Reflections From The Rez

I think I've finally settled in, caught up with myself, and started to process being back -- three weeks later. It seems like it has been longer, actually. The familarity of my surroundings: seeing the same people at Bats from last summer, working in the same communities, and getting back into the routine at Re-Member. This season, I've taken on a number of new roles with the organization, allowing me to be more closely involved with the day-to-day and long-term operations. I am also coordinating our Program Manager staff, consisting of former volunteers who elect to come back with us for anywhere from three to eight-plus weeks as staff. It is both a challenge, and an opportunity to coordinate this program, as I was in that role last year. Spending more time in the office does have certain drawbacks, the greatest of which is spending less time out in the communities. I have certainly found myself missing the amount of interaction that comes with being in homes every day. With b...

I am returning to Pine Ridge, and to Re-Member in one week. The course of events that has brought me here has been an interesting one to say the least. When I left Pine Ridge last fall, my intent was to seek permanent employment in a career-path job, but as time passed, and options opened, and closed, and then opened again, I found the option that was best suited for me right now was on the Rez. Is this a career? No, but it's an opportunity that is available right now to do something I am passionate about, to work with people who love what they are doing. It almost has become a joke with family and friends that after applying for over twenty jobs (mostly in Northern New England) that I've settled on returning to Pine Ridge because "there's more opportunity on the rez than there is at home!" It's not about the money, and although there are loans to pay each and every month for the education that is responsible for bringing me to Pine Ridge in the first place, I...

A report from KELO-TV in Rapid City shines a light on the ongoing issues of Whiteclay, and the latest efforts to bring change to the area. See the original story, posted online, here .

I haven't seen Avatar, and probably won't till it works it's way onto my Netflix queue a year from now. The hype surrounding the stunning animation failed to draw me into a theater (due partly in fact to the reality that the nearest I-Max theater is over an hour away) but the story, at first blush didn't seem all that appealing either. However, as the reviews began to delve deeper into the storyline, and informed movie-viewers started to draw parallels to Kevin Costner's Dances With Wolves , one begins to wonder... Did James Cameron just produce the box-office record setting film that is effectively a storyline that describes the historical realities of the American West? In reading several analysis pieces, MTV provides one of the more telling analyses. Following, a piece from 4 January, 2010 -- found in full at the MTV website . 'Avatar' And 'Dances With Wolves': How Similar Are They? We break down the similarities between the epic movies. By Eric D...

It's been a while since I've posted any original content, but the associated links and content were fillers in a time where I felt it appropriate to step away, for a time, and evaluate my position with things on Pine Ridge. Since leaving in October of 2009, I've been on an interesting journey. From crossing the country, or parts of it several times, to dealing with unemployment, prospective employment, and temporary employment, my mind has been torn in about as many directions as possible. I applied for the vacated Director position at Re-Member following my travel to Michigan to meet with the Re-Member Board of Directors in November 2009, and was informed on December 31 that I was a finalist for the position, but that another individual had been selected. I congratulate Ted, the former Board President on assuming the reigns of Re-Member, and leaving behind his own business and personal life in Michigan to attend to the organization he has coordinated from a Board position ...

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...