Reflections From The Rez

From The New York Times: "Tribal officials on the Pine Ridge Oglala Sioux Reservation are struggling to control a rash of gang-related crime among native youth." View the published article, and an accompanying audio slideshow from the NYT Online. The article, published in the Times on 13 December: "Gang Violence Grows on an Indian Reservation." http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/14/us/14gangs.html Styling themselves after large urban gangs, the Indian gangs have emerged as one more destructive force in some of the country’s poorest and most neglected places. The audio slideshow : http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/12/13/us/1247465539709/gangs-on-tribal-lands.html

A story from the Rapid City Journal on the Pine Ridge BIA Chief's son, a Darmouth College grad who by all standards, lived a double life upon his return to the Rez. From the RCJ: By day, Ecoffey worked for the Pine Ridge Area Chamber of Commerce. He mentored and tutored reservation youth, taught classes and was assistant basketball coach at Red Cloud High School. But by night, he ran with a crowd that was dealing cocaine and marijuana. He developed a gambling problem and a serious cocaine addiction, eventually distributing drugs himself. Read More: BIA superintendent's son sentenced for drug conspiracy

My stay on Pine Ridge has concluded, for now. I left the Rez on Thursday, bound for Rapid City and an airplane that would jet me back into a reality that I wasn't quite prepared for. It has been a bit surreal over the past few weeks as I have packed my things, shipped them home, and attempted to prepare myself for the transition back home. In the last two weeks, as the weather became worse and worse, the requests for help only intensified. In spite of less than optimal weather -- everything from 15 degree days with snow, to 40 degree days with steady rain -- we slogged our way though a project a day at times, in our attempt to help as many families as possible before the end of the season. I made my last trip to Bette's Kitchen, Big Bats, Sioux Nation and the Pine Ridge Subway with Bryan during the last week, spending the time driving US-18 talking about the transition back home, and joking about how our outlook on day-to-day things have changed. It's impossible to describe...

The border town of Whiteclay, Nebraska

In the best of conditions, Pine Ridge challenges many of it's residents to survive on a day to day basis. This summer, at countless job sites, I have watched homeowners struggle to stay cool during the day, evading the blistering sun by chasing the slim shadow cast by their trailers from one side to the other as the heat builds through the day. Many homes sit on the grasslands, with no shade nearby. Running an air conditioner is impractical or impossible in many instances. Rain may cool things off, but brings a new set of issues. Many homes suffer from leaking roofs, an issue we encounter in many of the homes that we work on. With water damage, the whole structure can be compromised, and mold is a huge problem. Dozens of homes that I have worked in this summer have various stages of mold contamination, rotting wood and other issues brought about by water damage. A great number of the roofing problems arise from the incredible winds that take a great toll on the many trailers that d...

The 2000 Census (at which time Shannon County was the second poorest in the United States.) Pine Ridge, SD : -population: 3,171 -racial makeup: 94.2% Native American / 3.72% White -median age: 20 -per-capita income: $6,067 -population below poverty: 61% Augusta, ME : -population: 18,560 -racial makeup: 96.2% White / 0.5% Native American -median age: 40.3 -per-capita income: $19,145 -population below poverty: 15% Last week, for the first time since I arrived in June, I had a break. Re-Member was closed for the week -- the first "down week" since April for the full time staff. Bryan and I decided to head to the Rockies, and Colorado with no agenda, no reservations, no real plans. As we drove out of Pine Ridge, there was the joy to be getting away, mixed with a twinge of "so what do I do if I'm not here?" No sooner had we arrived in Fort Collins, Colorado -- our first stop -- than we were hit with a bit of culture shock. Everything from the mowed and manicured lawn...

You can't expect to "get it" in a week. I can't expect you to "get it" when I tell you about it. You can't come with the expectation that you will understand or appreciate or be able to comprehend the challenges we face on a day-to-day basis ranging from our ability to order fresh produce to our ability to navigate to our work sites when there is no address system. Re-Member does what it can do, with what it has. Pine Ridge is unlike any other place you have probably ever done a service/mission/work/experiential/immersion/whatever-you-may-call-it kind of trip before. Worked on the Gulf Coast fixing homes destroyed by hurricanes? Wonderful, it is all needed work, but it is the result of a natural disaster that destroyed the homes of people who had it made before a terrible event ruined their lives in 12 hours. On Pine Ridge, we are working to repair the result of decades of man-made disasters that have left this reservation on the cusp of the third world....

