Land of the Lakota, Pine Ridge and winter in “the rez”.
It’s supposed to be 25 degrees below tonight in Pine Ridge. Wind chills will make it feel even colder.
During the day, the homeless find shelter at Pastor Daniel Johnson’s Reconciliation Center. They get a hot meal, can shower, have their clothes washed and watch TV. There is always a pack of dogs waiting for a bite in front of the door. The animals sleep outside even in freezing temperatures, their fur therefore is thick and shaggy like that of a bear.
Two homeless have already frozen to death this year and one dog. After the first death, the tribal administration opened the door of the basketball hall. It is now the night shelter for those who have no home – or no wood to heat their homes. There are many of them on the reservation. In the gym, they also get something to eat. The lights stay on all night – to protect the women present and to prevent theft.
The gym has a name: “Billy Mills”. Named after William “Bill” Mills, Oglala Lakota and 1964 Tokyo Olympic champion in the 10,000-meter race. To date, he is the only American to medal in the event. At this year’s Lakota Nation Invitational, a sports festival for young Indians, in the next town over, Rapid City, Billy Mills, now 85, gave a talk. Among other things, he told the story of the unusual friendship between Jesse Owen, the black U.S. Olympic long jump champion in Berlin in 1936, and Luz Long, the German silver medalist. While Adolf Hitler would have demonstratively left the stands during the award ceremony, the defeated Luz Long would have been the first to congratulate the victorious Jesse Owen.
The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation of the Oglala Lakota is slightly larger in area than Hawaii and slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Maryland, and has a population of just under 30,000, according to recent estimates. The landscape is gently rolling with the famous rock formations of the “Badlands” in the north.
Socially, however, the reservation holds some sad records: Per capita income is the lowest of all U.S. reservations, and more than half of the residents live below the poverty line. Life expectancy is lower than in most African countries. The unemployment rate, on the other hand, is one of the highest in the country at nearly 90 percent. The reservation is known for the historic village of Wounded Knee: here the U.S. Army committed a massacre in 1890; some 300 Oglala Lakota, mostly women and children, were murdered and buried. In 1973, members and supporters of the American Indian Movement occupied the site – in protest of the tribal governing body at the time and general discrimination by the U.S. government.
PS: It got even colder than 25 degrees below that night. About 50 homeless escaped the bitter cold and slept in the night shelter. The dogs were housed in a temporary shelter. Some people want to set up a permanent shelter for the animals.
I got caught in the middle of a snowstorm at Wounded Knee.
About the historic site and the Indian reservation more from me soon on air.
