Going along with this, I think there's a very big difference between being poor, and being educated and poor, or being in a supportive tribe and poor. My parents grew up poor, during the Depression, but were either educated, or had at their disposal the resources of Catholic education, which was affordable and of high quality.

My mom talks about how her family did OK, at least socially, and always had the nearby public library as a refuge. When the Depression and WWII ended, they were pretty much back on their feet. My mom's neighbors in the tenements couldn't even read, and had dramatically different prospects.