These generally have been misrepresented. They only apply to areas with over 50 percent unemployment and will not apply until the end of the first 60 month period, over four years from now. In the meantime, some of the more unworkable aspects of TANF will become evident. There will be little effective training or community service. No one can say definitively what is going to happen to the children of Indian welfare clients if their parents are removed from welfare because they do not or cannot comply with the law's requirements.
Some federal officials decry tribal people who question welfare reform.
Reasonable tribal people support the idea of ending dependency and welfare. However, tribes cannot support an inadequate program destined to create more misery on many reservations. James Shanley has been with the tribal college movement for 25 years, including 15 years as president of Fort Peck Community College. He earned his doctorate in education administration from the University of North Dakota.