People in small communities press their claims for the benefits of modern life reluctantly, if at all. The acquisition of funding for community facilities and other projects in many places has shown the willingness of agencies to support local initiative, but a history of self-reliance may lead to the feeling that receiving outside assistance is akin to taking charity. Even when benefits are requested, residents do so on an individual basis through private negotiations, rather than as a coordinated group. This practice limits the investigation of the range of potential help and the acquisition of the necessary skills needed to create successful local and regional programmes.
Navajo families, compensated in the early 1990s by the USA government for the deaths of their relatives caused by mining uranium for nuclear bombs, were troubled, not only because of jealousy in a region where many households earn less than $5,000 a year, but also because they feel guilty in accepting money they see as tainted by blood and mourning.