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LITTLE KNOWN FACTS ABOUT PINE RIDGE |
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE LAKOTA AND THE PINE RIDGE RESERVATION In popular parlance, several of the plains tribes are referred to by the loose term "Sioux". "Sioux" is actually the French abbreviation of the Ojibwe (Chippewa) word meaning "snake", and was originally a reflection on the stealth and sudden striking capability for which they were well known among those groups and tribes who considered them to be enemies. The Sioux identify themselves as Lakota (pronounced in some dialects as Dakota or Nakota), a term which means "friend" or "ally" in the Lakota language. The Lakota Nation is the conglomeration of several bands, known as the Oceti Sakowin, or the Seven Council Fires. The largest of these Council Fires is the Tetonwan, which means "the People of the Plains". The Tetonwan are further divided into seven sub-bands, of which the Oglala is the largest. The Oglala are recognized by the United States government as the Oglala Sioux Tribe, Inc. The Oglala traditionally occupied a large swath of land surrounding the Black Hills area, a sacred site for the Lakota. The Lakota Nation has had a long history of great and well known leaders such as Red Cloud, Big Foot, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, American Horse, etc. The people who presently live on the reservation are a wonderful people. They have a beautiful culture grounded in the traditional Lakota values.
The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 established the Great Sioux Nation as extending from Canada to the North, through to Kansas to the South, into Wyoming to the west, and Wisconsin to the east. Over the course of many years of war with the United States Government, the land allotted to the Lakota was divided among the seven bands, and slowly decreased until it reached the existing borders of the Pine Ridge Reservation, the only remaining reservation for the Oglala Lakota. The reservation is beset with problems, mostly arising from poverty and the cultural damage caused by destructive government programs of assimilation. Over half of the population on the reservation is under 18 years of age, with a rough life expectancy some twenty years less than the national average. Infant mortality rates are more than twice the national average, and sixty-nine percent of the children who survive live below the national poverty line. Diabetes runs rampant around the reservation, with rates almost four times higher than the national average. Heart disease rates sit at twice the national average. Unemployment rate is approximately eighty-five percent--the reservation lacks any form of industry, and a very limited economy, making work extremely difficult to find, and bringing the per capita income of the reservation to an average of $4000. Rates of alchoholism almost exactly mirror the unemployment rate. Red Cloud Indian School is addressing the needs of the people of the Pine Ridge Reservation. Red Cloud Indian School teaches the students to be proud of their Lakota culture, language and spirituality. Red Cloud also gives students the educational tools needed for today, by teaching Math, Science, English, Computer Science, etc. Our parishes help support people as they deal with the extreme poverty, substance abuse and the despair that can accompany it. |
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While there are many things that any culture finds to be virtuous, there are seven virtues which are considered by many to be the heart of the Lakota lifestyle. These are Wocekiya or Prayer, Waohola or Respect, Waonsila, or Compassion, Wowijake, or Honesty, Wawokiye, or Generosity, Wahwala, or humility, and Woksape, or Wisdom.