) 491-5579FAX (303) 491-5108SK NOP V I NES.COLOSTATE.EDU

Western Rural Development Ccnter307 Ballard Extension Hall

Oregon State UniversityCorvallis. OR 97331-3607

1541 )737-362 I FAX (541)[email protected]

Northeast Regional Center for RuralDevelopment 7 Armsby Bldg

The Pennsylvania State UniversityUniversity Park. PA 16802-5600

(814)863-4656 FAX (814)[email protected]

IdahoNeil MeyerDept. of Ag Econ & Rural SociologyUniversity of IdahoMoscow, ID 83843(208) 885-6263FAX (208) 885-5759NMEYER@ UIDAHO.EDU

MontanaDave SharpeMontana State UniversityCooperatit e Extension Specialist112 Taylor HallBozeman, MT 59717(406) 994-2962FAX (406) [email protected]

NevadaThomas HarrisCenter for Economic DevelopmentMail Stop 204University of Nevada-RenoReno. NV 89557-0105(702) 784-1681FAX (702) 784-1342HARRIS @ UNSSUN.SCS.UNR .EDU

New MexicoRobert CoppedgeNew Mexico State UniversityCooperative Extension ServiceBox 3AELas Cruces, NM 88003(505) 646-4122FAX (505) 646-3808RCOPPEDLo @NMSU.EDU

OregonRebecca JohnsonDept. of Forest ResourcesOregon State UniversityPeavy Hall. Room 109Corvallis, OR 97331(541) 737-1492FAX (541) 737-3049JOHNSONR @CCM AIL.ORST.EDI.'

UtahDavid RogersDepartment of SociologyUtah State UniversityLogan, UT 84322-0730(801) 797-1255FAX (801 ) 797-1240DAVER@ EXTSPARC.AGSCLUSU.EDU

WashingtonAnnabel CookDept. of Rural SociologyWashington State UniversityPullman, WA 99164-4006(509) 335-4519FAX (509) 335-2125COOK@ WSUVM I .CSC.WSU.EDL:

WyomingDavid TaylorDept. of Agricultural EconomicsUniversity of WyomingBox 3354Laramie. WY 82071(307) 766-5682FAX (307) [email protected]

North C ;rural Regional Centerfor P.,ral Development 317 East HallIowa State UniversityAmes, IA 50011-1070(515)294-8322 FAX (515)294-2303(nor A @ IASTATE.F.DI

Southern Rural Development CenterBox 9656-6 Montgomery DriveMississippi State UniversityMississippi State. MS 39762-9656(601)325-3207 FAX (601)325-8407BONNIE:IV MCES.MSSTATE.EDU

W Western Rural Development CenterFall 1995

esternWireA major function of this newsletter is todisseminate information about Center-funded projects and reseatch. If you areinvolved in a project associated with theCenter. please send research summaries.event notices, publicity clips, or any perti-nent information to the Wire. Feel free toinclude photographs or other graphic illus-trations. All materials will be returned toyou at your request.

The Western Wire- is published threetimes each year. Please send informationabout forthcoming conferences, workshops.and oti..1- evcias of interest in communitydevelopment to Editor. Western Wire.WRDC. Oregon State University. Corvallis,OR 97331-3607.

Barbara BaldwinEditor

If you receive more than one copy of theWire, please send the labels from both cop-ies to the WRDC office and indicate yourpreferred address. If you receive an issue ofthe Western Wire that is in any way defec-tive. please call or FAX the WRDC and wewill send a replacement. Be sure to giveyour name and address.The Western Wire is printed on acij-freepaper which contains a minimum of 50%recycled fibers. Please recycle !his copywith your magazines and catalozs.

The mission of the Western RuralDevelopment Center is to strengthen ruralfamilies, communities, and businesses byfacilitating collaborative socio-economicresearch and extension through highereducation insititutions in the western region.

The Western Rural Development Centeroffers its programs and materials equally toall people.

Westei Rural Development CenterOregon State University

Corvallis. Oregon 9733 i -3607(5411737-3621 FAX (541) 737-1579

A,RDCWCCMAIL.ORST.EDU

PATHWAYS FROM POVERTYA re2ional workshop brought together state teamsfrom throughout the West

4

SOCIAL CAPITALLessons from Appalachia for building community

7

THE CIRCLE OF DEVELOPMENTAND INDIGENOUS PEOPLESDevelopment can incorporate sustainability and cultural relevance

10

PALAUAN PERSPECTIVEIdeas of wealth changed with the introduction of capitalism

15

POVERTY: A MATTER OF VALUESAspects of traditional Island values persist

17

FOCUS ON LATINOSA strong national economy may depend ona thriving Latino community

18

THE S1NGLE-PARENT FAMILYAND WELFARE REFORMIs marriage the answer?

25

EVPLOYMENT HARDSHIPAND RURAL MINORITIESMinorities in rural areas are at greater economic disadvantagethan those in urban areas

29

THE SOCIAL SCIENTISTAND RURAL AMERICABudget cutting has weakened the rural social sciences

32

CENTER PROJECTS: PROGRESS REPORT 34

CONFERENCES 35

Some of the material in this newsletter is based upon work supported by the ExtensionService. U.S. Department of Agriculture, under special project number 93-ERRD- l -8502.Cover: The Niqht of the Poor, fresco by Diego R;vera in thc Ministry of Education.Mexico City. Photos pages 4-6 and page 17 by Tomilce Turner.

EJane BrassProgram CoordinatorWestern Rural Development Center

Too many conferences waste time and accomplishnothing. This was the most productive and usefillconference 1 have attended to date.

1 really am glad 1 came. 1 am by nature a communityworker and it was so rewarding to see the variousgroups who are on target working to empower theiscommunities and individuals.

I'm pleased to have stronger ties with tribalgovernment representatives and community/economicdevelopment folks in the state and region. Too oftenuniversity people talk only to each other.

The western region held its Pathways from Poverty workshop in Albuquerque. New Mexico, on May 18-20. 1995with generous sponsorship from the W.K. Kellogg Foun-

dation, Farm Foundation, and the Rural Sociological Society.Over 100 people from all 13 states and 4 territories that comprisethe Western Rural Development Center (WRDC) region partici-pated in the event designed to foster a network to address ruralpoverty issues. The overall atmosphere of the workshop wasincredibly positive. People expressed a sense of commitment andfound inspiration among their fellow participants that motivatedthem to continue to attend all sessions and to work in the after-hours with their teammates.

The WRDC organized Pathways from Poverty in the RuralWest to bring together leaders from all sectors of the region in aprocess of discovery, discussion, and action planning directedtoward improving the quality of life for the rural poor. TheAlbuquerque workshop was an initial effort in what will continueas a WRDC program to create and support networks that join localimperatives and policy decisions with scholarship.

Right: Participantsrepresented the culturaland ethnic diversity of

rural western people andlearned from one

another as well as fromthe program presenters.

Far right: GeneSummers conceived thePathways from Povertyproject after a National

Rural Studies Commiteemeeting in the

Mississippi Delta puthim in touch with hischildhood struggles.

Workshop participantsParticipants came to the workshop in state teams ranging in sizefrom 5 to 15 members. Teams were organized with the help ofExtension and other contacts to include people from state andlocal government (elected officials and agency staff), grassrootsorganizations, tribal government and organizations, higher edu-cation (research and extension). and the private sector. Theprivate sector was represented by private non-profit groups andone media representative, but not by private business, utilities.banks. etc. We hope teams are able to recruit members from theseimportant groups, too. The federal government was representedby state directors of the USDA's Rural Economic and Commu-nity Development Service.

Participants also reflected the ethnic diversity within the ruralwest. including American Indians. Native Alaskans and PacificIslanders, and Hispanics. A few participants noted that AfricanAmericans were not in attendance and only one Asian Americanparticipated. Some teams stated intentions to seek out partner-ships with representatives of these groups as they expand theirteams.

The future has already begunThe program was designed to increase awareness and under-standing of both individual and social aspccts of poverty and tostimulate thinking about what state teams can do locally to createpathways from poverty, with the primary objective to buildstronger relationships among organizations involved in ruralpoverty and create a western regional network. This objectivewas established because more often than not, people responsiblefor poverty programs in communities, universities, and govern-ments are not in communication with each other even though theyare active in the same field of interest. Frequently people do noteven know one another, though they may know about the otherprogram.

Time was built into the workshop for participants to worktogether in expanded partnerships within their state and theregion. State teams worked with trained facilitators to develop avision statement of what they would like to see in place in the next

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10 years along the three major pathways. They also bi ainstormedideas-for working together as a team in the immediate future.

Follow-up activities have already started. Nine states and threeterritories have submitted proposals to continue working togetherwith the help of small seed grants. All of the state teams areexpected to implement efforts during this next year with thecurrently available funds. These seed monies should help theteams acquire additional funds to undertake broader, more sus-tained efforts. Some activities already identified are:

AMERICAN SAMOA will develop a home based businessprogram to help women with limited resources increase theirincomes through occupations that will allow them to stay at hometo care for their families and communities.

ARIZONA' s team has worked with a larger forum within thestate to develop a consensus document entitled. Block Grants witha Vision, a suggested policy guide for policymakers at both thefederal and state levels in the evolving discussion about blockgrants. Seed grant monies have already helped circulate draftversions to over 2(X) diverse groups throughout the state.

CALIFORNIA will convene a small workshop, Pathways toLivelihoods: Creating Communities of Learning, to determinewhat classes/short courses in skills would be necessary for chang-ing livelihood possibilities and ways that those could be deliveredto community members at acceptable times and places.

COLORADO' s short-term plan addresses concerns for afford-able housing for low income families/communities. The team willpursue additional learning opportunities to help them developcreative, holistic approaches for meeting housing and other needsof these citizens and neighborhoods.

GUAM will establish a coalition of public agencies and com-munity service groups to organize a Cooperative Child CareCenter for low income/limited resource/single parents. Throughthis facility they will engage family members in opportunities forpersonal development and empowerment.

HAWAII team members will contribute to an ongoing reviewof federally funded food and nutrition programs in the state toprovide policymakers with information to help them structurewelfare reform responses.

Ai

Agenda-

THURSDAY. MAY 18TH1:00 Welcome: Russell C. Youmans, WRDC Director1:15 Laying out the Challenge/Vision

Art Campbell. Deputy Under Secretary. USDARural Economic & CommunityDevelopment Services

2:15 Social Capital:Developing community andinstitutional capacity to work togetherMarie Cirillo. Woodland Community Land Trust

3:35 Pathways from Poverty: History and reflectionsGene Summers. Univ of Wisconsin/MadisonLouise Fortmann. Univ of California-BerkeleyJose Rivera. University of New MexicoSylvia Polacca. Inter-Tribal Council of ArizonaCarol Whitaker. American SamoaAyano Baules. PalauPat Simpson. Guam

4:45 State Team Initial Get Together

FRIDAY, MAY 19TH8:30 Concurrent sessions

Work and IncomeAnn Tickamyer. University of Kentucky

Aurora Native Crafts Catalogue projectJeanine Kennedy. Director. RurAL CAP

National Center for American IndianEnterprise DevelopmentSteve Stallings, President

Forest TrustJan-Wilkm Jansens Thomas Brendlor

San Juan Pueblo Gaming Corp.Elias Vigil. CEO

Education and Human CapitalRuy Teixeira. Economic Research Service

San Cristo Project. ColoradoLarry Dunn Louise StitzelCarol Addo Gail Rodriguez

Schools and Community Development ProjectBruce Miller. NW Regional Educational Laboraton,Julie Riley, Powder River (MT) ExtensionSandra Moody. Liberty Jr/Sr High School

Family and HealthPatricia Garrett. Univ of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Confidence ClinicMargaret Ellison. Executive DirectorAllison Green, Clinic staffMidge Campbell. Successful graduate

Espanola Valley High School Teen Clinic, New MexicoKay Sanclwz Dorothy Montoya

Las CompafierasRoberto Bardehis

1:15 State Teams: Visioning with facilitators

SATURDAY. MAY 20TH8:30 State Team Meetings10:30 Reporting SessionNoon Adjourn

Western Wire Fall 1995

MONTANA is planning a statewideconference for affordable housing whichwill draw participation from bankers. leg-islators, human resource professionals.contractors, and the legal community fromall regions of the state.

NEVADA will model, develop and ex-pand a holistic approach to sustainablecommunity development and work to en-hance community capacity to utilize com-prehensive planning documents in deci-sion-making processes.

NEW MEXICO intends to build a busi-ness inventory/directory, expand network-ing capabilities. bioaden distance learningopportunities, encourage home-based busi-nesses, and raise the priority of poverty inpublic policy.

NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS(Saipan, Rota:Tinian) will work to prov idebusiness opportunities to increase the in-come of women with limited resourcesthrough the formation of a Women's Co-operative. Mei,. first effort will be to de-velop and publish a crafts catalogue andlocal recipe book.

OREGON's team is designing a strat-egy to create dialogues throughout rural

7_;t

Elias Vigil explored the implications ofgambling as an economic development toolfor creating work and income.

6 Western Wire Fall 1995

'.."21Q:41[111 ArTr. AlfErrZtfitl=t

Oregon that would address perceptions ofpoverty with the hope of challenging com-mon myths. They are exploring ideas thatwould provide support for building socialcapital in rural communities, one of whichis to examine Oregon's Benchmarks to seewhat role social capital might play in achiev-ing them.

UTAH's team is reaching out to theUtah Issues Forum, which has a stronghistory of involving citizens in public policyeducation. They ',spire to draft a rural pov-erty statement to bring to the legislature.

More important. really, than any oneparticular project listed above, is the factthat the state team members have contin-ued to communicate with each other. andin many cases have broadened their coregroup via networking with other agencies.organizations, and individuals. WRDC willcontinue to support work by these teams ineach state and to facilitate communicationand information-sharing across state lineson this important issue of rural poverty. .

WRDC will work with the NationalPersistent Poverty Chair to network thewestern regional teams with those in otherregions of the country.CI

Planning Cqffunitiee

Herman Agoyo John KuselPicuris Pueblo Forest CommunityPenaseo. NM Research

Kristi Branch Westwood. CA

Batelle Institute Mike McMahonSeattle. WA Human Services

Flaxen Conway Washoe County. NV

Oregon State Refugio RochinExtension Service Julian Samora Inst

I y Lou Cooper Michigan State Univ

Wtstern Council of Louise StitzelState Governments The Resource

Jean Cowan Assistance Center

Commissioner Gene SummersLincoln County. OR Rural SociologyChristina Gringeri Univ of Wisconsin

Graduate School of Randy WorkmanSocial Work CommunityUniversity of Utah Development Institute

Rosanne Turner University of Guam

Janine Kennedy Mary EvansRural Alaska CAP U.S. West

Kathy James Louise FortmannIdaho Dept. of Environmental PolicyHealth and Welfare and ManagementIdaho Rural Univ of CaliforniaDevelopment Council Berkeley

'CY

f

Mkige Campbell. Allison Green. and Margaret Ellison testified !o the positive effect onfamilies and health of programs that develop a sense of self-worth, provide skills training, and

lead to self-sufficiency among low-income women.

S C: TAALEIL&PT' 1 1VL

Marie CirilloWoodland Community TrustCleatfork, TennesseePresented by Ms. Cirillo at the Pathways from Poverty Conference sponsored bythe Western Rural Development Center in Albuquerque May 18, 1995.

believe social capital is a fluid, improvisational and skillfulinterplay among people who live, breathe, give and take fromone another and their shared environment. It is a thing of value

that penetrates the atmosphere, that builds the spirit, that createsthe energy within a neighborhood or community. It is work orlabor mat does not stand alone but rather is connected to otherwork or labor in ways that give it cultural integrity, social meaningand community vitality.