Photo update time, a blog entry to follow this week, if time permits. To see all SoDak 2009 photos, visit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/corytrue/ The Targets on "Bombing Range Road" Sunrise at Re-Member: Friday, September 4 Dinosaur Park: Rapid City, So. Dak.

A "quick" supply run out Bombing Range produced this gem, thanks to KILI...

15 miles of dirt "road" separate you from the world. Your back yard is a National Park, you cook outside, in the shadow of your trailer. Your kids miss more than twenty days of school a year because the bus isn't able to get to your driveway, as determined each morning by a man on a four wheeler who has the job of driving Bombing Range Road to decide whether it's safe or not to send the bus out. Such are the conditions of the family of Keith Janis. Re-Member launched a project at his two trailers, amazingly connected with a breezeway/loft that form one of the most unique homes I have yet to see on the rez. Getting to the house is nearly as unique. After passing through the town of Kyle, and heading back into the countryside, a signpost on the side of the road indicates that you have arrived at "Bombing Range Road" -- a reflection on the historic use of the area by the U.S. Military for target practice. The trip begins, through cattle pastures -- and at time...

At some point, after you've been on the Rez for a while, everything starts to become the same. The scenery never becomes less inspiring, the stories never become less heartbreaking, the people never become less important, and the work never becomes easier, but everything and everyone becomes an amalgamation of need and stories that wrap up into one unending experience. It will wear you out, and despite the best efforts of anyone, there doesn't seem to be a good cure. Leaving the R ez (as I've now done eight weekends in a row) for trips to Rapid City are one respite from the monotony of Pine Ridge, yet the city only brings out other inequalities that screw with your mind... Everything from the television that hangs over the baggage claim at the RAP Airport, to the sterile environment inside shopping centers. When you are on Pine Ridge, it's almost easier to clear your mind than when you are off. Here, we are surrounded by the good and the bad all the time, but it'...

Photos from Sheep Mountain Table, Badlands National Park, South Unit. More at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/corytrue/

A busy few weeks (which is a partial explanation for a lack of blogging lately) is about to wrap up with a 3:30 a.m. run up to Rapid City to drop off a group from CT at the airport. Last weekend was the Oglala Nation Pow-Wow in Pine Ridge, the largest pow-wow of the summer on the Rez. Over 300 dancers filled the arena, and we were fortunate enough to be able to attend on Friday night (without volunteers) and on Saturday with our new volunteers. Saturday morning was also the Pine Ridge parade, allowing Re-Member to haul the shell of an outhouse through town on a trailer, throwing out about $200 worth of candy to what seemed like the entire population of the Rez packed into a one-mile stretch. With the departure of Phil, the Assistant Director, who was also one of the Construction Managers, Bryan and I have taken on our own work-crews. We spent this week out past Kyle skirting a trailer and building a deck/ramp/stairs. More soon, in the meantime, new photos at: http://www.flickr.com/phot...

One month into my stay at Re-Member on the Pine Ridge Reservation, I think it’s time to revisit the question: why Pine Ridge? Each day is something special here. Although waking up at 6 am can become a struggle towards the end of each week, the realization that by noon I will have made a difference in someone’s life helps to get me out of bed. Whether it’s skirting a trailer in Oglala with winterization materials to help keep a family just a little bit warmer, or roofing a century-old log home in Pine Ridge for Noah and his family, or any of the countless other projects that I’ve been a part of in the past four weeks… Each day is also stunningly depressing. Not necessarily each day by itself, because the day-to-day work allows one to see the progress they are making, the homes we pull up to that are in rough shape that look just a little bit better when we pull away. It is the amalgamation of day after day after day of “making a difference” that you realize the scope of the poverty and...

What does a typical day at Re-Member look like? The answer is that there isn't a typical day. Saturday is the start of our week, we welcome new volunteers starting at 2 p.m., ending our weekend (which begins on Friday at 9 a.m. when the group from the previous week departs.) We spend most of Saturday moving people in, getting them settled and oriented to the program. Sunday morning is sleep-in day (7 a.m. rather than 6 which is wake-up time the rest of the week.) On Sunday morning, we visit the mass grave at Wounded Knee, which is located about fifteen minutes away from Re-Member. Tom -- the Executive Director -- tells the story of the incidents that have taken place there, and then allows volunteers time to reflect at the cemetary and mass grave site. Sunday afternoon, we build the Re-Member tepee, and typically have a few hours of work projects around the site that help us get ready for the week ahead. We end Sunday night with our first Lakota speaker, Minerva Blacksmith who spea...

