Take a drive through the Navajo Indian Reservation in New Mexico and youll find plenty of views to wonder at, amazing rock formations that can entertain most new visitors for hours on end.

Contrast this with the poverty of the homes of the Navajo that you see as you pass along the road. Almost all are single-storey, basic structures, many with abandoned, rusting cars out back in the desert scrub.

This is not a wealthy area, nor is life here easy.

Navajo President Joe Shirley said that many people on the Navajo reservation “live in Third World conditions with no running water or power.

“Unfortunately, we have only so much money available to tackle these issues,” he added. Shirley said that the Navajo Nation aims to build six casinos - which may bring in up to $100 million in revenue annually and created hundreds of jobs - and negotiate selling some of its water to growing desert towns such as Flagstaff, Arizona.

“Some of the money we raise will be set aside to tackle social issues such as drug and alcohol abuse,” he said.

According to a 2004 paper from the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the counties that make up this part of the reservation are classed as high-poverty American Indian counties.

Navajo officials have said that 50 percent of the Navajo population lives below the poverty level and the unemployment rate hovers around 50 percent.

Many Navajo people lack domestic and municipal water for everyday use and the majority of public roads here are dirt-based.

According to a 2003 U.S. Commission on Civil Rights report, the root causes of the poverty here are discrimination against American Indians by the majority white population, high unemployment, substance (alcohol and drug) abuse, and above average high school dropout rates.

Whatever the causes, the poverty of the Navajo is evident, all the more so when seen in marked contrast to an area so rich in natural beauty.

Ed’s note: This post was updated to add comments from Navajo President Joe Shirley.