Much of what I experienced in the convent was social capitalof this kind. We were a group of 105 young women, recentlyorganized city girls who decided to be missionaries to ruralAmerica. We went out in bands of four with hardly a roof over ourheads, with 1ittle money. with the constraints placed on us by areligious group. even if we were professionally trained teachers,nurses, or social workers. We generally had one car with which tomove into our various fields of work. There was little money, butwe created an energy. a social capitai. that was effective. Howoften do people get the opportunity to experience this? I believethe new government program Americorps, which requires volun-teers to work aE a team, might be creating such an experience. Iexpect army life, clubs, non-profit organizations, committees andother groups like these might allow for a first hand experience.

It is very helpful to have experienced the effectiveness of socialcapital before trying to harvest it or activate it among others.

It is the connectedness of social activities that generates socialcapital. It is the separateness of institutional, professional activitythat costs a lot of money. At a time when our nation is heavily indebt, is there any wonder that we are looking to honor socialcapital? Those who have it. and those who want it to happen more,are asking the question. "How is it rewarded?" That is a keyquestion for policy makers. At the social summit gathering of theUnited Nations in March and the planning for the UN women' sgathering in September. there are many recommendations corn-

ing from the non-government sector on ways to measure the valueof social capital. Nations like the United States, Japan and theEuropean Union rejected any strong, binding commitments to thisand other actions emerging from the non-government or civicsector of society. Do these power blocks fear losing money? Whatdoes money have to do with social capital? Or do they rather fearlosing power? If the world plays games other than monetarygames, who will win? The issue we are addressing is not politi-cally correct.

How do we harvest social capital so it can be a pathway frompoverty in the rural community? Must it be institutionalized? Is itmore important that it be internalized by a significant number ofpeople within and outside of institutions? Are financial and/orother rewards necessary if it is to flourish? Where are the freedomsthat release the social resources, where are the controls to focusthem so that capital can move us out of poverty. Is the "us" beingmoved out of poverty the poor, the nation, the community, orneighborhood'? How much diversity exists within the sphere fromwhich one is trying to mobilize social capital? Each setting willrequire personalized responses to all of these important questions.

Institutional capacityI moved into a place called the Clearfork Valley in Tennessee 28years ago. The immediate and dramatic change for me was that Iwas no longer a sisterno longer enjoying the social capital wewere able to create. I was alone in a community suffering from thegreat loss of over 80 percent of its population to the industrial mid-west. The Clearfork Valley is the space on the other side of themountain. It is the place you go to get the coal out of the earth forshipment to power companies.

It is clear now that the reason for the 3 million out-migration ofthe '50s and '60s had everything to do with the capital investmentin machinery. Labor was not needed for the production of coal any

Western Wire Fall 1995 7

We must imagine more to life than running to the market placeevery time life gets boring at home.

longer. Labor was needed in Cincinnati.Chicago and Detroit. where the naturalresources of our mountain forest landswere shipped and processed. InMiddlesboro. Kentucky. twenty miles fromthe Clearfork Valley. was the Ford coalcamp. Owned by Ford Motors in Detroit,this was security for their production. Theyhad to come to Appalachia for the coal andthe labor. Detroit had the capital. Obvi-ously the social capital that builds commu-nity had no accounting system in the worldof politics and economics. Working as Iwas now for the church with a S3.000salary and a S3.000 operating budget. howcould I start a sdf-helpeffort except throughsocial capital? The community needed it. Ineeded it for myself.

It is unfortunate that growth policieshave moved the markets to the towns. Noweveryone needs a car. gas money and insur-ance just to get food. This seems so foolishit is no wonder that more people in mycommunity are growing gardens today thanlast year. There are common grounds wherefood is being produced for the community.Local social capital activists are not think-ing about how to sell the produce. butrather, how to have common meals. Peopleneed occasic ns to support the cohesion thatturns their efforts into social capital.

It is unfortunate that the instinctual ca-pacities of the human being have been sototally snuffed out of an urban industrialsociety. Indeed humans, like other livingthings. were created with the capacity totake care of their needs. They knew how todo this long before money was invented.Now we don't know how to provide forourselves without money. Who among uscould grow our own food, build our ownshelter or sew our own clothing? As we lostland, we lost these skills. We lost a kind ofsocial interaction that comes from workingtogether as family and in community.Money created a whole new way of doingdevelopment. We have to find ways to startundoing the trap money has built. Noweverything that makes life easy comes fromthe outsidethe world market and so-cial dynamism is limited to the politics andeconomics of marketing. My communityis following the lead of several other com-munities and establishing a form of localcurrency that allows for a good mix ofsocial and monetary capital.

8 Western Wire I-all 1995

We are moving into a very different lifeas we enter the 21st century. I don't meanto suggest we return to a caveman exist-ence, but as resources are depleted. ashumans become less mobile, as there isless money, we will have the challenge toconsider another way of being. Consider-ing social capital is an important piece ofany forward looking strategy.

Community capacityPathways from poverty to what? If wethink poverty is caused by a lack of moneyand can be solved with money, we arebarking up the wrong tree. There are fewmoney trees left to climb. We must con-template each other and consider all theoptions for making life better. We mustimagine more to life than running to themarket place every time life gets boring athome. From TV to Marketin this habitwe as a society have gotten into there islittle hope for social capital. Indeed, suchhabits detract from social development.One valuable way to develop skills forimage and vision making is to learn fromthose who have been without money and/or escape mechanisms for a long time. Youmight have to make them believe you trusttheir ways. You might have to find exer-cises that return self confidence to them.You might be in a position to considerways to reward rather than punish peoplefor being more open about the contribu-tions they are making to the social capitalwithin their community.

Women's deprivations are also astrength once we can appreciate the waysocial capital fits into the scheme of things.Is it not true that women know all aboutunpaid work? They know what it is be-cause they do it. It might not be recognizedbecause it is not paid for, but women know.Is it a male/ female thing'? Is it a socializa-tion process like collective living, like teamwork that gives one the capacity to mobi-lize social capital'? Is it the absence of othercapital that helps develop social capital.just as one who is blind often developsother senses to a greater degree than onewho is not blind'? Are there other factorsthat sensitize one to recognizing and mov-ing with the power of social capital'?

I want to speak to long term residency ina community as especially important to thedevelopment of social capital. Most, but

not all, are women who do much of theunpaid work in the world. Women andothers who don't have cash are less mobile.If they have children or the elderly or thegarden to care for they are less mobile thanothers. If they keep the house warm inwinter and clean and cool in the summerthey are less mobile than those withoutdaily maintenance chores. Hence womenmore than men. in general, are more stablewithin a community. This provides theopportunity to better connect things goingon among people and with nacre. Theirsocial activity is connected. A cohesive-ness is created and this cohesiveness addsup to social capital. Such awareness can beaided through a group process, but somewomen, as well as men and children whosesecurity and way of knowing come out ofa rootedness in community. ,:an act veryindependently while being keenly tuned into the whole, which builds social capital.

New institutionsMy experience tells me that once you listento them, honor them by supporting theirdreams, turn over a little money and try tofind appropriate experts. local people canmove mountains. Our community hashealth clinics, development corporations.a land trust, an adult higher education pro-gram. many child and parent programs. apeer lending program, a plan for forestmanagement and value added products.garden and school activities, tire depart-ments and small church efforts. Only onegovernment building with one staff personis located within the Clearfork Valley.

Working togetherOver the years local citizen organizationshave established partnerships with theCommunity Design Center in Knoxville,with several Knoxville and Oak Ridgechurches, with TVA. The most committedpartnership is between Carson NewmanCollege and Mountain Women's Exchange.They are developing an appropriate adulteducation program which will give peoplethe knowledge and skills necessary to workin this community (as distinct from thoseneeded in cities to which they tnight haveto migrate).

This year students on campus at CarsonNewman College will further explore op-tions for a service learning program with

Woodland Community Land Trust. Thiswill be an important exchange since onemajor initiative is to get back a land basefrom which social capital can interact. Weare not airborne people. We do not live incities. We need our land, and as we are nowinitiating a process to dialogue with theabsentee land and coal companies we canonly hope that they will see some reason toshare the mined-out lands with us.

Timber companies have moved in andare clear-cutting our mountains. The onlyhope we have is that the industrial giantsthat produce for a world market will cometo understand the need for social capital,will contribute to the local efforts by turn-ing over some land, possibly some money,and even some expertise. Would it be toomuch to imagine that we might do this inpartnership with mutual respect for what

Myrtle and Uncle 1::-avz Noble. Alpine. Oregon.Photo 0 James f,..loutier.

we each need of the other? Might it bepossible that the college partnership is whatwill in time bring the grassroots efforts themeasure of legitimacy that allows themequal respect among the land barons?

We don't have answers, but thanks to aFord Foundation grant to the East Tennes-see Community Foundation, we are one offive rural community groups engaged in athree year planning, action and policy set-ting effort. This program is functioning infour states and is directed towards an ex-ploration of the capacity community foun-dations have to serve their rural constitu-ency. I do not know what approach is beingused in other states, but the East TennesseeFoundation decided to let the grassrootsgroups take the initiative. In our case weare planning for the year 2000 and whathappens after coal. Another group is plan-

ning for communitysupported agricul-ture as a solution towhat happens aftertobacco. Needless tosay with a $5.000planning grant toeach communitygroup, much of oursuccess will rest onour ability to gener-ate social capital inthe planning and ac-tion process.

ConclusionOne very importantreason we are beingpushed to considersocial capital isdepletion of thenatural resourcebase of the U.S., andindeed the world.upon which finan-cial capital is built.Wise use of re-sources means usingwhat is needed. effi-ciently, with careand with the intentto cultivate and re-place that which istaken so that it re-mains forfuture gen-erations. Living in

1 0

the coal fields provides a particular insightinto the dwindling resources of the earth.Of all the Appalachian states. Tennessee isnow the smallest producer of coal. Wehave all but run out of coal. We must finallyface the reality of an unrenewable resourcethat is no longer available to the globalmarket. Local people face other problems.Shall they move away and leave the moun-tains to the wilds? Shall they look for otherways to live? The problem and opportunityEcing the Clearfork Valley is that peopleare staying. There are no longer cities torun to as there were in the '60s. We can'trun from poverty with some illusion thatwe will find answers in the cities. Many ofus found jobs, but we also found familydisruption, community disintegration,disinvestment and political ineptness asreported daily on the TV news. A genera-tion of restless, rootless, disturbed, violentpeople cannot be tamed by capital invest-ments in bigger prisons, especially if onlyone class of people are subject to punish-ment for the sins of society.

The social disintegration of Americansociety will take something other than capi-tal investment. It will be the human com-mitment. the social capital and communitycohesiveness that will move us to anotherintensity. So it is that the end of a coal eraand the beginning of a 21st century iscausing local residents to look at each otherand their land. They are quick to move tothe conclusion that they must learn how tolive with their forest resources. Forests canbring them recreation, religion, education.economics and politics. Social capital cantransform the ruins of the social, politicaland economic systems of the 20th centuryinto a surprising future. Given the chance,the nameless, faceless communities thatonce produced fossil fuels might be thepeople who push the pendulum of changepast dead center. Those of you who areprofessional workers within mainline in-stitutions can provide valuable assistanceto such communities. As you come to valuethe ability of a community to generatesocial capitalto make separate thingspart of the wholeyou will be intriguedwith the way they fit your professionalcontribution into the scheme of their dailylife. This becomes a pathway for all of us,each out of our own experience of personaland social poverty:3


;'

The Circle of Developmentand Indigenous Peoples

Sherry Salwav BlackAn abbreviated version oft/us article appeared on pages 27-29. Equal Means.Summer /992. published by Ms. Foundation jOr Women. Berkeley. CA.

The Wall Street Journal recently rana story describing the resurgence ofthe Mexican economy. One of the

leading indicators of the successful neweconomic development and its resultinggrowth in income and purchasing powerwas the increased number of sushi bars inMexico City.

Sushi 1327s. And we have been strug-gling to develop new ways to measureeconomic change that incorporate envi-ronmental and social costs. Sushi barsthe answer was right in front of our faces.our mouths actually, all of the time.

Of course. I say this tongue-in-cheek.but the story is true. Unfortunately. it isbecause this story is true that we are allworking in the field of economic justice.An economic system that uses the numberof sushi bars as a measure of successfuldevelopment and the improved well-beingof people needs an overhaul of its basicvalue system and its entire theoreticalframework.

Changing the systemSomeone important once said. "Admittingthat you have a probLm is the first step insolving it.- There k a development prob-lem in this country and in the world. Womenand minorities have been saying it foryears: we know the results, up close andpersonal. The peopie in power. who ownand control the assets for development, donot have a problem. That's the issue.

There are efforts to change the field ofeconomics to consider the environment asmore than an externality, to incorporatesustainability and cultural relevance into


development, and to find new ways tomeasure change that are based on a morehumane value system.

Indigenous world viewWhere do indigenous people fit withindevelopment? What can we offer to changeand improve the system? A fundamentalbelief, common to many indigenous tribalpeople of North America and probably ofthe world, is that we have survived 500years because we have traditional knowl-edge that we must share, knowledge that iscritically important to the survival of theworld.

We have had this knowledge all alongbut in the mad rush to take our materialresources and to Christianize our souls, theearly immigrants to this country over-looked, misunderstood, or de-valued ourfundamental beliefs, values and understand-ing of the world.

Much has been written recently aboutthe indigenous people of the Americas, ourcontributions and our traditional knowl-edge. The reasons for this new found inter-est are important: the quincentennial: theneed for a cultural identity in the meltingpot of America: the social changes relatingto multi-cultural diversity and politicalcorrectness: and most importantly. I think,the search for a missing element in people' slivesspirituality.

The indigenous understanding has itsbasis in spirituality, a recognition of theinterconnectedness and interdependenceof all living things. a holistic and balancedview of the world. Intrinsic to this view isthat the earth is alive and is the Mother. and

that human beings are but one part ofnature, not dominant over it. In his book InThe Absence of the Sacred: The Failure ofTechnology and the Survival of the IndianNations, Jerry Mander charts the differ-ences between technological people andnative people in attitudes about environ-ment, economics, religion and philosophy,architecture, politics and sociocultural de-mographics. In their approach to life, tech-nological and native peoples are in totalcontradiction to one another, according toMander.

Economic anddevelopment implicationsFor a dozen years, First Nations Develop-ment Institute has worked with AmericanIndian tribes and people to develop sus-tainable models that incorporate traditionalknowledge and values. Because our visionis in contradiction with technological civi-lization, indigenous people have much tooffer in lessons of development. as well assurvival.

Indigenous people are the original "sys-tems theorists." viewing the world as ho-listic and interdependent rather than cat-egorical, separate, and linear. The world isin dire straits because Western thinkingseparates economics from the environmentand fails to recognize a relationship.

At first glance. Indian reservations por-tray a "legacy of failure." In almost 300reservations and 200 Alaska Native vil-lages, the unemployment rate averages 60percent. Some places it is as high as 95percent. and not one reservation has ahealthy, indigenous private sector operat-

ii

Individual

Group

Tribe

1111 Nation

11__/101

The Elements of DevelopmentIndividuals, community organizations, and tribes can use this diagram to formulate their development goals.By considering each Element, they can direct development in line with their social values, and evaluate their progress over time.Border Graphic: Karyn GabaldonChart: Kristin Prentice, Sphinx Graphics

ing within the community. This is after$2.4 billion a year throughout the 1980sdirected toward the economic develop-ment of reservations.

