This and other articles may be viewed on the internet at the website,
The Writings of Stephanie M. Schwartz
_www.SilvrDrach.homestead.com_ (http://www.silvrdrach.homestead.com/)
A Special Resource Report:
Regarding life, conditions, and hope on the Pine Ridge Oglala Lakota (Sioux)
Reservation of SD
_www.SilvrDrach.homestead.com/Schwartz_2006_Oct_15.html_
(http://www.silvrdrach.homestead.com/Schwartz_2006_Oct_15.html)
The Arrogance of Ignorance;
Hidden Away, Out of Sight and Out of Mind
By Stephanie M. Schwartz,
Freelance Writer
Member, Native American Journalists Association
© October 15, 2006 Brighton, Colorado
This is an article of facts about the lives of modern-day American Indians,
a topic most mainstream American news organizations will not discuss. It is
not a plea for charity. It is not a promotion for non-profit organizations.
It is not aimed for pity. It is not even an effort to detail cause and
effect. It is, however, an effort to dispel ignorance…. a massive, pervasive,
societal ignorance filled with illusions and caricatures which, ultimately,
serve only to corrupt the intelligence and decent intent of the average
mainstream citizen. Only through knowledge and understanding can solutions be found.
But facts must be known first. Then, it is the reader’s choice what to do
with those facts.
Hidden away, out of sight but dotting the landscape of America, are the
little known or forgotten Reservations of the Indigenous People of our land.
Sadly, the average U.S. mainstream resident knows almost nothing about the
people of the Native American reservations other than what romanticized or
caricaturized versions they see on film or as the print media stereotypes of oil
or casino-rich Indians. Most assume that whatever poverty exists on a
reservation is most certainly comparable to that which they might experience
themselves. Further, they assume it is curable by the same means they would use.
But that is the arrogance of ignorance.
Our dominant society is accustomed to being exposed to poverty. It’s nearly
invisible because it is everywhere. We drive through our cities with a blind
eye, numb to the suffering on the streets, or we shake our heads and turn
away, assuming help is on the way. After all, it’s known that the government
and the big charities are helping the needy in nearly every corner of the
world.
But the question begs: What about the sovereign nations on America’s own
soil, within this country, a part and yet apart from mainstream society? What
about these Reservations that few people ever see?
Oddly enough, the case could be made that more Europeans and Australians
know and understand the cultures and conditions of our Indigenous people better
Americans do.
Moreover, what the Europeans and Australians know is that there are a number
of very fortunate Native American Nations whose people are able to earn a
very good living due to casino income, natural resource income, a good job
market from nearby cities, or from some other source. They also know, however,
that a staggering number of residents on Native American reservations live in
abject, incomprehensible conditions rivaling, or even surpassing, that of
many Third World countries.
This article chronicles just one Nation: the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) Nation of
the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Yet the name and only a few
details could easily be changed to describe a host of others…. the Dineh
(Navajo), Ute Mountain Ute, Tohono O’odham, Pima, Yaqui, Apache, the Brule’ Lakota
(Sioux) ….the list is long.
But this is not an article of hopelessness. Despite nearly-insurmountable
conditions, few resources, and against unbelievable odds, Nation after Nation
of Indigenous leaders and their people are working hard to counteract
decades of oppression and forced destruction of their cultures, to bring their
citizens back to a life of self-respect and self-sufficiency in today’s world.
In the meantime, these words will serve simply to dispel a few illusions and
make public part of that which is hidden away, out of sight, out of mind, in
the richest country in the world. It seeks to dispel the arrogance of
ignorance.
Demographic Information
§ The Pine Ridge Oglala Lakota (Sioux) Indian Reservation sits in
Bennett, Jackson, and Shannon Counties and is located in the southwest corner
of South Dakota, fifty miles east of the Wyoming border.
§ The 11,000-square mile (approximately 2.7 million acres) Pine
Ridge Reservation is the second-largest Native American Reservation within the
United States. It is roughly the size of the State of Connecticut. According
to the Oglala Sioux tribal statistics, approximately 1.7 million acres of
this land are owned by the Tribe or by tribal members.
§ The Reservation is divided into eight districts: Eagle Nest, Pass
Creek, Wakpamni, LaCreek, Pine Ridge, White Clay, Medicine Root, Porcupine,
and Wounded Knee.
§ The topography of the Pine Ridge Reservation includes the barren
Badlands, rolling grassland hills, dryland prairie, and areas dotted with pine
trees.
