I took the following pictures of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation during a road trip across the western U.S. in 2009. I often struggle with my desire to take photographs, to so openly document the things I see; many of the photos below are blurry because they were taken quickly, often from a moving car. I did not want to appear to be what I was: a privileged white tourist merely on her way through one of the poorest spots in America.
Pine Ridge reservation (Oglala Lakota), 3,469 square miles in southwest South Dakota. Population 28-38,000. Established in 1889.
The unemployment rate is 80-90%.
Per capita income is $4,000.
Pine Ridge has:
8 times the U.S. rate of diabetes
5 times the rate of cervical cancer
Twice the rate of heart disease
8 times the U.S. rate of tuberculosis
Farm animals wandered about without pens or barriers. One of the most striking images of the trip I did not photograph: a dead cow had been dumped behind a low, roadside billboard, I am assuming because there is no garbage collection, or it is too costly.
The alcoholism rate is estimated to be as high as 80%.
25% of infants are born with fetal alcohol syndrome or effects.
The suicide rate is more than twice the national rate.
Teens commit suicide 4 times more often than in the rest of the U.S.
Out of respect, or fear or shame, I didn’t photograph the dozens of roadside crosses we passed.
We stopped and bought bracelets from one family selling them by the road. They were full-blooded Oglala Lakota, which seemed to be a great source of pride. She said the previous winter, they were snowbound in their trailer for many weeks and could not even make it to the outhouse.
There were no swingsets or seesaws at this park, just the sign in a grassy area.
The town of Wounded Knee, on the reservation
Memorial at the site of the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890, when 300 men, women, and children were killed, often at close range, often unarmed, and sometimes running away. It was the last official clash between American Indians and the U.S. government in the war for the frontier.
Cemetery in Wounded Knee. Life expectancy on Pine Ridge is the lowest in the United States and the 2nd lowest in the Western Hemisphere, after Haiti.
The grave of Lost Bird, an infant at the time of the Wounded Knee Massacre, who was found alive under the frozen corpse of her mother at the site of the massacre. She was adopted by a white couple and died of influenza in 1919; her remains were brought back to Wounded Knee from California in 1991.
The infant mortality rate on Pine Ridge is three times the national rate.
I didn’t share this simply to depress you, or throw you into a fit of guilt–though, for me, that often comes with the territory. Here’s what I do with this information:
- I write about it.
- I subscribe to The Lakota People’s Law Project newsletter and have donated to them.
- I’ve bought books online and had them sent to a school on the reservation through the Friends of Pine Ridge.
The Friends web site has other ideas–if you’re a teacher, you could teach there. If you’re a doctor, you could offer free clinics. If you’re a business owner, you could do business with them. Or you could do something as simple as donate your coupons.
Sources:
I’ve read these statistics in many places; for this post, I referenced: http://www.re-member.org/pine_ridge_reservation.aspx
Lost Bird: http://www.sdpb.org/Lostbird/summary.asp
True STORIES. 