In our work we do not view this asfailure but rather as rejection of the inher-ent values within the economic system.Because the current economic system doesnot recognize our values, nor have theability to measure success by our terms anddefinition, we will never be successful byits standards.

First Nations' effort to develop impactmeasurement and assessment tools thatincorporate social costs started two yearsago as we celebrated our first decade ofwork. Research indicated that the state-of-the-art in evaluating economic develop-ment programs had little to do with socialchange, social or environmental costs, orspecific cultural differences, but focusedon what could be definitively quantified.Measurements of "successful" economicdevelopment included the number of jobs

12

created, number of businesses started, andincreases in employment and incomes.While these measurements are valid in anarrow definition of development, theycompletely ignore other important cultural,personal and spiritual aspects of life, allowlittle opportunity to incorporate the partici-pants' definitions of success, and fail toinclude all of the costs associated witheconomic growth.

First Nations researched other, newlydeveloping measurements of social status,

Western Wire Fall 1995 1 1

development comes from withinit cannot be done to or for people

social costs, and change, much of which isbeing done in Third World countries, suchas the work in Quality of Life Indicators.Social and Environmental Auditing, andquantifying the unpaid work of women.While this group of measurements pro-vides a more holistic structure, some ele-ments were still missing.

Prior to contact with Westerners, Ameri-can Indian people had complex socialsystems which guided every aspect of theirlives. First Nation found that many of thevalues, traditions, and m-thods for redis-tributing wealth are still in operation, validand critically important to the continuedwell-being of the tribes. Indigenous com-munities have a fundamental basis inspirituality, a recognition that people existwithin and are tied to their environment.Tribal people have their own understand-ings about assets and wealth and aboutwhat constitutes leadership.

Elements of developmentThe Elements of Development is a frame-work that First Nations developed basedon our research, on established indicators.contemporary barriers and issues facingtribes, the traditional worldview. and prin-ciples of development. Not only can tribesdevelop their own indicators and measure-ments of success and progress for each ofthe vectors and axes, but the developmentprinciples inherent in the Elements pro-vide a framework to guide decision-mak-ing in reservation development.

To understand this framework, it is im-portant to keep in mind sonie basic as-sumptions. First, this view of developmentgoes beyond economics; it is the develop-ment of a people. Development that fo-cuses on one quadrant of the circle, sayeconomics, and ignores other aspects ofhuman existence, will never provide thenecessary balance to improve the qualityoflife for all and will never work for nativepeople. Balance is a necessary componentof native understanding of the world.

Second. development comes fromwithin; it cannot be done to people or forpeople but must come from people. TheElements are only a guide which can beused by individuals and groups to developtheir own measures of success and accom-plishment. A first step in empowerment isto recognize that your values, belief sys-

1 2 Western Wire Fall 1995

a

tem, and traditional knowledge are validand important.

The two main axes of the circle ofdevelopment represent significant relation-ships. Starting with the Control of Assets,we can view the inherent barriers to indig-enous development, traditional mecha-nisms. and potential measurements. Ameri-can Indian tribes and people seek control oftheir assets. their land base, natural re-sources, and financial capital. Without con-trol, long term development cannot occur.The principle of control of assets is appli-cable to any social and economic programfor disenfranchised people. Without con-trol of assets, you lack the ability to createwealth from them. and your life is alwaysin someone else's control.

For individuals, assets can be land, ahouse, a savings account, an education andjob skills, traditional rights to hunt and fishin particular areas, businesses, trust fundsand access to credit. For a community,reservation, or tribe, assets can be pro-grams, land, indigenous institutions, envi-ronmental quality, trust funds, tribal hunt-ing and fishing rights, access to credit, andnatural and human resources. At the na-tional level, for tribes, assets are trust funds,federal programs, their own indigenousinstitutions and tribal sovereignty.

In traditional systems, assets and wealthwere distributed through the Kinship net-work of extended families, which were the

_t1"7--

basis for circulation of goods and services,Individual accumulation of material goodswas not valued and leadership principlesinvolved sharing wealth with kinship net-work, and tribe. Western models of distri-bution and federal programs to acculturatetribes have been superimposed on the tra-ditional kinship systems, undermining theireffectiveness but a complex kinship sys-tem continues to serve as the basis of triballife, the creation and circulation of assets.and the method by which generations sharethe culture and its values.

Barriers to the kinship system as amethod of control and creation of assetsinclude the Allotment Act of 1887. whichintroduced the concept of private propertyto native peoples and 100 years later con-tinues to wreak havoc with the ability oftribes and individuals to use the land and itsresources effectively and to protect it forfuture generations. The government wel-fare systems, superimposed on a complexand existing system of giving, sharing andreciprocity have far-reaching effects onthe breakdown of the kinship system.

Subsistence activities involving barterand trade can best be tracked through thekinship systems. Traditional redistributionmechanisms such as giveaways and pot-latches continue to flourish. Basic servicessuch as child care, car repair, and personalgrooming needs are met within the house-hold and extended families.

13

At Taos Pueblo in northern New Mexico. a woman prepares a meal in her outdoor kitchen. Photo 0 Bruce Gomez.Recognition of these existing kinship

systems and their role in an economicredistribution system can be a first step ina development strategy. Forexample, sometribes are revising subsistence hunting andfishing codes to use traditional kinshipsystems for distribution of resources.

The relationship between Control ofAssets and Kinshipconnects the individual.

the community, and the tribe to their localresources. Measurements of self-employ-ment can be developed which recognizethat a family unit is meeting local needswith local resources. Intra and inter-tribaltrade can be developed to reinforce devel-opment of the larger family of tribal peoples.

Within the control and distribution ofassets, are people. A strong community

and economy must have people with astrong sense of Personal Efficacy. a senseof confidence. A judgement we often hearabout the poverty and lack of economicdevelopment on reservations is that thepeople have no work ethic, lack a competi-tive nature. and are self-effacing. Tradi-tionally. indis idual achievements and ac-complishments were critical io the \ eryexistence of the tribe. resulting in a respectfor others that w as misinterpreted as self-effacment and non-competi eness. Nati% eAmerican children were taught from anearly age to -think for yourself and act forothers... What coukl be a better startingpoint for des eloping entrepreneurs.

In Western society. mdis idual achie e-ments enhance the indis idual. lii tribal lite,individual achies ements are s a I ned kit-theirbenefit to the extended family and to thetribe. Individual roles and responsibilitiesare taught by the families and defined froman early. age. Child raising stresses theimportance of building confidence. risktaking. innovation and experience. Tradi-tional societies are not static but are con-tinually improving, not tor growth but forimproved efficiency ----how to do it better

People in the I do, Pueblo use \ood fuele\clusi el lilt cookin. IndiolN and owPhotos ) Ui tiLe ( ionic/

estern NA Itc I all 1995 3

Indicators of improvement in PersonalEfficacy for an individual may be self-esteem, the abi I ity to problem-sol ve, a posi-tive outlook, or increased knowledge andskills. On a community level, indicatorsare improved tribal leadership. communitycooperation, the formation of associations,teamwork, follow-up and reliability. On anational level, indicators of success can bethe sense that "we can do it.- a pride andjoy in our people and our achievements.

Spirituality is the most difficult elementto describe. It is from spirituality that onegains a sense of vision, a sense of one' s selfand one's place within the community andwithin the larger universe. From that vi-sion one izains an ability to see choices:where to go, what to do with one's life, howto have meaning for one's self and for thelarger community. Included within thisvalue system is understanding, tolerance.respect for the earth and all living things.dignity, future orientation, and an ability tosee a place for indigenous people and ourcontributions within that future. Spiritual-ity is a sense of inner-directedness, a basicvalue system, a cosmology of sorts.

How do you build spirituality into adevelopment framework and how do youmeasure it? For indigenous people, a re-turn to or rebirth of traditional values andbeliefs, a resurgence in ceremonial activi-ties, a healing of our souls must take place.On an individual level, indicators and mea-surements of spirituality can include in-stilling traditional teachings in the chil-dren. learning the language. practicing thevalues, creating visions for the future, rec-ognizing and maintaining a balance in life.

For the community and tribe, spiritual-ity can be measured by tribal institutionsincluding cultural programs, traditionalmethods and teachings which both em-power and develop people. Tribes are re-turning to traditional natural resource man-agement techniques which are now beingrecognized.as effective and valid.

Using the Elementsof DevelopmentThe circle represents a complete. balanceddiagram of the elements of development.First Nations is working with tribes andother native groups in the application of theElements of Development. We can alreadysee its relevance to the Lakota Fund. a


community-developed and controlledmicroenterprise loan program on the PineRidge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.People who never had access to credit nowdo and are creating other assets and earningincome tied to extended families. The bor-rowers grow in self-esteem and reliability,and their ability to solve problems indi-vidually and collectively has improved.They are more productive and have choiceswhere none existed before. And, critical todevelopment, they can see a vision of them-selves as successful.

The Elements can also be used in eco-nomic decision making to incorporate Au.of the costs and benefits associated with astrategy. For example. as an increasingnumber of tribes turn to gaming to earnrevenue, they find that tribal membersenrolled in higher education programs arereturning home to work at casinos, forsak-ing an education for immediate returns.There is a long term cost to the future of thetribe. This must be factored into decision-making, recognized as a cost, and the con-sequences of the action considered.

What about the futureI am simultaneously scared and encour-aged about the future. Scared, becausesushi bars can become measures of suc-cess. Indigenous people are not immune.They can also become worshippers of thefalse idols of materialism and consumer-

ism. Only much later will they recognizethat something fundamentally valuable hasbeen lost. We have too many examples intribes and on reservations where economicgrowth, per capita payments, capitalism.and consumerism result in short term gainsat the expense of long term developmentand our future generations.

I am encouraged by the rebirth of spiri-tuality among indigenous people, an effortto recapture and live the basic values of thetraditional culture and to use these to makemore effective decisions about develop-ment and the measure of success within ourown culture. One example is tribes andIndian people who refuse to be lulled bythe prospect of millions of dollars in rev-enue and employment from waste disposalcompanies for turning reservations intodumping grounds. The work being done inthe area of environmental economics willprovide tools for analyzing the true costs ofthese types of economic ventures.

I am also encouraged by a growingawareness of the problems created forwomen, for indigenous people, and for theenvironment by the existing economic sys-tem. I am encouraged by efforts to changethe system and the measures of success. Isee the indigenous worldview providingthe framework for thaz change and believethe legends and stories of the Grandfatherswere trueit is truly our destiny to shareour knowledge with the worldia

Home of a Vietnam veteran on the Taos Pueblo. Photo 0 Bruce Gomez.

Pthibt4nerspeetsive

by Ayano Baules, Associate DirectorCooperative Extension ServicePalau Community CollegePresented by Director Baules at the Pathways from Poverty Conference sponsored bythe Western Rural Development Center in Albuquerque May 18. 1995.

poverty? What poverty? We ha.vemore than enough food to eat withextra to share, therefore we are not

poor. Poor people do not have anything toeat. People who do not have enough to eatzre lazy. Lazy people become poor. Poorpeople do not share. The more you share,the more you get.

Such was the attitude of Palauans in theold daysas long as you had food on thetable and extra to share, you were notconsidered poor.

As a tropical paradise, the Palau islandswere blessed with abundant tropical root

crops, fruits. and vegetables, not to men-tion the rich marine life, which has beenrecently declared by some world marineauthorities as one of the seven underseawonders of the world. Life was laid-back,without nine-to-five jobs, without schoolsfor children to attend. Life revolved aroundfamily and the community in which thefamily lived. With concerted effort , fami-lies were able to grow enough food cropsfor themselves and to share with others.Sharing was an indication of abundance.Abundance was an indication of industry,resourcefulness, and self-sufficiency.

Ayano Baules, right, reminded participants of the social forces that influence poverty. Elders inIsland communities recall a time when wealth meant abundant food and a healthy, lovingfamily rather than material possessions. Professor Baules is shown above with Pat Simpson ofGuam at the WRDC Pathways from Poverty workshop .

16

In our small community, people hadlarge. extended families. It seemed thateveryone was related by blood or marriageand shared almost everything from food togarden tools, even to their best clothes forspecial occasions. As was the custom inour village, my grandmother always sharedeverything we had. But there were numer-ous occasions when we had to ask for fish,or borrow things from our relatives. Oneday I asked my grandmother, "Grandma,are we poor?"

"Hush, little girl," Grandma warned."Don't even say the word. You see, ac-cording to an old Palauan proverb, povertyis like a pillar of smoke. The smoke spathway is influenced by the wind's direc-tion and the smoke will graze those alongits path until the wind changes its course.So poverty is a misfortune that tarries withus but temporarily. It comes and goes ac-cording to the winds of change. But if youkeep on saying, 'I am poor. I am poor.'you'll invite poverty to come in and stayfor good."

With this wisdom of the elders, theindigenous people deemed poverty only afleeting mishap and went on with dailyroutines to provide for their immediatefamilies and to fulfill their obligations tothe extended families. Palauans have al-ways been ambitious (a trait which is some-times misinterpreted as being overly ag-gressive in their dealings with foreigners)for other comforts in life. There were thosewith special skills in native crafts-making.traditional medicine, canoe building. wea% -ing. etc., who traded goods and services formoney, using stone (for men) and turtleshell ( for women). They continued to sharetheir wealth with the less fortunate, none-


theless. keeping their trade secrets within._ the family. The stone and shell money are

still used today for cultural or traditionalrites associated with childbirth. family re-lationships and disputes. marriage, death.and real estate property.

On October I. 1994. the Republic ofPalau. an island nation made up of over 200islands (nine inhabited) regained its inde-pendence after more than a century ofcolonial rule. In the 50 'years prior to itsindependence. Palau was administered aspart of the Trust Territory of the PacificIslands by the United States according tothe United Nations mandate. Before theUnited States. Japan ruled for 30 years, andbefore that. Germany. which purchasedPalau from Spain. Spain is credited withbringing Christianity to the islands. Spainand Germany had little economic impacton the islands. Japan and the United Stateshad thc greatest economic impact and cul-tural influence on the indigenous people.Natives were educated in formal schools athome and abroad and were introduced tothe foreign concept of capitalism.

During the U.S. administration of theislands. Palauans were allowed the free-dom of entrepreneurship. Many went bank-rupt because they could not retain theircapital investment while trying to gratifythe expectat;ons of the extended families.As another Palauan proverb goes. "If onegoes ovt-1-1-oard. we'll all go overboard.-meaning. we'll share the good fortune whileit lasts aid when hardship comes, we'll allsuffer toge Iher. Those who did not have theguts to F t boundaries between their busi-ness and family affairs, suffered. But a fewwere able to become successful. Someeven became sdf-made millionaires.

The foreign concepts of capitalism andcommercialism began to affect family re-lationships and people's attitudes towardlife achievements. The concept of sharedwealth is now diminishing. Free hand-outsfrom our foreign benefactors have alsochanged attitudes concerning industry, re-sourcefulness. and self-sufficiency thatwere so highly esteemed by the natives.Nowadar, definitions of poverty vary from(me person t) another depending on whateach perceives as the cause of povertyrather than the economic level under whichone falls. Poverty is defined in general as alack of material things and not necessarily


the deprivation of the basic necessities inlife. One may own a piece of land and ahouse. but without a car, that person mayhe considered poor. and vice versa.

Many young people. as well as someadults, could not keep steady jobs. Assoon as they got their first pay-check. they tzot drunk or got highon drugs and failed to report towork. They went back to beingdependent on their families andrelatives.