§ The Pine Ridge Reservation is home to approximately 40,000
persons, 35% of which are under the age of 18. The latest Federal Census shows the
median age to be 20.6 years. Approximately half the residents of the
Reservation are registered tribal members of the Oglala Lakota Sioux Nation.
§ According to the most recent Federal Census, 58.7% of the
grandparents on the Reservation are responsible for raising their own grandchildren.
§ The population is slowly but steadily rising, despite the severe
conditions on the Reservation, as more and more Oglala Lakota return home from
far-away cities to live within their societal values, be with their
families, and assist with the revitalization of their culture and their Nation.
Employment Information
§ Recent reports vary but many point out that the median income on
the Pine Ridge Reservation is approximately $2,600 to $3,500 per year.
§
§ The unemployment rate on Pine Ridge is said to be approximately
83-85% and can be higher during the winter months when travel is difficult or
often impossible.
§ According to 2006 resources, about 97% of the population lives
below Federal poverty levels.
§ There is little industry, technology, or commercial infrastructure
on the Reservation to provide employment.
§ Rapid City, South Dakota is the nearest town of size (population
approximately 57,700) for those who can travel to find work. It is located
120 miles from the Reservation. The nearest large city to Pine Ridge is
Denver, Colorado located some 350 miles away.
Life Expectancy and Health Conditions
§ Some figures state that the life expectancy on the Reservation is
48 years old for men and 52 for women. Other reports state that the average
life expectancy on the Reservation is 45 years old. These statistics are far
from the 77.5 years of age life expectancy average found in the United States
as a whole. According to current USDA Rural Development documents, the
Lakota have the lowest life expectancy of any group in America.
§ Teenage suicide rate on the Pine Ridge Reservation is 150% higher
than the U.S. national average for this age group.
§ The infant mortality rate is the highest on this continent and is
about 300% higher than the U.S. national average.
§ More than half the Reservation's adults battle addiction and
disease. Alcoholism, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and malnutrition are
pervasive.
§ The rate of diabetes on the Reservation is reported to be 800%
higher than the U.S. national average.
§ Recent reports indicate that almost 50% of the adults on the
Reservation over the age of 40 have diabetes.
§ As a result of the high rate of diabetes on the Reservation,
diabetic-related blindness, amputations, and kidney failure are common.
§ The tuberculosis rate on the Pine Ridge Reservation is
approximately 800% higher than the U.S. national average.
§ Cervical cancer is 500% higher than the U.S. national average.
§ It is reported that at least 60% of the homes on the Pine Ridge
Reservation are infested with Black Mold, Stachybotrys. This infestation causes
an often-fatal condition with infants, children, elderly, those with damaged
immune systems, and those with lung and pulmonary conditions at the highest
risk. Exposure to this mold can cause hemorrhaging of the lungs andbrain as
well as cancer.
§ A Federal Commodity Food Program is active but supplies mostly
inappropriate foods (high in carbohydrate and/or sugar) for the largely diabetic
population of the Reservation.
§ A small non-profit Food Co-op is in operation on the Reservation
but is available only for those with funds to participate.
Health Care
§ Many Reservation residents live without health care due to vast
travel distances involved in accessing that care. Additional factors include
under-funded, under-staffed medical facilities and outdated or non-existent
medical equipment.
§ Preventive healthcare programs are rare.
§ In most of the treaties between the U.S. Government and Indian
Nations, the U.S. government agreed to provide adequate medical care for
Indians in return for vast quantities of land. The Indian Health Services (IHS)
was set up to administer the health care for Indians under these treaties and
receives an appropriation each year to fund Indian health care.
Unfortunately, the appropriation is very small compared to the need and there is little
hope for increased funding from Congress. The IHS is understaffed and
ill-equipped and can’t possibly address the needs of Indian communities. Nowhere is
this more apparent than on the Pine Ridge Reservation.
Education Issues
§ School drop-out rate is over 70%.
§ According to a Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) report, the Pine
Ridge Reservation schools are in the bottom 10% of school funding by U.S.
Department of Education and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
§ Teacher turnover is 800% that of the U.S. national average
Housing Conditions and Homelessness
§ The small BIA/Tribal Housing Authority homes on the Pine Ridge
Reservation are overcrowded and scarce, resulting in many homeless families who
often use tents or cars for shelter. Many families live in old cabins or
dilapidated mobile homes and trailers.
§ According to a 2003 report from South Dakota State University, the
majority of the current Tribal Housing Authority homes were built from
1970-1979. The report brings to light that a great percentage of that original
construction by the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) was “shoddy and substandard.”
