For those in our generation, the words "Pine Ridge Indian Reservation" typically trigger some type of emotional reaction. The Wounded Knee Massacre and book "Bury my heart at Wounded Knee", the 1973 Wounded Knee Incident between the American Indian Movement (AIM) and the FBI, and the realization that this is the poorest reservation in the nation leave one searching for answers. Here is Teressa's description of the day:
Our journey today took us back into South Dakota through the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Having done our homework, we stopped at the visitor center in Chadron, Nebraska to be sure this was an area open to tourists and, literally, safe for us to travel. Although Pine Ridge is the eighth largest reservation in the United States, it is one of te poorest places in the country. Unemployment on the Reservation hovers around 20% and 49% live below the federal poverty level. Adolescent suicide is four times the national average. Many of the families have no electricity, telephone, running water, or sewer. The population on Pine Ridge has among the shortest life expectancies of any group in the Western Hemisphere: approximately 47 years for males and in the low 50s for females. We are driving a new RV and truck, laden with 10-speed bikes, through their land. You get the picture.
We decided to go through the reservation en route to the South Dakota Bad Lands and Wall Drug. We were pleasantly surprised. We stopped at Wounded Knee to get a feel for the area where one of the worst Indian massacres occurred. There we met a Lakota (Sioux) family who were selling their beautiful beadwork by the roadside. They told us that the road marker was wrong. According to US military history, a gunshot went off which led the cavalry to believe the Indians were attacking. They proceeded to shoot every Indian they saw at point blank range and to launch their two pound artillary shells into the teepee area which was where the women and children waited. The result was that they killed many women and children while the men (Indians) fought the cavalry. There were a total of around 300 Indians at Wounded Knee. Only 53 were men; around 250 were women and kids. US history tells us that the Indians had guns hidden in their bedding. The Lakota tell us that the Indians surrendered about 5 miles from Wounded Knee and at the point of surrender all of their weapons were confiscated, per military policy. What really happened?, I shudder because I do know that those who are victorious write the history books. It was an ugly yet inevitable time in our history, and very sad.
The beauty of the story is that the woman and her child were people with the most respectable values. He sat near the Wounded Knee roadside sign and talked to tourists about the Sioux point of view. She created beautiful jewelry to support her family. She told of the high levels of alcoholism on the reservation. Yet, she and her husband have chosen a life without alcohol and have taken in many (9 or 10) children of other Lakota people where the parents have fallen into the pits of alcoholism and poverty. We feel humbled to have met these people who are doing more for humanity than most of us will do in a lifetime.
We decided to go through the reservation en route to the South Dakota Bad Lands and Wall Drug. We were pleasantly surprised. We stopped at Wounded Knee to get a feel for the area where one of the worst Indian massacres occurred. There we met a Lakota (Sioux) family who were selling their beautiful beadwork by the roadside. They told us that the road marker was wrong. According to US military history, a gunshot went off which led the cavalry to believe the Indians were attacking. They proceeded to shoot every Indian they saw at point blank range and to launch their two pound artillary shells into the teepee area which was where the women and children waited. The result was that they killed many women and children while the men (Indians) fought the cavalry. There were a total of around 300 Indians at Wounded Knee. Only 53 were men; around 250 were women and kids. US history tells us that the Indians had guns hidden in their bedding. The Lakota tell us that the Indians surrendered about 5 miles from Wounded Knee and at the point of surrender all of their weapons were confiscated, per military policy. What really happened?, I shudder because I do know that those who are victorious write the history books. It was an ugly yet inevitable time in our history, and very sad.
The beauty of the story is that the woman and her child were people with the most respectable values. He sat near the Wounded Knee roadside sign and talked to tourists about the Sioux point of view. She created beautiful jewelry to support her family. She told of the high levels of alcoholism on the reservation. Yet, she and her husband have chosen a life without alcohol and have taken in many (9 or 10) children of other Lakota people where the parents have fallen into the pits of alcoholism and poverty. We feel humbled to have met these people who are doing more for humanity than most of us will do in a lifetime.
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