The few elders who still holddear the old traditions are bewil-dered and worry about the future.Watching their grandchildren, theelders wonder about their own chil-dren, who rarely have time to seetheir parents. The children are ei-ther busy with their jobs or outsomewhere with friends.

Occasionally, the elders get to-gether and talk about the past withnostalgia and wonder it' western-ization or the so-called modern-ization was at all beneficial to theislanders. They also wonder if pov-erty has been invited in for goodfor the want of modern conve-niences; for the need to nourishbad habits, such as cigarette smok-ing, alcoholism, and drug abuse;or for the mere expectation of hand-

outs from the government and other would-be benefactors. For others, poverty is de-fined as the lack of cash to buy what's newin the stores.

As for me. I ponder when the wind ofchange is blowing..]

41/

1/4'

_mat.

Ar Lk,.

tV'Ct 71"

Above, at a cultural arts festival, Samoan women practice the ancient art ot' tapa. The women

use local dyes to paint traditional designs on pounded mulberry bark.

Poverty:a matter of value&

Carol S. Whitaker, State CoordinatorFamily and Consumer EducationAmerican Samoa Community College

While preparing my comments forboth the Pathways from Poverty workship and this article. I

talked with my Samoan friends about pov-erty. There is a consensus of opinion thatpoverty does not exist in American Samoa.My friends readily admit that incomes arelow here. The most often heard commentis, "We have low incomes, but we don'thave poverty in American Samoa."

Poverty here is defined in terms of nothaving food, clothing, and shelter. Samoais a communal society. and the membersare organized into large extended familygroups. Family members cooperate withone another and share what they have. Thesocial structure in place insures that mem-bers are taken care of. If you do not havemoney. you can go to your family andexpect to be given a meal to eat, a shirt towear, a place to sleep, or money for schoolactivity fees. This is a reciprocal processand when you have money, your familymembers come to you for help. There areno homeless people here and everyone hasfood and clothing.

Following are comments about the wayfamily resources are distributed in Samoa.This sharing enables families to maintaineconomic stability on low incomes.

HousingThere are no homeless people in AmericanSamoa. People who need housing oftenstay with relatives, friends, or ministers.One woman had up to eight extra peopleliving with her family during the past year.The .iwo adults were no longer welcome bythe family with whom they had been livingso the woman and her family made a place

for the couple to stay. She observed, "It ishard to say no to people sitting on yourdoorstep waiting to hear yes." The sixchildren were with her for a variety ofreasons ranging from parents with insuffi-cient money for support to inability of theparents to control the child's behavior.

VehiclesNot all families own a vehicle, and there isbus service covering most of the mainisland. The small Japanese pickup truck isthe most popular vehicle on the island.Those who own trucks loan them to trustedrelatives and friends and give rides to oth-ers with poor driving skills. Every so often.a vehicle owner can't find the truck whenit is needed!

ChildrenFamilies are large in Samoa and somecouples have more children than they canafford to support. The couple may ask afamily member, a close friend, or a minis-ter to rai::e a child. Those individuals askedto take a child inevitably agree. In somecases, family members who understand acouple's financial situation will offer totake a child. The family may or may notlegally adopt the child they arc raising.

FoodFood is a very important aspect of theculture. At weddings, graduations, funer-als, and other large celebrations, peoplewho attend are always given a plate of foodto take home to their families. People al-ways share food, whether it is a sandwichor half of a sandwich from someone else.Those in need can ask and receive food

1.6

from relatives, close friends, and their min-isters. One of my students told me. "If I amhungry, my neighbors are always willingto feed me. Of course, my aunties anduncles are my neighbors."

Strangers often stop to ask if they canpick the fruit from breadfruit, banana,mango, or other fruit trees in private yards.These requests are invariably granted.

TravelWhen older parents want to travel, theadult children often pay their fare. Re-cently. the mother of a friend of minewanted to visit her daughters in Hawaii.Those daughters purchased a plane ticketand mailed it from Hawaii. My friend'sson, who is less than two. Years old. flewwith his grandma so his aunties could spoilhim in Hawaii. Six weeks later the motherwas ready to return to Pago Pago. Myfriend sent her mom the return ticket.

MoneyWhen a man's sister died, he took out aloan to help pay the funeral expenses be-cause he was working and could qualify forthe financial assistance.

At the grocery store where I often shopon Saturdays. a man volunteers to standoutside, open the door, and carry groceriesto the car or bus stop. A few of the shoppersgive this man a small tip. which he shareswith the young children who don't haveenough change for the gum ball machines.

A colleague of mine gave me somemoney one morning. She had won thechurch bingo the night before and wassharing her winnings. Very few bingo win-ners keep the prize money...1

Wotern Wire Fall 1995 17

FO, isby Refugio 1. Rochin. ProfessorMichigan State University andUniversity of California, Davisand Jose A. Rivera. ProfessorUniversity of New MexicoPresented by Professor Rivera at the Pathways from Poverty Conference sponsored bythe Western Rural Development Center in Albuquerque May 18. 1995.

Latino leaders have been grappling with the needs of theircommunities for decades. Now the time has come fornational leaders to foster a public agenda which addresses

these needs. As evident throughout the United States. Latinos arebecoming a major, yet under-represented. population in a numberof critical areas of the economy; their needs are most evident inpublic schools, in the labor market, in town and city governments.and in the private sectors of most places.

Despite their rapid growth to about ten percent of the U.S.population. accounted for by nearly 25 million persons whoclassify themselves as Hispanic. many portals of economic oppor-tunity are missing for Latinos. Latinos are not fully accepted intothe labor market or into higher education. Latinos are absent inprofessional spheres, partly because Latino teenagers are drop-ping out of high school at high rates. limiting their futures to deadend, low wage jobs. School-age Latinos are facing hard times withpoverty and unhealthy living conditions.

Neighborhoods are congested and costs of living are moreexpensive, especially where Latinos are concentrated in barriosand colonias. In these communities. where Latinos are the major-ity, there are few local businesses or public amenities. Theabsence of basic necessities forces Latinos to work and shop atdistances far from their own homes.

Few Latinos are self-employed relative to non-Latino whites.Business loans are limited and are usually below the amountsneeded to help stimulate private investment and entrepreneurialactivities among Latinos. Since public safety and life itself is veryuncertain for poor Latinos. many respond with short term copingstrategies, some of which result in gang activity and crime.

What is alarming for coming generations is the concentrationand persistence of Latino poverty. It is particularly evident in thesouthwestern states along the Mexican-United States border, inboth urban and rural areas. but Latino poverty ranges widelythroughout America. In the midwestern states, there are close totwo million Hispanics ( with a huge population in Chicago) and


one-fifth of them live in poverty. Poverty is more concentratedamong Latino youth: 40 percent of Latino children up to 17 years

of age live in poverty, more than twice the national average of 19percent.

The persistence of poverty is measured by time. In 1992, a full30 percent of the nation's Latinos were classified as poor. Morethan seven million Latinos lived in poverty. Ten years earlier, in1982, 30 percent of all Hispanic persons lived below the povertylevel. For more than a decade, three of every ten Latinos has beenpoor. Latinos are among the nation's poorest people.

Although Latinos are only about ten percent of the total U.S.population, they constitute close to 20 percent of the nation'spoor. One of every five poor people in America, is Latino.

Recent surveys reveal a number of controversial and negativeperceptions of Latinos. Americans perceive Latinos as secondonly to blacks in terms of being lazy rather than hard working andliving off welfare rather than being self-supporting. Whiteuniversity students in the midwest viewed Latinos as less produc-tive and less intelligent, more physically violent and rebellious,than their white peers (Report No. 10 of the Julian SamoraResearch Institute, 1995.) Non-Latino whites have also depictedHispanics as the nation's least patriotic group. Some nationallyinfluential politicians have gone so far as to suggest that Latinosthreaten the physical and political integrity of the U.S. (LatinoVoices, 1992, p.2).

Latino poverty is not an "American" problem. according tomany national politicians, because from their standpoint. Latinopoor are unworthy immigrants. This position is exemplified inrecent passage of the "Welfare Bill" in the U.S. House ofRepresentatives. Within the bill's 415 pages. ahout 8 pages(sections 400, 403, 421 & 421 exclude itnmigrants (legal andotherwise) from welfare benefits. This feature of the Republican"Contract with America" would curtail immigrants' rights to

At right: Woman from San Luis Potosi with her daughter born in the

U.S., in their home, northern San Diego county. Photo Q) Ken 1.ight.

1 9

Social Security Benefits and to Medicaid.--Think of the bill as anti-immigrant.

Worse yet. no cohesive agenda existsfor public officials, businesses, and com-munity based organizations to address thedeprivation and limited horizons of Latinos.On the contrary, high level public officialsignore Latinos' contribution to theeconomy. What little research and infor-mation exists on Latinos is often ignored.discounted, or blended in with other infor-mation which denies the unique needs andconditions of impoverished Latinos.

Interestingly, and in apparent contrastto these "American" positions. many busi-nesses in agriculture, textiles, and manu-facturing still base production on labor-i ntensive. low-wage operations. which useLatino workers to a considerable degree.

Forces that affectthe status of LatinosBehind the concerns of Latinos are majorforces which affect their status in the UnitedStates and which alter the Americaneconomy. Three forces in particular callinto question the policies and practices ofignoring Latino poor.

Demographic forcesGrowth of the national labor force hasslowed since the 1970s. largely as a resultof declining birth rates and smaller fami-lies within the white, non-minority popula-tion. At the same time, the composition ofthe labor force has been changing to in-clude more women and ethnic minorities.

Soon. only six workers will supporteach retired couple. down from the 1970sfigure of 30 workers per pair of retiredpeople. One of these six workers will beLatino. Latino workers. however, are likelyto lag behind others in their educationalattainment. Their children attend preschoolat half the rate of non-Latino white chil-dren. In 1993. 30 percent of Latinos aged16 to 24the ones who should be mostproductive when baby-boomers start retir-ingwere high school dropouts. comparedwith 10 percent of whites and 14 percent ofHacks. Despite recent increases. Latinosearned less than 4 percent of all under-graduate. graduate. and initial professionaldegrees. At risk is American competitive-ness and the health of our retirement sys-tem. In terms of the countrys future. a


strong national economy may depend on astrong. thriving Latino community.

Technological forcesElectronic technology is quickly changingthe workplace. It is a force that movesindependently and ahead of solutions toemployment security. A workforce is re-quired that is both highly skilled and adap-tive to new forms of technology. If Latinoyouth are not trained to qualify for emerg-ing jobs. they will be left in greater num-bers to tiuht among themselves for lowerpaying alternatives. This is not far fromcurrent reality.

Global forcesThe expanding globalization of trade andcommunication also affects Latinos. Inter-national competition is continually chal-lenging businesses to maintain a well-edu-cated. highly skilled, experiencedwoi kforce. Latino youth are not being pre-pared for the international ecenomy.

Ironically, most Latinos are already bi-lingual. have multicultural skills, and knowsomething of global competition for jobs.Businesses and higher education shouldfeel compelled to recruit and develop Latinotalent. Without urgent Attention to the per-sistent poverty of Latinos. these forcesportend a critically heightened problem ina few short years. The forces at work arerapid and impinge especially on poorLatinos.

Knowledge of these forces and theiraffect on Latinos should allow develop-ment of improved pathways from poverty.Latino numbers are growing rapidly. Ifschooling, relevant skills, and better jobsare more available, the abilities of allLatinos will be strengthened to rise abovepoverty and to contribute to futuregenerations.

THE challengefor a Latino pathwayThe challenge before us is NOT that Latinoswill be a growing presence in the workforce.Rather, the challenge is. will Latinos beable to do the kind ofjohs the United Statesneeds most, and will they have the oppor-tunity to prepare for the future?

Because the next generation of Ameri-can workers will include so many moreLatinos, it will inevitably include a dispro-

2 1

portionate number of poor Latinos, highschool drop-outs. even functionally illiter-ate men and women. Between now and2000. nearly one out of three of the newworkforce entrants will come from single-parent homes. Two out of five Latinos willhave grown up in families below the pov-erty line. According to the Children's De-fense Fund, poor youths are almost threetimes more likely to drop out of high schoolthan their peers who are not poor.

When we look at today's poorestLatinos. particularly in the so-calledunderclass in our communities, we mustask ourselves some questions.

Do early lives of Latino children laythe groundwork for a future with an ever-higher premium on education and techni-cal know-how?

How and where will low income chil-dren develop the necessary skills and atti-tudes to take advantage of the dynamicforces of the economy?

Will Latino youth have positive, rein-forcing social capital and healthy environ-ments to enhance their capabilities andambitions for a global, competitive world?

Americans in general should respond tothe particular needs ot' U.S. Latinos andshould work swiftly and positively towardimproved conditions. If a pathway is notestablished soon to prepare Latinos as fu-ture workers for and contributors toAmerica, the country's future prospectswill be dim.

Basics for addressingLatino povertyTo effectively address Latino poverty, it isessential that the following four prominentissues be thoroughly understood.

Heterogeneity and identityLatinos are very distinct from populationsof African. Asian. and Native-Americans.Since the advent of Affirmative Actionprograms. the federal government has pre-vailed with the blanket concept of "His-panics," i.e. people who self-proclaim theirorigin or heritage as coming from the LatinAmerican region originally colonized bySpain and Portugal. As such, Latinos con-stitute a diverse collection of national andracial origin stemming from Mexico. Cen-tral and South America. and Spanish lan-guage nations of the Caribbean.

Non-Latinos tend to lump Latinos intobroad-based programs for "Hispanics" andfail to treat serious conditions of povertyamong significant Latino sub-groups, suchas Chicanos or Central American refugees,who experience more poverty on averagethan, for example. Cuban Americans orimmigrants from South America. Lump-ing all Latinos as Hispanic misses impor-tant sub-cultural traits. Latinos, for ex-ample, include mixed blood African de-scendants whose ancestors were slaves onthe sugar plantations of Puerto Rico, Cuba,and the Dominican Republic; descendantsof Spaniards whose families intermarriedwith American Indians; Chinese descen-dants whose forebears went to Cuba andCentral America as contract laborers; andfull blooded Native American Latinos, sus-:has the Mixtecos of Mexico who speak Spanish as a second language. Ethnic and cultural differences affect the way Latinosview social programs.

The Latino population also differs interms of historical incorporation into theUnited States. Some Latinos' heritage datesback several generations, preceding theTreaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848. whenmost of the southwest belonged to Mexico.Other Latinos trace their family' s arrival inthe United States to the post-Mexican Revo-lution, to the beginning of the 20th Centurywhen many entered this country to takejobs in mining. agriculture, and railroadconstruction. Many rural Hispanics tracetheir U.S. roots to post World War 11 andthe recruitment programs of U.S. farmersfor labor. Today. there are many first gen-eration Hispanics (i.e. foreign born) whoare recent immigrants. Various legaciescreate characteristic differences and eachgroup attaches distinct values to their per-sonal identification as American. Thesedifferences in heritage help to explain whyLatinos prefer to be called variously aseither Mexican-American, mejicano,Chicano. Cuban-American. cubano.salvadoreno. raza. etc.

Diversity of heritage, however, doesnot necessarily preclude common experi-ences of poverty. Although Latinos are notall alike and do not comprise a single,nonolithic community in the United States,

there are many situations when Latinosrally together. The presence of Spanishlanguage materials, bilingual programs.

and Spanish heritage music, arts, etc.. cangenerate a Latino call to a common cause.Other factors for unification are issues offamily (familia). immigration, work ethicand coma anity (la comunidad). The fol-lowing b sic traits offer a clearer under-standing of how these factors generate theLatino identity.