The report also states that 26% of the housing units on the Reservation
are mobile homes, often purchased or obtained (through donations) as used,
low-value unitswith negative-value equity.
§ Even though there is a large homeless population on the
Reservation, most families never turn away a relative no matter how distant the blood
relation. Consequently, many homes often have large numbers of people living
in them.
§ In a recent case study, the Tribal Council estimated a need for at
least 4,000 new homes in order to combat the homeless situation.
§ There is an estimated average of 17 people living in each family
home (a home which may only have two to three rooms). Some larger homes, built
for 6 to 8 people, have up to 30 people living in them.
§ Over-all, 59% of the Reservation homes are substandard.
§ Over 33% of the Reservation homes lack basic water and sewage
systems as well as electricity.
§ Many residents must carry (often contaminated) water from the
local rivers daily for their personal needs.
§ Some Reservation families are forced to sleep on dirt floors.
§ Without basic insulation or central heating in their homes, many
residents on the Pine Ridge Reservation use their ovens to heat their homes.
§ Many Reservation homes lack adequate insulation. Even more homes
lack central heating.
§ Periodically, Reservation residents are found dead from
hypothermia (freezing).
§ It is reported that at least 60% of the homes on the Pine Ridge
Reservation need to be burned to the ground and replaced with new housing due
to infestation of the potentially-fatal Black Mold, Stachybotrys. There is no
insurance or government program to assist families in replacing their homes.
§ 39% of the homes on the Pine Ridge Reservation have no
electricity.
§ The most common form of heating fuel is propane. Wood-burning is
the second most common form of heating a home although wood supplies are often
expensive or difficult to obtain.
§ Many Reservation homes lack basic furniture and appliances such as
beds, refrigerators, and stoves.
§ 60% of Reservation families have no land-line telephone. The
Tribe has recently issued basic cell phones to the residents. However, these
cell phones (commonly called commodity phones) do not operate off the
Reservation at all and are often inoperable in the rural areas on the Reservation or
during storms or wind.
§ Computers and internet connections are very rare.
§ Federal and tribal heat assistance programs (such as LLEAP) are
limited by theirfunding. In the winter of 2005-2006, the average one-time
only payment to a family was said to be approximately $250-$300 to cover the
entire winter. For many, that amount did not even fill their propane heating
tanks one time.
Life on the Reservation
§ Most Reservation families live in rural and often isolated areas.
§ The largest town on the Reservation is the village of Pine Ridge
which has a population of approximately 5,720 people and is the
administrative center for the Reservation.
§ There are few improved (paved) roads on the Reservation and most
of the rural homes are inaccessible during times of rain or snow.
§ Weather is extreme on the Reservation. Severe winds are always a
factor. Traditionally, summer temperatures reach well over 110*F and winters
bring bitter cold with temperatures that can reach -50*F below zero or worse.
Flooding, tornados, or wildfires are always a risk.
§ The Pine Ridge Reservation still has no banks, discount stores, or
movie theaters. It has only one grocery store of any moderate size and it
is located in the village of Pine Ridge on the Reservation. A motel just
opened in 2006 near the Oglala Lakota College at Kyle, South Dakota. There
are said to be about 8 Bed and Breakfast or campsite locations found across
the Reservation but that number varies from time to time since most are part
of a private home.
§ Several of the banks and lending institutions nearest to the
Reservation have been targeted for investigation of fraudulent or predatory
lending practices, with the citizens of the Pine Ridge Reservation as their
victims.
§ There are no public libraries except one at the Oglala Lakota
College.
§ There is one radio station on the Pine Ridge Reservation. KILI
90.1FM is located near the town of Porcupine on the Reservation.
Transportation
§ There is no public transportation available on the Reservation.
§ Only a minority of Reservation residents own an operable
automobile.
§ Predominant form of travel for all ages on the Reservation is
walking or hitchhiking.
§ There is one very small airport on the Reservation servicing both
the Pine Ridge Reservation and Shannon County. It's longest, paved runway
extends 4,969 feet. There are no commercial flights available. The majority
of flights using the airport are Federal, State, or County
Government-related.
§ The nearest commercial airport and/or commercial bus line is
located in Rapid City, South Dakota (approximately 120 miles away).
Alcoholism
§ Alcoholism affects eight out of ten families on the Reservation.
§ The death rate from alcohol-related problems on the Reservation is
300% higher than the remaining US population.
