I've decided. Tomorrow I am going to visit Ponemah, MN, the 34th poorest city in the United States of America. According to the 2008 US Census, Ponemah has a median household income of $17,750. The median household income in Minnesota is $57,288 - roughly a $39,000 difference. Ponemah's per capita in 2008 was $5,546. Fifty three percent of the population of Ponemah lives below the poverty level compared to the 7.9% statewide. (US Census, 2008) A majority of people living in Ponemah are Native American (97.7%). Ponemah divided 50%/49% during the Kerry/Bush election of 2004, and 55%/44% during the Obama/Bush campaign (2010).
Ponemah sits on 19.6 square miles of the most rural part of Beltrami County. The town is on a stretch of land that hooks out into Red Lake. I believe it is a Native American Reservation. The population is 965. The crime rate is low.
There are a few reasons I'm a bit nervous about the trip tomorrow. The first is that I don't know if my twelve year old car will make the short five hours drive. It has over 235k miles on it! Secondly, I just don't know what to expect. I have never been on or near a Native American reservation. It doesn't help that I heard a story on MPR a year ago about how hard it is for tribal police officers to fend off crime. I know, I'll be in my car the whole time, but it's still eerie.
My goal is to visit the top Ten Poorest places in the United States of America. Yet, before I even start to make plans to visit the rest of the nation, I need to see the poorest place in Minnesota. This is a test for myself to see if I will even go through with this project.
In all honesty, I am not sure why I want to do this. I don't know what to expect. I don't know what I'm looking for. I have no purpose or agenda, but to simply see these places, and go on excellent road trips, even if it is solo.
I will take pictures. Keep a journal (this blog), and basically write/record everything I can.
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