Family values an .1 structuresA recent book (Whr Prospers: How Cul-tural Values Shape Economic and Politi-cal Success by Lawrence E. Harrison, aformer U.S. official in Central America,Basic Books. 1992) notes that while strongHispanic family values lead to what isperhaps the world's most humane treat-ment of the aged by subsequent genera-tions. "The radius of trust and confidence01r

IN TERMS OF THE COUNTRY'S

FUTURE, A STRONG NATIONAL

ECONOMY MAY DEPEND

ON A STRONG, THRIVING

IATINO COMMUNITY.AM1111

ends with the family, and that means thatthe sense of community ends with thefamily. It leads to nepotism, corruption."Obviously we do not agree with this blan-ket description of Latino families. Under-standing the heterogeneity of the Latinopopulation should lead readers to discountHarrison's depiction.

Nonetheless, psychologists, social sci-entists, and some anthropologists ascribeto Latinos various shades of adherence tocertain family values. The traits most com-monly attributed to Latinos. as comparedto non-Latino whites, are: (a) allocentrisni,group-orientation. less individualism andcompetitiveness; (b) sympathetic. conge-nial. relatively respectful of the needs andbehaviors of others; ( c ) familistic. showinga relatively strong attachment to and soli-darity among extended families; and (d )social closeness, enjoyment of personalassociations and close distance in conver-sation.

In addition to these traits, we would adda unique form of trust, or confianza. thatLatinos experience between themselves

0

and with regard to non-Latinos. To a cer-tain degree Latinos are "cooperative sol-diers" joining common causes like marchesfor the United Farmworkers or protestsagainst discrimination. This sense of trustor cooperation, however, is not alwaysunderstood or appreciated by non-Latinowhites, so when a thin line of trust is brokenbetween Latinos and non-Latinos, oftensuspicion and non-cooperation results. Alie or a sense of distrust can destroy com-mitment and interest among Latinos whowork with non-Latino groups. Althoughthe degree of cooperation, or confianza.may vary widely among Hispanics them-selves, the knowledge that such feelingsexist in general should be factored intoanti-poverty work with Latino poor.

Anti-poverty campaigns tend to focusexclusively on female-headed households,assuming that they constitute the core ofpersistent poor. To be sure, the poverty rateamong Latino female-headed householdsis critical. Almost 50 percent are poor. Thenumber of female heads of household inpoverty among Latinos increased morethan among non-Latinos. However, thelargest share of the increase iu Latino pov-erty can be attributed to married couples.The poverty rate of families of Latinomarried couples was 18.5 percent in 1992.six percentage points higher than in 1979.Moreover. Latino married couples ac-counted for 49 percent of the total increasein the number of poor Latino families dur-ing the 1980s. increasing in number from298.000 impoverished couples in I 979.10680.000 in 1992.

It is important to remember that Latinopoor are found in all types of households.single female as well as married couple.When it comes to addressing Latino pov-erty in general. whole families can be verypoor and just as needy as the female-headedLatina households.

immigrant statusTo work effectively with Latino poor is tounderstand how immigration and immigrant status are associated with Latino con-ditions. Immigrant status and questions ofimmigration are sensitive matters, callingtor an informed understanding of civil rightsand protective labor laws.

Only a fraction of Latinos. albeit a sig-nificant fraction, are directly affected by


For more than a decade,three of every ten Latinos has been poor.

immigrant status. That is, 36 percent of all-Latinos were born outside the United Statesor its territories. Two-thirds, the majority,are native born or U.S. citizens by right ofbirth. Of the 25 million Hispanics in theUnited States today, only about nine mil-lion are foreign born. Of these, approxi-mately 30 percent of the forehm born arenaturalized U.S. citizens. When we talkabout Latinos as an immigrant population.we should not lose sight of the fact thatabout 18.7 million Latinos (75 percent ) ofthe total 25 million, are U.S. citizens. More-over, of the foreign born population ofLatinos who are not yet naturalized citi-zens, the overwhelming majority are leitalresidents, living and working in the UnitedStates as legitimate taxpayers.

Mexican Americans. the largest ifroupof Latinos, currently bear the brunt of im-migrant bashing in California. Only about33 percent (out of 14 million) were born inMexico: the rest, or 67 percent, were bornin the United States.

No wonder that attacks on Mexicanimmigrants in general, and related mea-sures for English-only documents, are ral-lying cries for most Latinos. Attempts toforce assimilation on Latinos are being metwith resistance. Instead of backing downto California's Proposition 187, for ex-ample. Latinos are registering to vote inrecord numbers, applying for U.S. citizen-ship, and reinforcing their interests in i-

lingual education, multieulturalism, reformof school curriculum. etc. The resistancedoes not include, however, resistance tolearning English or to working hard in theAmeriean economy. As highlighted inLatino Voices, a recent book by Latinoscholars ( Westview Press 1992) Latinosprefer reading and watching news in theEnglish media.

The driving force behind the increase ofthe Latino population is immigration. Infact, the Latino foreign-born populationgrew by 84 percent between 1980 and1990. while the native population of Latinosgrew by 31 percent. And 50 percent of theMexican foreign born came to the U.S.between 1980 and 1990. Immigration flomother parts of Latin America also reachednew highs during the 1980s. In short, im-migration is a growing phenomenon, evenamong Latinos. The connection to Latinopoverty is simply that recent immigrants

22 Western Wire I 111995

earn less and have higher jobless rates thando earlier, postwar immigrants and U.S.natives. Educational attainment and En-glish fluency are important factors to thesuccess of Latinos in the labor market.

In this decade. Latino poverty cannot beseparated from immigrant status becausemany foreign born Latinos are recent arriv-als who carry the burden of under- andunemployment, limited education, and in-adequate proficiency in the English Ian-image. But it is a mistake to say that Latinopoverty is due to immigrants and illegalaliens alone, when it is clear that the over-whelming majority of domestic Latinosare U.S. citizens who are also experiencingunder- and unemployment as well as lim-ited human capital development.

Work ethic andlabor force participationNo government account can claim thatLatinos are lazy or inactive workers. Onthe contrary, with few exceptions, Latinosare the most active participants in theAmerican labor market, beginning employ-ment at an early age and working well intothe usual years of retirement.

While studies of labor force participa-tion show a general trend toward decliningrates of people at work or looking for work,Latino men, especially Mexican men, con-sistently present a higher rate of labor forceparticipation than the non-Latino popula-tion in general. Unfortunately, Latinos alsospend a great deal of time unemployed andlooking for work, due in part to the precari-ous nature of their employment in indus-tries which provide few worker protec-tions or fringe benefits of employment andhealth insurance. Consequently, the me-dian earnings for Latino males who workfull-time year-round, have been less thanthat for non-Latino white males.

In 1991. the median earnings of His-panic males ($20,054) was about 63 per-cent that of non-Latino white males(S31.765). while the median earnings ofHispanic females ($17.124.) was about 78percent that of non-Latino females( S21.9301.

Several factors may account for someof these trends and differences. First, thereare the individual characteristics that work-ers bring with them to the labor market.such as education, English language profi-

oe

ciency, and work experience. Second, thereare the characteristics of the labor marketswithin which workers must function. Third,there are differences in how workers aretreated/hired by employers, referring to thetraditional discrimination against Latinosbased on skin color, nationality or immi-grant status. Such factors, of course. shouldbe considered in anti-poverty campaigns.

These factors reflect two conflictingcharacteristics of Latinos. Latinos workhard but do not earn enough to escapepoverty. Latinos are concentrated in low-wage jobs with few fringe benefits or op-portunities for employment security andupward mobility. In either case. Latinoworkers do not receive recognition for thework they do or adequate attention to theirwork-related poverty.

A necessary agendaA successful agenda for alleviating Latinopoverty must reflect experience and in-sights from virtually everyonefrom pub-lic officials and private citizens, from gov-ernment, business, and non-profit institu-tions, and particularly from scholars andprofessionals. The agenda must increaseeducational opportunities for Latinos andupgrade skills, improve worker productiv-ity, social capital. health. and income ofLatinos. The agenda must give strategicimportance to ethnic and cultural dimen-sions. The problems Latinos face must beaddressed from a variety of angles.

High school graduation ratesLatino schooling from K-12 and high schoolgraduation rates have recently improved,but drop-out percentages remainappallingly high, particularly in inner-cityschool systems and rural areas. After yearsof concerted effort to improve completionrates, a large gap remains between theLatino rate of high school completion andthe white rate. The black rate of high schoolgraduation is higher than that of Latinos.

In low income school districts, Latinostudents receive an inadequate basic edu-cation. including limited instruction in lan-guage. mathematics, and science. 1_,MN in-come districts are less equipped to meetbasic student needs. Often the scho( s areunable to teach English language to Sp in-ish speaking students. These difficultiesmust be considered in a pathway forchange.

23

EN.

Ari

4.

End of long day picking themes, labor camp. Yakima. Washington. Photo 0 Ken Light.

Teenage full employmentTeenage unemployment is a crippling prob-lem for Latinos,especially in the cities andrural areas, where the shortage of after-school, weekend and summer jobs sus-tains the poverty cycle of the so-calledunderclass. Joblessness prevents youngLatinos from contributing to their familyincome and from setting aside money forother purposes, such as future schooling.

Idle teenagers may come to see theunderground economy. welfare depen-dency. or petty or serious crime as theironly real choices. This can be counteredby after-school and summer jobs that helpteenagers contribute to family support.build good work habits. and that provideon-the-job training. Likewise, financialawards to students who show considerable

academic promise must becontinued. Link-ing future awards and job opportunitieswith staying in and graduating from highschool is a promising way to reduce thedrop-out rate for Latinos. It is certainly away to develop the educational pipelinefor Latinos who want to enter highereducation. but who lack the income forschooling.

To that end, the "pathway" agendashould pursue ways to expand studentexperience and incomes byassisting Latinoyouth with scholarships and/or entry-leveljobs, work-study, and internships. Withrelatively decent work experience and in-come. associated schooling could be theincentive for the economically disadvan-taged Latino to prepare for the future. Inthe process, higher education would pro-

?4

40e

vide Latinos with better employmentopportunities in the changingeconomy.College attendance andprofessional developmentCollege attendance rates are lowest forHispanic-Americans. Nationally, fewerthan five percent of Hispanics attend col-lege, and most of those are in two-yearschools. The Hispanic Association of Col-leges and Universities (HACU) estimatesthat its membership of 120 campuses (outof 3,500 in the United States) enrolls 50percent of all Hispanic college students.HACU's membership consists primarilyof schools with more than a 25 percentLatino enrollment. In other words. Latinosare concentrated in a few places. mostly incommunity colleges.


Once in college, staying there can besv en tougher for Latino students, who areonly half as likely as white non-Latinos tofinish college. Up to half leave as freshmenor sophomores; the loss continues after-ward at a somewhat slower rate. Too manydo not transfer from community collegesto four year colleges and universities. Toomany stop schooling with only limitedvocational training and options for work.

Colleges, universities, and professionalschools shapeAmerica' s future profession-als, leaders, and role models and have aresponsibility to strengthen their efforts toincrease Latino recruitment, retention, andgraduation. State legislators must demandmore cooperation between K-12 and uni-versity educators to improve the trainingand preparation of Latino students.

Private and voluntaryorganizationsBecause government initiatives fall shortof reaching the poor. private and voluntaryorganizations must join the cause of anti-poverty. Where such programs exist, theymust be extended to Latinos.

If organizations can generate millionsof dollars for buildings, equipment, art,etc. can't programs for Latino poor begenerated? Nearly all fund raising pro-grams of universities avoid campaigns forLatinos. Worse yet. on hardly any cam-puses are Latinos in charge of workingwith private and voluntary organizations.Legislators should look into this situation.

Corporate andexecutive leadershipU.S. corporations. administrations, and bigbusinesses have, with few exceptions. beenless than successful in bringing Latinosinto executive and policymaking roles.Looked at another way. CEOs have beenmost successful in patenting unbreakableglass ceilings against Latinos. There at c. ofcourse, some firms and administrators withstrong affirmative action records for entry-level and middle management. Even there,however. Latino administrators are underrepresented. Any company or administra-tion that eschews Latino leadership will beat risk a a society where one-third ofconsumers and workers will soon be non-white, and where up to one-third of all newworkers will he black. Latino. or Asian.

24 Westein Wite Fall 1995

Individual leadershipGradualiy. but too slowly. Latinos are oc-cupying positions of influence and leader-ship in government, business, andacademia. Leadership brings with it theadded responsibility of setting an example.It is a responsibility none of us can ignore.We must identify and motivate the gifted topursue higher education and leadershiproles. Developing future leaders is an areawhich must always be improved. Latinoprofessionals (especially professors I shouldhe encouraged by their supervisors to de-velop leadership. and maybe political skills.Without such leadership, our agendas willnot be heard.

Two possibilitiesThe current situation of impoverishedLatinos translates broadly into two pos-sible scenarios: one bad, one good. Theworst case scenario could be catastrophicnot only for Latinos, but for the country asa whole.

In this scenario, the nation is caughtunprepared by the major changes in theworkforce and the international economy.Government, academic, and corporate ef-forts to respond remain isolated and inad-equate. in effect, placing band aids overgaping wounds. As the wounds go un-treated, infection sets in, and the patientslowly deteriorates until there is no hope.

In real life, those wounds take the formof desperate family lives, crumbling schoolsystems. soaring dropout rates, unemploy-ment, crime, and drug addiction. The in-fections are endemic hopelessness and vio-lence. despair and desolation. For many,all hope truly is lost. If the unskilled are nottrained, if steps are not taken to raise theabilities of growing numbers of today'syouth. we can expect the following conse-quences.

Business and industry will lackprepared workers in key industriesand regions.It may he necessary to employimmigrants with the appropriateskills, even if many U.S. workersremain idle or unemployed.The nation's in iernational con ipeti-five position may deteriorate.resulting in a multiplier effect.Larger numbers of under-employed,

low-paid workers will also affectconsumer markets, local businesses,retailers, and providers of goods andservices. Again, jobs will beaffected.Lower incomes and greater povertywill add burdens to the public sector.The Social Security system will heplaced at greater risk.Finally, we car. expect more socialand political tensions or morepassivity and reduced moral spirit.as witnessed today in EasternEurope.

Leaders of the United States must real-ize that, as disastrous as it sounds, theworst case scenario could be the terrifyingreality in the years ahead.

But there is another scenario, one ofpromise. hope, and true opportunity. Itdoes not take a great deal of imagination torealize that if Latinos wilt account formuch of the growth in the workforce, theywill have a great opportunity to move ahead.As this scenario unfolds, leaders recognizethat technological and demographicchanges have created the absolute neces-sity to bring Latinos and other minoritiesinto the mainstream of the U.S. workforce.

Latinos are brought into higher educa-tion in greater numbers and achieve a keensense of participation in the developmentof America. Latino youth are instilled witha sense of competence and ability and aremotivated to develop the skills to rise suc-cessfully to the challenges of internationalcompetition.

In this scenario, higher education re-sponds to every rung of the educationladder, to the employment needs of Latinos,and to the forces driving society. Highereducation also manifests a clear commit-ment to individual students. to our diversesociety, and to curiosity. creativity, andculture.

During these troubling times of fiscalpressure. a great deal of imagination andleadership is required to develop andimplement an agenda that will make thesecond scenario a reality. The challenge isto create a blueprint for investing in youthand in higher education. The legislaturealone cannot implement such an agenda.Too much is at stake in the economy. Allsectors must he involved to make thisagenda a reality.J

s marriagethe solution?