§ The Oglala Lakota Nation has prohibited the sale and possession of
alcohol on the Pine Ridge Reservation since the early 1970's. However, the
town of Whiteclay, Nebraska (which sits 400 yards off the Reservation border
in a contested "buffer" zone) has approximately 14 residents and four liquor
stores which sell over 4.1 million cans of beer each year resulting in a
$3million annual trade. Unlike other Nebraska communities, Whiteclay exists
only to sell liquor and make money. It has no schools, no churches, no civic
organizations, no parks, no benches, no public bathrooms, no fire service and
no law enforcement. Tribal officials have repeatedly pleaded with the State
of Nebraska to close these liquor stores or enforce the State laws regulating
liquor stores but have been consistently refused.
Water and Aquifer Contamination
§ Many wells and much of the water and land on the Reservation is
contaminated with pesticides and other poisons from farming, mining, open
dumps, and commercial and governmental mining operations outside the Reservation.
A further source of contamination is buried ordnance and hazardous materials
from closed U.S. military bombing ranges on the Reservation.
§ Scientific studies show that the High Plains/Oglala Aquifer which
begins underneath the Pine Ridge Reservation is predicted to run dry in less
than 30 years due to commercial interest use and dryland farming in numerous
states south of the Reservation. This critical North American underground
water resource is not renewable at anything near the present consumption rate.
The recent years of drought have simply accelerated the problem.
§ Scientific studies show that much of the High Plains/Oglala
Aquifer has been contaminated with farming pesticides and commercial, factory,
mining, and industrial contaminants in the States of South Dakota, Wyoming,
Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Sovereignty and Tribal Government
§ By Treaty, the Tribal nations are considered to have sovereign
governmental status. They have a special government to government relationship
with the United States. Interactions with the U.S. Government and the
Department of Interior (and its Bureau of Indian Affairs) are supposed to be
through Treaty negotiations and most Federal programs (such as Indian Health
Services) were purchased by the Tribal nations (usually with land) and guaranteed
by Treaty. This is specifically true for the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) Nation of
the Pine Ridge Reservation.
§ The Oglala Lakota (Sioux) Tribal government operates under a
constitution consistent with the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 and approved by
the Tribal membership and Tribal Council of the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) Tribe.
The Tribe is governed by an elected body consisting of a 5 member Executive
Committee and an 18 member Tribal Council, all of whom serve a four year
term.
Hope
§ Currently, there are various efforts underway to implement
innovative techniques and solutions to Reservation problems. These projects include
community volunteer groups, alternative education programs, wind or water
energy initiatives, substance abuse programs, cultural and language programs,
employment opportunities, cottage industries, promotion of artists and
musicians, small co-op businesses, etc. However, funding for these programs is
highly limited.
§ There are several very small projects now working to help with the
housing shortage. Some of these involve using donated mobile homes,
community-built sod housing, other community-built housing (such as Habitat for
Humanity), exploring possible use of unused FEMA mobile homes, and other
alternate solutions. Unfortunately, funding is highly limited.
§ The Tribal Council Housing Authority is working as hard as it can
to build new homes and repair existing structures but it is limited by the
small, limited amount of funding available.
§ There are a few reputable small non-profit organizations
attempting to sincerely assist the people of the Pine Ridge Reservation in their
efforts to resolve and mitigate existing problems. However, funding for these
programs is currently highly limited.
§ There is one small independent (non-IHS) clinic on the Reservation
at the community of Porcupine. It was founded and is controlled by the
Lakota community. It just recently obtained its first dialysis machine and runs
an aggressive program to combat diabetes. However, funding is very limited and
is obtained locally and through grants.
§ The Oglala Lakota are a determined, intelligent, and proud People
who are working hard to over-come their Reservation problems. Against all
odds, with minimal resources, they are slowly working to re-claim their
self-sufficiency, their culture, and their life.
These statistics concerning the Pine Ridge Oglala Lakota (Sioux) Reservation
were compiled from recent Political, Educational, Government, Non-Profit,
and Tribal Publications. An earlier version was published by the same author
in 2002 entitled, “Hidden Away, in the Land of Plenty.”
Contact the author if you wish a list of the resources and publications used
for this report.
Stephanie M. Schwartz may be reached at _SilvrDrach@Gmail.com_
(mailto:SilvrDrach@Gmail.com)
This and other articles may be viewed on the internet at the website,
The Writings of Stephanie M. Schwartz
_www.SilvrDrach.homestead.com_ (http://www.silvrdrach.homestead.com/)
This article may be reprinted and reproduced unedited with proper
attribution and sourcing for non-profit, educational, news, or archival purposes.
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