"Noah's House" - Wednesday, July 8 At Re-Member - Tuesday, July 7 Badlands, National Park - Sunday, July 5 See all of my photos at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/corytrue/

Oh hey... so a week went by. Woops. Really busy last week with a number of projects. I worked with three of our four construction crews Monday-Thursday: Jerry, Corbin, Mike and Chris. Over the course of four days, I worked at three different sites, spending two days in Pine Ridge (at the house I have previously written about -- Noah's -- as well as two other homes; one in Porcupine and one in Manderson. I spent my weekend (Friday) up in Rapid City with our Executive Director and another summer staffer, Robin. What we expected to be a pretty quick and routine supply run turned into a thirteen hour trip to the "tenth layer of hell" (we noted this revelation while in the Wal Mart parking lot.) On the bright side, I can now say I have been to Sanford's (pub and grub) -- a regional institution well known to previous SAC visitors. We attempted to come back to the Rez via Red Shirt Table (an awesome overlook of the Badlands,) but the South Dakota highway department had other...

It's amazing how you go from a high, to a low. Yesterday, I was hiking the Badlands. Some of the most stunning natural beauty in my opinion that exists anywhere in the world. With a ten minute walk from the gravel road, you can be surrounded in a natural bowl of earth, carved out into amazing geological formations that tower skyward. The Badlands can be incredibly quiet, and stunningly serene as there are enormous tracts of land that remain untouched by man and machine. And so we sit, when we visit the Badlands, in silence. Asking our volunteers to decompress, disconnect and "plug-in" to the world around them. It's a special place. Today, the reality of the Rez . I worked on a house in the town of Pine Ridge, the service-center of the entire reservation. In Pine Ridge, you find the comparative amenities of the civilized world: a grocery store, community services, and so on. The house that we worked on today, threw any expectation that things in Pine Ridge are better ...

Wolf Creek Sundance Grounds More photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/corytrue/

How does one celebrate a birthday on the Rez? Working. (But it's all good.) Allowed myself to sleep in this morning till a generous 6:20 a.m. alarm. Then laid in bed for ten more minutes before heading into breakfast. Spent the morning on the site at Re-Member helping to pour a concrete slab that will house a new walk-in cooler. The afternoon was a mishmash of supervising crews, and, with much excitement and anticipation, making my innaugural trek in the famed dually into Pine Ridge. I was sent into Pine Ridge to Sioux Nation, the only "legitimate" grocery store on the Rez to pick up some supplies for our volunteers' lunches tomorrow. Of course, nothing is that simple on the Rez. Sioux Nation recently suffered from a burst sewage pipe -- creating a bit of a waste situation, in the store. Locals, and the staff here have rebranded the store: "Sewage Nation." As you walk through the aisles, you notice a combination of inflated prices on basic goods, and under-c...

The past 24 hours pretty much sum up the best and the worst on the Rez. On Monday night, we attended a powwow in Porcupine. The event concluded the first day of a housing summit on the Rez, being co-sponsored by Re-Member. During the day, various speakers presented updates and new ideas on promoting affordable, adequate and sustainable housing options on the Rez. After a crazy thunderstorm the sun poked through the clouds, leaving us with the perfect night (in other words, it wasn't 90 degrees any more) to watch a traditional powwow with dozens of dancers. As the night concluded, and we made the drive from Porcupine back to Pine Ridge, I had a chance to reflect on my time here so far: the good and the bad, the improvements and the things that have become worse. Wednesday morning I awoke and was assigned to a work crew that was traveling to a house about 45 minutes away from Pine Ridge. I drove a van of volunteers out, and was able to talk to them as we made the drive. Many had been...

How does one paint the side of a trailer without a ladder? You stack tires laying around the yard on top of one another to stand on. Welcome to Lakota problem solving 101. Working on a wheelchair ramp at a house that must have at least 10 or 15 kids inside. They don't have running water, so they use a van to shuttle water from up the road.