The single-parent familyand welfare reformby Janet M. Fitchen, deceasedAssociate Professor and Chair, Department ofAnthropologyIthaca CollegeProfessor Fiwhen was a Center Associate with the Western Rural Development Center under the auspices of the National Rural StudiesCommittee in 1992-93. This article originally appeared as Vol. 3, No. 1, of Community

Development: Research Briefs and Case Studiespublished by Cornell Community and Rural Development Institute in January 1995.

Poverty and single-parent familiesOver one-fifth of the nation's children are living in poverty, butrecent public and political dialogue has focused less on thepoverty than on the cost of providing welfare for those children.The Clinton administra.:cm vowed to "end welfareas we know it.-and the debate over how to reform the welfare system has heatedup since the 1994 elections. Many proposals center on the issue ofsingle-parenthood. Marriage-based welfare reform is attractivebecause of its common sense appeal: two earners are better than

one: two parents arebetter than one. Butit overlooks the corn-plc ;ties of stuctureark. mily dynam-ics, and oversimpli-fies the relationshipbetween single-parenting and pov-erty.

I do not intend todownplay the risksfor children growingup in low-incomefamilies with onlyone parent. nor theeconomic and socialcosts society bearsfor these children.Rather, my purposeis to ask policy-rel-evant questions con-cerning the core con-cept underlying mar-riage-based welfare

4

Janet Fitehen studied rural poveny in thewestern region during her tenure asCenter Associate of the National RuralStudies Committee.

reform: What is tne single parent family? Would single-parentfamilies no longer need public assistance if their female headswere to tnarry the fathers of their children?Research amongrural low income familiesSingle parenthood is still less common among therural poor thanthe urban poor. but it has become increasingly common, charac-terizing 39 percent of rural poor households with children in1987. Poverty analysts have found that rural single-parent fami-lies face a triple poverty risk: they are more likely than metropoli-tan single parent families to be poor. to be in deep poverty, and tostay poor for a longer time.

The study areaUpstate New York. though neither the most isolated nor thepoorest of rural areas. provides a useful research site for consid-ering the appropriateness of various welfare-reform strategies.Between 1990 and 1992 I conducted field research among low-income families in the same upstate rural communities where Ihad previously explored poverty and other rural issues. Thisextensive field research included an exploratory examination ofsingle-parent families.

MethodologyI began by reviewing written records of schools, welfare depart-ments. community action agencies. and other publ c and privatesocial agencies. then followed with interviews and focus groupsessions with their staffs. These practitioners referred me to locallow-income families with whom I conducted focus group ses-sions and 20 unstructured in-depth interviews.

On the basis of this research. I designed a detailed question-naire on residential and household history that was used in


child support will be forthcoming onlyif the father has an adequate income

interviews with 40 additional low-income...mothers. Analysis of the histories.

supported and augmented by the otherinterviews and by institutional data, raisessome questions about the commonconceptualization of single parenthood andthe policy thrust to reduce welfare rolls byfocusing on "the single-parent family.-

Synopsis of findingsNo overall aversionto marriageOut of the questionnaire sample. fully one-fourth (ten women) were married and liv-ing with husbands at the time of interview.Of the 30 who weren't, 70 percent (21women) had already been married, buttheir marriages had not worked out. Thus.over three-fourths of the sample (31 of the40) had at least given marriage a try.

Similarities between single-parent and two-parent familiesPersonal and economic characteristics ofmarried and single women in the sampleare surprisingly similar. The women weresimilarly distributed across the age rangeof 17 to 44; average age at birth of the firstchild was 19; and they had approximatelythe same number of children: 2.4 childrenper single mother as compared to 2.2 permarried mother.

The ten women who were married none-theless reported household incomes nearor below the poverty line (a criterion forinclusion in the study). Significantly, ineach case the woman was the primaryearner in her family since the husbandlacked stable or adequately paid employ-ment. At least two of the husbands were riotemploy ed due to disabilities, a few were inpart-time or seasonal work, two were low-paid farm laborers, and two were self-employed in marginal or occasional work.In these cases, the determining factor infamily poverty was clearly not singleparenting, hut low and unsteady earninrcapacity of husbands.

Differences amongsingle-parent familiesA close look at the 30 cases in the samplethat would usually be classified as "single-parent families- reveals significant varia-tion, primarily on the basis of age and


marital history. In age, the women rangedfrom 17 to 43, half of them 26 and younger,half 27 and oldel . In marital history, nine ofthe women had never been married and 21were separated or divorced. Cross-tabulat-ing age and marital variables sorts thesehouseholds into four distinct groups, andsuggests that a menu of different ameliora-tive stratecies would be needed to reducetheir reliance on public assistance.Group I: Young and never married

(n = 5)Strategies: Integrated case management

to build personal maturity,effective parenting andworkplace preparation.

These women became mothers betweenage 17 and 21, are currently between 17

and 23. and have not yet married. Indi-vidual and group interviews revealed that aparamount interest in their lives is theirrelationship with men; but accompanyinglife-history materials suggest that the rela-tionships they form tend to be unsatisfac-tory, unstable, and short-lived.

Policy initiatives to entice these womeninto marrying their current boyfriends as arequirement for maintaining welfare ben-efits or obtaining benefits for their nextchild would be unwise. Rather than en-couraging dependence on a man as a routeoff of welfare, an integrated case manage-ment approach is needed that will focus onbuilding personal maturity, effectiveparenting, and workplace preparation toreduce the risk of long-term welfare de-pendency.Group II: Young and separated or

divorced (n = 10)Strategies: Personal ar,d parenting

development, child supportfrom fathers, education andemployment training.

The women of this group married young.either before or soon after having their firstchild, and are still in their early- and mid-20s (21 to 26). Several now have, andothers are seeking, a replacement partner,though not necessarily a husband. Three ofthese 10 women have children by othermen than their former husbands, in addi-tion to one or more children from themarriage. As one might expect, thesewomen voice skepticism about the ben-efits marriage would bring for themselvesand their children. Several appear to lack

self-esteem and a sense of direction, andmay not yet be ready to sustain lastingrelationships with partners.

Appropriate intervention strategies forthese women, as for those of Group !,might include personal and parenting de-velopment combined with greater childsupport from the children's father( s). Edu-cation and employment training can bequite effective for these women althoughthey will continue to need partial welfareassistance until they can obtain an ad-equate income on their own.Group HI: Older and never married

(n = 4)Strategies: Training for employment

which utilized nurturingtendencies.

These women, ages 27 to 35, represent aninteresting and quite distinct situation. Theyhave lived with a series of men, and havehad sufficiently difficult partner experi-ences, or have observed such negativemarriage experiences among friends andrelatives, that they vow never to get mar-ried. They may still be attracted and attrac-tive to men and may bear the children of aseries of partners. They tend to see theirmain role in life as mother; and they appearto be warm, competent mothers, extendingthis role to the children of relatives orneighbors, or to foster children.

For these women, training and certifi-cation for employment that utilizes theirnurturing tendencies, such as home day-care, para-professional classroom assis-tant, or care of the sick or elderly, would bemore appropriate than marriage incentives.Group IV: Older and separated or

divorced (n = I I )Strategies: Assistance to minimize

duration of poverty, such asNew York' s Child Assis-tance Program.

The women in this group, like those inGroup II, had been married but they be-came single later in life and are currentlybetween 29 and 43. A few had only becomepoor after separation or divorce. Most viewtheir extrication from a bad marriage, usu-ally after several attempts, as a very posi-tive change in their lives, stating emphati-cally that leaving the marriage was the bestthing that ever happened to them and theirchildren, even if it threw them into ordeeper into poverty, because it freed them

from a husband who had been violent,alcoholic, or unable to keep a job.

Over half of these women subsequentlywent back to school, earned a GED or anassociate degree from a community col-lege, or took job training to upgrade theiremployment options. Theirlong-term pros-pects, with or without eventual marriage,appear strong, and would be enhanced bytimely and adequate assistance to mini-mize the duration of their poverty and tocushion its effects on their children.

An innovative New York "alternativeto welfare" program being piloted in se-lected counties may be particularly appro-priate for this group ofwomen. In the Child

Assistance Program, the mothercan retaina larger share of her paycheck from em-ployment while still receiving assistance:food stamp benefits are cashed out, paper-work and casework are streamlined, andthe client has greateropportunity to makeher own decisionsas well as to take respon-sibility for their consequences.

From flawed "explanation"to illusory "cure"

Misdiagnosed problems and concep-tual muddles may lead to inappropriate orineffective policy responses. Though thesample described here is a small one, thein-depth nature of field researchcorn-

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Brenda with irr father, Alpine, Oregon. Photo 0 James Cloutier

?8

bined with my extensive study of ruralfamilies and the weight ofother studiessuggests that we should question the wis-dom of marriage-based welfare reform.

If single-parenthood is not a monolithic,undifferentiated phenomenon. and single-parent families are actually quitediverse, itis doubtful that marriage would be appro-priate for all or effective in moving allfamilies off welfare.

Policy recommendationsReducing birthratesamong single womenAs many analysts have suggested, welfarepolicy should focus less on increasing themarriage rate of single mothers and moreon reducing the birth rate among womenwho have not yet married, especially ado-lescents. However, popular proposals todeny public assistance forchildren bom tonon-mg, -led mothers on welfare and tomothers under age 18 would be more puni-tive than preventive in their effect. Reduc-ing pregnancies among unmarried teensrequires a long-range effort that would becomprehensive, intensive, and expensi vebut in the long run far more effective.

Marriage may not end povertyBefore enticing women on AFDC to marrythe fathers of theirchildren. it is essential toknow whether the men they might marrywould actually bring about an economi-cally uplifting effect. As several povertyscholars have pointed out, the critical ques-tions are: Who are the men in the marriagepool, and what are their economic pros-pects? A look at the 30 "single" mothers inthis sample indicates that marriage to thecurrent men in their livcs would not likelylead them off welfare or out of poverty.This doubt is confirmed by looking at theeconomic situation of the 10 marriedwomen in the sample. each of whom wasserving as her family'sprimary earner. Fora woman receiving AFDC to marry aninadequate earner may bring rather mini-mal economic improvement to the house-hold. The policy implication of this is thatlow and unsteady earning capacity of Int nmust also be addressedbefore urgingmore marriages.


Child support_requires jobs for men

Full and regular payment of child supportwould lift many children off of welfare andabove the poverty lineeven if not a singlemarriage took place. However, despite courtorders and national legislation. child sup-port will be forthcoming only if the fatherhas an adequate income: and so again, it isessential to raise the ability of men toobtain and keep good jobs.

Marriage can create problemsHousehold income should not be the onlycriterion for assessing children's well-be-ing. Even in cases where marriage to thechild's father would lift a woman off wel-fare. it would not improve the child's well-being if it leads to abuse and violence.Reducing welfare rolls by urging womento marry absent fathers of their childrencould be inappropriate or harmful.

Extended families arean overlooked resourcePolicy emphasis on the number of residentparents derives from a nuclear familymodel, and totally overlooks the extendedfamily from which many single womenderive housing, financial and social sup-port, and child care. It also denies ethnicdiversity in family patterns. Rather thanignoring the extended family, welfare re-form should encourage and strengthen thesupport single mothers and their childrenmay be able to derive from extended fam-ily networks.

Looking beyond marriageFocusing on marriage as a way to reducewelfare rolls perpetuates a model of indi-vidual or family deficit, and entirely missessystemic economic, racial-ethnic, andlocational factors that contribute to thearowing need for public assistance. Espe-cially in rural areas, weak employmentopportunities may contribute more than"weak family values" to rising welfarerolls.

Addressing rural needsBecause of weak economies, single-parentfamilies living in rural areas are even morelikely to be poor than comparable urban( metropolitan ) families. The relevant ques-tion, then. is: What can be done in rural


Conceptual issuesCritique of the single-parent family as a category of analysis

On the basis of these household histories and additional individual and groupinterviews, I suggest that the widely accepted paradigm of "the single-parentfamily" and the classification of families as either "two-parent" or "single-parent" has four policy-relevant shortcomings.I . It sets up a misleading contrast between the two opposed categories. This

exaggerates differences between poor households with unmarried mothers andthose with married mothers.

2. It implies a uniformity among families within each cateaory. This glosses oversi2nificant differences among sinule-parent families in terms of family situa-tion and household structure.

3. It lacks a temporal dimension. In so doing. it fails to capture the dynamicnature of family composition and partnering relationships over time as house-holds slide back and forth between having a single-parent. two resident parents,or one parent and a non-marital partner.

4. It lacks a qualitative dimension. As a result, both the weakness of many two-parent hOmes and the stability and strength of some non-marital partnerrelationships are obscured. and the quality of relationships children have with amother's non-marital live-in partner is ignored.

These conceptual problems have real-life consequences. Program eligibility isoften limited to single parents, but it is difficult to decide if an applicant is"single," for example, in the common case of women on AFDC still legallymarried but no longer living with their husbands, or women living with a long-term non-marital partner. Many families do not fit the overly simplistic classifica-tion system, and the categories fail to reflect real-life complexities.

economies to level the playing field so thatrural single mothers are no more jeopar-dized than their urban counterparts? To liftrural women and their children from pov-erty, a more promising strategy than mar-riage incentives already exists in the manylocal comprehensive employment trainingprograms and in new, broad-based educa-tional opportunities for women on welfare.Ultimately, though, keeping single moth-ers and their children out of poverty re-quires strengthening the economy so thatadequate jobs are available for women andfor men. reducing the gender-based earn-ings gap, and providing more opportuni-ties for advancement above starting wagelevels.

Most scholars, policy-makers, and prac-titioners agree that some form of publicassistance will continue to be necessary.and that the present system needs change;but beyond that, there is little consensus.On all sides, however, it must he recoynized that a pro-marriage policy, or anyother welfare reform. is no substitute for ananti-poverty policy.j

29

ReferencesFitchen. Janet M. 1991. Endangered Spaces.

Enduring Places: Change, Identity andSurvival in Rural America. Boulder. CO:Westview Press.

Lichter. Daniel T. and David J. Eggebeen.1991. "Children Among the Rural Poor.1960-1990." Paper presented at the annualmeetings of the rural Sociological Society,Columbus. OH, August 1991.

Lichter, Daniel T.. Felicia B. LeClere, andDiane K. McLaughlin. 1991. "LocalMarriage Markets and the MaritalBehavior of Black and White Women."American Journal of Sociology 16:843-867.

Ross. Peggy J. and Elizabeth S. Morrissey.1989. "Rural People in Poverty: PersistentVersus Temporary Poverty." In Proceed-ings of National Rural Studies Committee.pp. 59-73. Corvallis. OR: Western RuralDevelopment Center.

The research repined here was supported bythe Ford Foundation through the AspenInstitute's Rural Economic Policy Program.

Employment hardshipand rural minorities

by Leif JensenDepartment of Agricultural Economicsand Rural SociologyThe Pennsylvania State UniversityThis article is excerpted from an article of the same title which appeared in a special issue ofThe Review of Black Political Economy, Spring 1994, pp 125-144.

When people think about the eco-nomic difficulties besettingracial and ethnic minorities in

the United States, they often visualize theplight of the ghetto poor in America's innercities. Recent research and media interestin the so-called urban underclass has onlyintensified this image and highlighted theunmistakable links between race, class andpoverty in urban America. It may come asa surprise that in many ways minorities inrural areas of the United States are at agreater economic disadvantage than theircounterparts in urban areas.

Figure 1 shows the percent of Ameri-cans with incomes below the official pov-erty threshold. It is based on data from the1990 Current Population Survey (CPS)

conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Cen-sus. The first set of four bars shows povertyrates for (1) all individuals, (2) peopleliving outside metropolitan (metro) coun-ties, (3) people living inside metro coun-ties, and (4) that subset of metio residentsliving within central cities. Together, theytell a story familiar to many. Thenonmetropolitan poverty rate (15.9%) ismuch higher than that for all metro areas(12.1%), but is not as high as that amongcentral city residents (18.7%).

The other sets of bars indicate povertyrates separately for five basic race/ethnicgroups: whites. African Americans, His-panics, Native Americans, and all otherscombined (mostly Asian). Glancing acrossthis graph also reveals another familiar

story. The poverty ratesamong African Ameri-Figure 1. Poverty rates for individuals by race/ethnicity and

residenc . 1989.

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cans (30.8%), Hispanics(26.3%), and NativeAmericans (22.9%) farexceed that for non-His-panic whites (8.4%). Per-haps surprising, however.is that when these keyrace and ethnic groups areconsidered separately,poverty rates are appre-ciably higher in nonmetroareas than in central cit-ies. For example, the pov-city rate for nonnietroblacks is 40.0 percent( two out of every fivenonnietro blacks live be-low the poverty line),

which compares to "only" 33.2 percentamong central city blacks. In short, ruralNative Americans. African Americans, andLatin Americans perennially.rank amongthe poorest of the poor. a fact that povertyresearchers and policy makers oftenneglect.

What is employment hardship?Economic deprivation in the United Statesis due largely to employment hardship ofone sort or another. Employment hardshipis defined by both job quality and access toemployment. First, for those who are fullyemployed, earnings vary widely in responseto many factors such as occupation andlabor market conditions. In particular,workers in certain occupations are knownto have higher poverty risks than others.Second. poverty also is related to the de-gree of attachment to the labor force. Otherthings equal, those who are laid off or whoendure cutbacks in the number of hours ofwork available will experience greater dep-rivation than those employed full-time,full-year. In both respects nonmetro mi-norities are worse off than either nonmetrowhites or central city minorities.

Employment hardship greatestamong rural minoritiesNonmetro minorities are especially likelyto be sorted into what might be called"poverty prone occupations." These areoccupations whose full-time. full-yearworkers have above average poverty rates.They include such jobs as private house-hold service workers, food service work-ers. and machine operators. Overall, aboutone third of full-time workers are in theseoccupations, but within each race/ethnicgroup, the percent in poverty prone occu-pations is higher among nonmetro thancentral city workers. Nonmetro AfricanAmericans (67.7% ) and Hispanics (62.2% )are especially disadvantaged in this regard.Underomployment. One broad approach toemployment hardship concerns access toadequately paying full-time. full-year em-ployment in the first place. While the ma-jority of workers are adequately employed,some workers are said to be underem-ployed. Teamically, the underemployedinclude those out of work and activelyseeking a job (the unemployed ); those whoare out of work. would like a job. but have


the plight of the working poor is inescapably rootedin the structure of the U.S. economy

given up trying to find one (discouragedworkers): those who would like to workmore hours if their employer had the hours( involuntary part-time workers): and thosewhose full-time wages are insufficient tobring them much over the poverty thresh-old (the working poor). Underemploymentis more prevalent among minorities thanamong non-Hispanic whites, and isespecially severe among nonmetro minori-ties (even in comparison to inner cityminorities).The w(irking poor. Recent years have seenincreasing popular alarm over the workingpoor. In a country where lack of initiativeand other personal deficiencies are com-mon explanations for the existence of pov-erty. the plight of the working poor isinescapably rooted in the structure of theU.S. economy. They are poor. but it is notfor a lack of trying. Figure 2 shows rates ofworking povertythe percent of full-time.full-year workers whose income is below125 percent of the poverty line. Comparedto metro areas or their central cities, work-ing poverty is particularly prevalent innonmetro areas and is especially apparentamong nonmetro minorities.

Exp:aining the plightof rural minoritiesRural minorities have less human capita/.Human capital theory holds that the wagesworkers capture in the labor market aredetermined in part by their value to em-ployers. This value is reflected by the bundleof skillseducation, training, and workexperiencethat workers have to offer.Many studies have found a positive effectof skills on income.

According to human capital theory,wage differences between populationgroups (e.g., between African Americansand whites), should be traceable to grosshuman capital differences. Rural minori-ties do have comparatively low levels ofhuman capital. The percent of individualswho have completed high school is loweramong African Americans, Hispanics. andNative Americans than non-Hispanicwhites, and minorities in nonmetro areasare especially disadvantaged in this regard.More sophisticated analyses of povertyindicate that these lower skill levels partly,but do not completely, explain the higherpoverty rates of non-whites.


Prohletns with the human capital idea.Human capital theory can go only so far inexplaining employment hardship amongrural minorities. First, this theory does notsay much about the mechanisms that giverise to group-wide disadvantages in humancapital endowments in the first place. Sec-ond, it also does not say much about whysome groups, nonmetro women for ex-ample, get less in return for the humancapital endowments they do have. Finally,human capital theory fails to account forwhy. with human capital and other corre-lates of poverty controlled, racial and eth-nic minorities continue to have higher pov-erty rates than non-Hispanic whites. Inshort, it does not recognize the possibilitythat there are structural features of thelabor market and stratification system thatwork against people of color. Consequently.the policy recommendations that evolvetend to emphasize raising the human capi-tal of individual workers, and to ignore (ifnot council against) efforts to engineer theeconomy and society itself.Status attainment, discrimination, and thelife course. Status attainment research holdsthat an individual's socioeconomic statusin adulthood is the result of a lifelongprocess. This process begins with the cir-cumstances of birth and then operatesthrough such things as grades in school,educational and occupational aspirations,the influence of significant others on theseaspirations. educational attainment, andthe status of one's first job. Status attain-ment models have impor-tant implications for eth-nic stratification and theintergenerational persis-tence of poverty amongrural minorities. Thesemodels specify how pov-erty in childhood can actas a detriment through-out life. Research showsthat those with low statusorigins are less likely tobe encouraged or ex-pected by parents andteachers to go on to col-lege, and they are lesslikely themselves to as-pire to greater educationor occupational status.Other studies show that

there is a close association betweenchildren's perceptions of their life chancesand how meritocratic they feel society is onthe one hand, and how hard they try inschool and the stability of their post-school-ing employment on the other. Also, thereappears to be a strong association betweenbeliefs about local employment opportuni-ties, feelings of self-efficacy, level of ef-fort, and labor force attachment. The im-plication is clear. Rural minorities tend tobegin the game at an economic disadvan-tage, and tend to be at a disadvantagethroughout life for that reason.

Apart from the effects of disadvantagedcircumstances of birth, status attainmenttheory and evidence helps identify pointsin the achievement process where racialand ethnic discrimination can enter. Evi-dence suggests that minority youth face allmanner of biases, resulting in lower educa-tional attainment. With schooling com-pleted. discrimination may circumscribeemployment chances. A recent study showsthat African Americans have lower socio-economic status than whites partly be-cause, other things equal, they are morelikely to experience underemployment.Many inner city employers avoid hiringAfrican American workers fearing theymay lack good work habits, sufficient de-votion to the firm, or adequate skills. Re-cent research shows that given a choicebetween an equally qualified white andblack applicant, employers are significantlymore likely to choose the white. The result

Figure 2. Near-poerty rates among those employed full-time.full-year. 1990.

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is a checkered work history that may bemisconstrued by prospective employers asa lack of work commitment. Unemploy-ment and displacement seem to have long-term 'scarring' effects on labor marketprospects. Less research has examinedwhether and how these processes operatein rural areas.Economic segmentation: Dual labor mar-kets. Some researchers theorize that theU.S. labor market has two identifiable anddistinct sectorsprimary and secondarythat differ by the set of occupations withineach. Jobs in the primary labor market arecharacterized by high wages and job secu-rity, good benefits, and ample opportuni-ties for advancement. Conversely, second-ary labor market jobs have low wages andpoor benefits, are unstable and unskilled,and offer little chance for skill acquisitionor upward mobility (including movementinto the primary labor market). Figure 3shows that, compared to both metro work-ers generally and those in central cities,nonmetro workers are more likely to havesecondary occupations. More important,nonmetro Native, Hispanic and AfricanAmericans are particularly likely to havesecondary jobsboth in comparison towhites and to their counterparts in moreurban places. Those in secondary occupa-tions are more than twice as likely to bepoor than those in the primary sector ( 1 1.6%vs. 4.4%. respectively).Factors affecting demand for labor: Un-even development. As the above data on

underemployment attest. racial and ethnicminorities have more limited access towell-paying work. Even in the best of cir-cumstances, employment generation innonmetro areas is problematic, especiallyif the goal is well-paying jobs. To attractnew industries, nonmetro communitiescompete with one another and must offerincentivessuch as tax breaks or infra-structure developmentthat can put thecommunities at risk. Once an enterprisemoves in, the new jobs, particularly sala-ried positions, may not go to local residents.

At a theoretical level, there is reason tobelieve rural places with high minorityconcentrations may be particularly disad-vantaged in their efforts to generate ormaintain local employment, in all likeli-hood they would have lower levels of bothinvestment and human capital and wouldtherefore have a harder time attracting neweconomic enterprises or retaining existingones. They may also have poor communityservices, infi-astructure and other ameni-ties in demand by firms. Regardless ofeconomic concerns, some firms may pre-fer to avoid locating in areas of high minor-ity concentration altogether. If true, thisscenario wouid lead to highly uneven pat-terns of economic development acrossspacepatterns that are stratified alongracial and ethnic lines. Research showsthat recent industrial restructuring in thesouthern United States typically resultedin employment gains in predominantlywhite counties, and employment losses in

black counties.

Research & policyimplicationsRural racial and ethnicminorities are among thepoorest of all Americans.To the extent that the na-tion feels this is a prob-lem that deserves atten-tion, government policieswill need to be compre-hensive and multifaceted.First, because rural mi-norities suffer dispropor-tionate employment hard-ship, they have more togain from generic poli-cies to help thc low-in-come worker. The mini-

Figure 3. Percent whose current or longest held occupationis in the lower tier of the secondary labor market

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mum wage, for example, should be raisedto the point where full-time, full-year work-ers earn at least poverty-level wages. Sothat this is not a one-time fix, the minimumwage should also be indexed to inflation.By reducing their tax liability, an increasein the Earned Income Tax Credit also wouldput more money in the pockets of workers.In addition to the obvious and immediatebenefits to the working poor, these mea-sures could heighten aspirations and schoolachievement by providing realistic hopefor all future workers.

Labor supply policies seek to get peopleworking by raising human capital andbreaking down barriers to employment. Tohelp rural minorities, policies need to ad-dress the special problems that arise fromrural residence and minority group status.For example, policies need to address thelack of public transportation systems andinadequate day care facilities that typifymany rural areas.

With respect to human capital develop-ment several initiatives should be consid-ered. Head Start programs prepare young-sters for school and they can enhance aca-demic performance, reduce dropout rates,and improve ultimate employability. Un-fortunately, because Head Start is not anationwide entitlement program, it is un-available in many rural areas. Giving HeadStart entitlement status would dispropor-tionately benefit rural minority children.Policies also need to address disparitiesacross rural and urban districts in theirability to support quality education. Mecha-nisms to channel state and federal funds todisadvantaged school districts need to bedeveloped or enhanced. These moniesshould be used innovatively, for example.to help pay off the college loans of prom-ising young teachers who settle in ruralareas: to provide incentives for high schoolcompletion (e.g.. college tuition assistance ):or to develop education programs to retrainadult workers.

Discrimination did not end with theCivil Rights Movement. Evidence sug-gests that racial and ethnic minorities con-tinue to be treated unfairly in the pursuit ofeducation and good jobs. More controver-sial but no less necessary, therefore, arepreferential policies that offer rural racialand ethnic minorities special benefits.Rural minorities, for example, could be


The social scientistand rural AmericaEmery N. Castle, Professor EmeritusOregon State University and ChairNational Rural Studies CommitteeExcerpted from remarks made at the awards ceremony. Rural Sociological Society.August 19, 1995. Alexandria. Virginia.

Adecade ago I wrote an essay en-titled "The Forgotten Hinterlands:Rural America.1 My message was

that rural America had been neglected inthe scholarly literature. One consequencewas that we knew less than it would havebeen desirable to know about 97 percent ofthe nation s land and approximately one-fourth of its population. Another was thatthere was only a small cadre of people ableto contribute to debate and discussion aboutthe public policy issues affecting ruralAmerica.

When making this argument. I was re-spectful of the high quality research in theEconomic Research Service of the USDA.I was also familiar with the rural programthen emerging at the Aspen Institute fi-nanced by the Ford Foundation. Nor was Iignorant of excellent scholarship withinrural sociology, agricultural economics,and geography. My argument was a rela-tive one. It was that rural America had beenneglected relative to such subjects as urban

affairs. agricultural policy, natural resourceand environmental policy, and monetaryand fiscal policy.

Before proceeding to my main mes-sage, it is appropriate to ask if there hasbeen significant change in the describedsituation during the past decade.

On the discouraging side, institutionalfunding for rural social science researchand education has declined in commonwith support for scholarly work generally.Neither has there been political support forrural public policy initiatives during thepast decade.

There have also been encouraging de-velopments. When there have been oppor-tunities, the scholarly community has re-sponded positively. As a result it is noweasier to identify academics from a rangeof disciplines who have done rural socialscience work than it was a decade ago.They are to be found in prestigious privateuniversities, in government, in public uni-versities, and in four year colleges. There is

also a sizable contingent of highly edu-cated people around the countryside con-cerned with rural issues who are associatedwith non-governmental organizations. Notall of these people are contributing to thescholarly literature but some are.

Even as public support for rural socialscience has declined, there has been a heart-ening display of interest by the publicfoundations in things rural. W. K. Kellogg,Ford, and the Northwest Area Foundationprovide examples.

Need for understandingDespite these encouraging developments.there has not been significant fundamentalimprovement in general understanding ofrural America since 1985. Rural Americais still thought of as being primarily agri-cultural and relatively homogeneous. It isalso considered to be conservative politi-cally, fundamentalist in religion, backwardeducationally, and exploitative of the natu-ral environment. All of these conditions do

(Continued from previous page)targeted for retraining under the JobOpportunities and Basic Skills training pro-gram under the 1988 Family Support Act.Also, affirmative action in education hasbeen successful in the past and shouldremain a viable policy option.

Of course. reducing racial and residen-tial differentials in education and constraintsto labor force participation will do littlegood without commensurate concern forincreasing the demand for labor. The pre-ceding discussion suggests several policyoptions. Incentives need to be offered toindustries willing to locate in rural areas ofhigh minority concentration. These incen-tives could include federal and state-sup-porf1.1 infrastructure development and taxbreaks. Programs need to be developed toprovide low-cost start-up capital to entre-preneurs seeking to establish promisingeconomic enterprises in these areas. To


counter persisting discrimination in hiring,affirmative action policies should bestrengthened. In particular, the size-of-firmthreshold below which companies neednot comply with affirmative action guide-lines should be lowered to raise the pool ofeligible firms. This would be especiallyhelpful in rural areas where average firmsize is smaller. As a last resort, perhaps thegovernment should consider a programproviding stable work for at least poverty-level wages to all able-bodied poor whoneed a job.