Photos from the Pow-wow last night are on Flickr, I'll update with a blog entry today or tomorrow... http://www.flickr.com/photos/corytrue/

Tom (the Executive Director) brought up an interesting point during the orientation for the group here this week as they were introduced to Re-Member on Saturday afternoon. Many, including Tom, describe the poverty on Pine Ridge as being that of "third world" levels. Tom noted that earlier in the season, he was challenged in this definition, with the suggestion that the term "developing nation" is now used as a more descriptive term for locales that experience poverty today. The reality is, Pine Ridge is not a developing nation. Earlier this year, I visited Honduras, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. As I experienced Honduras, it is easy to see how one would deem the poverty I saw there to be that of a developing nation. In Tegucigalpa, the capital city, streets are lined with chain restaurants, factories, growing neighborhoods -- as well as run down businesses, abandoned homes and slums. Outside the capital, as one moves further into the rural...

New photos up on my Flickr page, http://www.flickr.com/photos/corytrue/ Busy day on Monday, which will end with a pow-wow in Porcupine. Update soon.

I’m here! In spite of the best efforts of US Airways, United and Frontier Airlines, I finally arrived at Re-Member at about 10 p.m. on Friday night. The trip out was eventful, as always. I left home at 3:30 a.m. on Friday morning, caught my first flight from Portland to New York, and had sixty minutes to make a connection at La Guardia. Shouldn’t have been a problem, but I had to change airlines and terminals, and go through security again. Despite my best efforts, I was two minutes late arriving at the ticket counter, and was told I would have to bump to another flight. Little did I know that the random henchmen at the Frontier counter were booking me a first-class ticket to Denver, to make up for the fact that I was going to have to sit in the terminal from 9 until 2 in the afternoon. So yeah, seat 4A was a good time. I boarded with all the businessmen who were wearing sports coats in my shorts and flip flops. Lunch was a step up from economy class (a $6 “snack pack) as we were serve...

Didn't sleep last night. At all. Left home at 4 a.m. Quick flight from Portland to La Guardia, but it was too quick. Sat on the taxiway waiting for our gate... I was two minutes late for my transfer. Friendly Frontier people quickly rebooked me though, on a United flight at 2 p.m. (only problem was that, at the time it was 9 a.m.) When I checked in with United, I find out they put me in first class. Sweet life. I may be arriving in Rapid 3 hours late, but it will be done with class, first class.

Statistics fall well short of providing an accurate picture of life on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Official numbers, gathered by the U.S. Census bureau, among other agencies, paint a grim picture, but it is important to note that it is both incomplete, and only one representation of life on the Rez. From the Re-Member website : From 1980 to 2000, the counties that make up Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota comprised the poorest of our nation's 3,143 counties. The 2000 census found them the third poorest, not because things got better on Pine Ridge, but because things got worse on two other South Dakota Indian Reservations. The poverty on Pine Ridge can be described in no other terms than "third world." It is common to find homes terribly overcrowded, as those with homes take in whoever needs a roof over their heads. Many homes are without running water, and without sewer. While the 2000 census reported a population of 15,521, a study by Colorado State Univers...

Spring Break 2008 was going to by my first real "vacation" since Thanksgiving of 2007. With all of the opportunities surrounding the 2008 New Hampshire Presidential Primary, I had basically been going nonstop for nearly two years with all-things-politics, and had given up most of my Christmas recess to return to New Hampshire to work for ABC News and the college in the weeks and days leading up to January 8, Primary day. Following the primary, I was looking forward to heading home to Maine to enjoy a few days with friends and family, who I had barely caught up with over Christmas, given the fact that I made it home only three days before the 25th, and was back in NH on January 2 pulling satellite uplinks across the roof of the Center of New Hampshire (oh the things you can say you did as a student at Saint Anselm!) Anyways, the point of the story: About two weeks prior to spring break, which falls around the end of February or early in the month of March at Saint A's, my ...

An old piece (2007) from Al Jazeera, worth a watch.

Two weeks from tomorrow I'll be heading west. Soon, but in many ways, not soon enough. Having graduated one month ago this weekend, I am becoming more and more sure that splitting my time between New Hampshire, and the campus of Saint Anselm, and Maine, at home, was the best possible scenario by which to get through the month and a half between graduation and departure. Although neither locale has offered me the new experience that I'm so ready to embrace, the familiarity of campus and home - combined with the occasional lack of anything else to do - has given me plenty of time to think about my pending work with Re-Member, and what will come after that. Currently, three Saint Anselm students - one who I traveled to South Dakota with in 2008, and two additional students who visited this year with the Spring Break Alternative program at Saint Anselm College are working with Re-Member. As they prepare to depart, I will be heading out with another 2009 SBA participant who will be ...