To be sure, political support for a num-ber of these measures is currently quitelimited and has tended to followmacroeconomic cycles. It is probably nocoincidence that acrimony in the publicdebate on governmental intervention strat-egies on behalf of minorities correspondwith periods of rising unemployment. These

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periods heighten awareness of the scarcityof jobs and raise fears that targeted minor-ity group members are shielded from thevicissitudes of market forces and givenunfair advantages in securing a job andpromotion.

This brings us back to the issue of re-search. Evidence suggests there is greaterpolitical support for preferential govern-ment programs that target minority groupsamong those who recognize the structuralbarriers these groups face. Even thosewhites who express little or no traditionalprejudice tend to rely on individualisticexplanations for persisting race differencesin economic status. Dissemination of soundresearch results confirming these struc-tural barriers may serve to rekindle popularsupport for much needed legislation.jThe author thanks Yoshimi Chitose forassistance in producing the graphs.

Access to economic opportunity may bethe greatest challenge over the coming decades.

exist, but by no means universally so.As social scientists we know that rural

America changes rapidly, is diverse, isnon-agricultural and that it is connected inmany places to, and interdependent with,urban places and international markets.Furthermore, we are usually quick topounce on anyone who does not share thiskind of understanding.

Even so, our research often suffers be-cause it fails to reflect these fundamentalcharacteristics. For example:

Rural America has never been a stableplace even though some things changemore slowly there than elsewhere. Societ-ies are on trajectories as they move throughtime and rural places are dependent on theremainder of society in the adjustment theycan make. As economic and social changeoccurs, the contribution of those placeswith relatively sparse populations andgreater space change as well. This mayresult in an exodus from rural areas, a newwave of immigrants or both. Externalchange may become a kind of whiplashwith rural places at the end of the whip.Rural areas adjust, adapt, and evolve. Theseconditions make it hazardous for rural so-cial scientists to extract models from thepast for desirable future adjustments. Theyneed to use such concepts as equilibrium,sustainability, and determinism with greatcare and precision.

A failure to account properly for ruraldiversiTy may invalidate scientific gener-alizations in two ways. If we fail to accountfor diversity when we sample. our gener-alizations are likely to be incorrect. Butinferences will also be incorrect if diver-sity is not appreciated. The fact that no twoplaces are identical means that change willaffect all places differently.

Rural social science is preoccupiedwith the performance of the extractive in-dustries. One would never guess that ruralAmerica is predominately non-agriculturalby looking at the program of many ruralsocial science societies and associations.

Two needsTwo needs stand out if rural America is tobecome better understood. One is that di-verse rural interests need to know oneanother and share perceptions and concep-tions. The other is that rural social scien-

tists and humanists need to communicateand learn from one another. It is conceiv-able one process will accommodate bothneeds. But the needs are different and shouldnot be confused.

Rural America is rife with numerousspecialized interest groups. There are thoseinterested in rural health, rural education,and rural housing. There are small townand city, other jurisdictional interests, andparticular commodity interests as well. Themore one thinks about the matter the longerthe list becomes. Unless these interestslearn from one another, and mutually en-large and modify their conceptions, it isdoubtful there will ever exist anything ap-proaching a widespread, comprehensiveunderstanding and appreciation of this placewe call rural America. The emergence ofCrossroads: An Assembly for RuralAmerica is a pioneering effort to addressthis specific need. The idea here is to createa new organization, an assembly, to fostercommunication among the many diversegroups interested in rural America. I amdelighted to announce on this occasion thatWilliam Falk has agreed to lead an effortover the next several months to evaluatethe feasibility of the Crossroads idea.

Communication among representativesof the rural social sciences and humanitiesis an important but distinct need as well.The Agriculture and Rural Economy unitwithin ERS/USDA historically has per-formed a great service in this respect. TheAspen-Ford program has also made a sig-nificant contribution. And I like to thinkthe National Rural Studies Committee hasbeen useful. But the need continues forsome entity to provide leadership in foster-ing communication and stimulating schol-arly work. Budget cutting has weakenedthe rural social sciences in both the USDAand the Land Grants. The National RuralStudies Committee is now completing thefirst major phase of its work and its future.or that of its successor organization, isunclear. Crossroads, standing alone, maybe unable to provide the necessary leader-ship but it is of great importance that lead-ership be provided.

Why study rural America?Some of my friends believe I have beer.misguided in my attempts to encourage

34

more scholarly work about the country-side. They believe the subject is too com-plex and amorphous to be amenable toscientific study. Others contend wjth thenotion that improved understanding willmake it possible to better the human condi-tion. In other words, they question whetherthe benefits of a better understanding willjustify the effort.

I do not resent such skeptics. Under thebest of circumstances research is a difficultundertaking. Powerful motivation is re-quired to call forth the sustained effortnecessary to produce useful results. Someresearchers are motivated by intellectualcuriosity and some are driven by a desire toimprove the lot of rural people for reasonsof nostalgia. sentiment, or equity.

But we need to look both more broadlyand more deeply for motivation. RuralAmerica is a part of the total society. Andwe need to understand rural America sothat we can better understand and improvethe total society of which we are a part.Access to economic opportunity may wellbe the greatest challenge our society willface over the coming decades. The techni-cal change which is transforming our soci-ety will reward those who have access,control, and understanding. Those who donot will likely become residual claimantsto economic opportunity, wealth, and in-come. Access and control now tends to beassociated with the center of population.Even though some rural places are grow-ing in population it usually is because oftheir natural amenities or lower cost forsome service, such as retirement living.waste disposal. or prison sites. Even thoughthey are experiencing population growth.they may not be becoming better off. rela-tively. More is involved here than distanceand sparsity of population. but taking suchvariables into account will contribute tobetter understanding of the general phe-nomena. And better understanding is theonly hope we have for management andcontroW

'Castle. Emery N. The Forgotten Hinter-lands: Rural America. 1985. Annual ReportResources For the Future. Washington D.C.


center projects: progress reportBusiness Retention & Expansion

--on the Oregon CoastIn the Central Oregon coastal communitiesof Douglas County, approximately onefourth of the businesses rely on tourism for50 percent or more of their trade. A pro-gram that teaches employees how to de-liver quality customer service would be agreat benefit to these firms. Suggestionslike that are just what the Lower UmpquaBusiness Retention and Expansion TaskForce was looking for as a result of theirrecent study.

A total of 52 businesses completed asurvey and interview conducted by theLower Umpqua Economic DevelopmentForum in cooperation with Oregon StateUniversity Extension Service. Using ma-terials adapted for the western region un-der the auspices of the Western Rural De-velopment Center. a team of four volun-teers interviewed business owners in Dou-glas County about local conditions thatfoster success or create problems. As aresult of the program, three firms requestedassistance with issues that related to thepossible closure or relocation of their busi-ness and 22 companies requested furtherinformation and assistance.

The Lower Umpqua area was rated agood-to excellent place to conduct busi-ness by 58 percent of the people surveyed.Reliable utility service, high quality water.and good police and fire protection wereamong the most favorable aspects of thecommunity, but lack of adequate housingconstitutes a major concern in the businesscommunity. Thanks to the R & E survey.strategies to improve housing, public trans-portation, and other local facilities are partof the long range plan for economic devel-opment in the county.

Northwest Service Academyassists Farm*A*Syst in YakimaNationGroundwater education and protection isthe goal of a new generic version ofFarm*A*Syst/Home*A*Syst that will bepilot tested in a cooperative effort of Wash-ington State University CooperativeExtension. Region I 0 of the U. S. Environ-mental Protection Agency. the Yakima In-dian Nation, and the Northwest ServiceAcademy ( AmeriCorps Volunteers).


The Northwest Service Academy atTrout Lake will provide a team of 8-10members to be trained by CooperativeExtension. Department of Health, and pri-vate business professionals. These trainedvolunteers will work with Extension per-sonnel to help people on individual home-steads complete the Farm & Home WaterQuality Assessments. The Yakima Nationwill provide hydro-geologic expertise, as-sist in selecting areas to deliver the pro-gram, and provide publicity.

Farm*A*Syst consists of a series ofeasy, step-by-step worksheets for rankingeach farmstead activity or structure thatcould create a risk ot' groundwater con-tamination. It is designed to help farmersvoluntarily assess and reduce groundwatercontamination from farmstead activities.Other variables, such as soil, geologic andhydrologic features are also rated and usedto identify specific actions to protect drink-ing water. The system can be used byfarmers on their own or in consultationwith local experts and was developed inWisconsin and Minnesota with partial fund-ing from the North Central Regional Cen-ter for Rural Development.

The four regional rural developmentcenters have been instrumental in hostingworkshops around the country of what isnow a national program supported by theU.S. Department of Agriculture-ExtensionService, the Soil Conservation Service,and the U.S. Environmental ProtectionAgency. The accompanying Home*A*Systprogram was developed to prevent pollu-tion by helping individuals identify highrisks in their rural homes and act to reducethose risks.

l,

Rural Idaho homeownersprotect drinking waterHelp is on the way for rural homeowners inIdaho who want to assess activities orconditions on their property that may ad-versely affect groundwater and drinkingwater supplies. The new Idaho Home*A*Syst program, recently launched byagricultural groups and state and federalagencies. should reach statewide imple-mentation by the end of this year.

Its use will result in voluntary actions toprevent water pollution. A project special-ist has been hired by the Idaho Association

of Soil Conservation Districts to coordi-nate the program. Three pilot projects wereconducted durinc..oe summer in Cascade.Payette, and Burley.

Home*A*Syst was adapted fromFarm*A*Syst, a step by step worksheet forevaluating practices that effect water qual-ity developed under the auspices of theNorth Central Regional Center for RuralDevelopment. The four regional rural de-velopment centers have been instrumentalin hosting workshops around the countryof what is now a national program sup-ported by the U.S. Department of Agricul-ture-Extension Service, the Soil Conserva-tion Service, and the U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency. For more informationcontact Kent Foster, Home*A*Syst ProjectSpecialist. (208) 338-5900.

Northwest Service Academy's(AmeriCorps) acheivementsin first yearThe Northwest Service Academy (NWSA)created partnerships with more than 70local non profit community organizations,school districts, and agencies to help mobi-1 ize in excess of 7,600 communityvolunterrs to "get things done" in the Pa-cific Northwest. Since September 1994, 90AmeriCorps members of the NWSA havegiven more than 150,000 hours of serviceto local activities in the Columbia Gorgeregion of Washington and Oregon.

In the community, the NWSA:Restored a section of Kelly Creek in

GreshamAssisted with renovation of the

Andrea Lee Transitional Shelter forwomen and children leaving domesticviolence

Built the first community showersfor Columbia River tribal villagers

Organized and led NIKE sponsoredbicycle rides with teams of grade schoolchildren from NE Portland neighbor-hoods

Helped build homes with Habitat forHumanity

Assisted with Project Second Wind,Oregon Food Bank's canned food drive

Constructed two handicap-acces-sible neighborhood community gardens

Went door to door in northeastPortland to educate 1,200 families about

3b

the dangers of lead poisoninttHelped build four community

playgroundsOn national forest lands. NWSA teams:

Helped implement the President'sforest plan by obhterating logging roads.gathering critical scientific data throughsnag analysis. surveying 465 miles offorest roads, and revegetating hundredsof acres of wildlife habitat

Planted more than 43,000 trees andshrubs to enhance salmon runs in twonational forests and one scenic area

Fought the Wenatchee fire. thelargest forest fire in Washington statehistory. and assisted with subsequentrestoration and flood control effortsIn the classrooms. NWSA members:

With the students, nature-scaped theschoolyard of George Middle School innortheast Portland to attract migratory,neotropical birds

Built a new community park andnature trail for Floyd Light MiddleSchool and its neighborhood

With students of Shumway MiddleSchool in Vancouver. WA, cleaned up awetlands area which will be used as aliving science laboratory

Developed a land management planfor a 120 acre demonstration tree farmsouth of Oregon City with students fromBinnsmead Middle School in NorthClackamas. OR

Developed the Salmon Life Cycle

conferences

game in cooperation with the U.S. ForestService for the Washington Park Zoo.Eight hundred students played the game.

Fifteen hundred science studentsvisited the banks of the Salmon Rivernear Mt Hood to learn from AmeriCorpsmembers about watersheds, salmon, andmethods of data collection and analysis.

NWSA members visited another1.500 students in the classrooms andtaught subjects ranging from worm-bincomposting to tire ecology.

One hundred ten new NWSAAmeriCorps members have begun a yearof national service servin2 ten counties onboth sides of the Columbia River in Or-egon and Washington. Thirty-five mem-bers are based at a residential center inTrout Lake, Washington serving the mid-Columbia area and another 75 non residen-tial members serve the Portland-Vancouvermetropolitan area. NWSA AmeriCorpsmembers are 18 years and older and com-mitted to one year of national service. Inreturn they receive a taxable living allow-ance of $163 per week (well below mini-mum wage), health insurance, child careand, at the end of their year of service,$4,725 to pay off existing student loans orfor further education.

The Western Rural Development Cen-ter was instrumental in obtaining the grantthat funded creation of the Northwest Ser-vice Academy. WRDC administered theprogram durine its initial year of training.

National RuralStudies CommitteeFor his outstanding contributions to thequality of rural life through teaching.research, institution building. and policyanalysis and advisinit. Emery N. Castlewas presented the Distinguished Service toRural Life Award by the Rural Sociologi-cal Society (RSS) at their 1995 annualmeeting.

Castle is the chair and founder of theNational Rural Studies Committee (NRSC),funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundationand the four regional rural developmentcenters to increase the attention of highereducation to issues of concern to ruralAmerica. The NRSC made substantial con-tributions to the Task Force on PersistentRural Poverty. Also supported by the W.r. Kellogg Foundation and the regionalrural development centers, which organizeand conduct the Pathways from Povertyworkshops around the country, the TaskForce was formed to clarify the factors anddynamics of 5ociety that precipitate andperpetuate rural poverty.

Edwin Mills, Gary Rosenberg Profes-sor of Finance at Northwestern Universityand a member of the National Rural StudiesCommittee. commented: "I suspect thatEmery's greatest contribution to ruralstudies has been institutional...He isgenuinely an intellectual leader and en-courages and inspires other workers withvision and understanding."

Farm and Ranch RecreationMontana, January, 1996Montana State University Extension has joined the state Depart-ment of Ag, Travel Montana. Tourism Countries, and the U.S.Small Business Admin to sponsor a full day workshop offeringinformation about opening farms and ranches to tourists. Sixsessions in as many locations begin January 17 in Great Falls andconclude February 2 in Poison. Business and marketing expertswill address subjects such as cash flow, feasibility analysis. andbusiness plans. Successful farmers and ranchers operating rec-reation businesses will be on hand in the afternoon to talk aboutpertinent issues. For information about a workshop in your areaand to register for a session, contact

Travel Montana1424 9th AvenueHelena. Montana 59620(406) 444-2654

$marter, Better, Faster...Milwaukee, WisconsinApril 21-24, 1996Hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater ContinuingEducation Program. the conference is aimed towards assistanceproviders and support staff for home-based business owners.Special focus areas for this third annual national home-basedbusiness conference are networking, regulatory and legal issues,technology, resources, growth and transition. issues for physicaldisabilities, and counseling skills. For further infbrmationcontact

National Home-based Business Conferencec/o Continuing EducationUniversity of Wisconsin-WhitewaterRoseman 2005Whitewater. WI 53190(414)472-1917

36 Western Wire Fall 1995 35

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Documents

DOCUMENT RESUME ED 396 892DOCUMENT RESUME ED 396 892 RC 020 649 AUTHOR Baldwin, Barbara, Ed. TITLE Pathways from Poverty. INSTITUTION Western Rural Development Center, Corvallis, Oreg