After our stop at Badlands National Park, we drove through the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation to Wounded Knee. The Reservation sits in a vast plain, with few houses dotting the landscape. We took a wrong turn down an unpaved road as we were looking for the Wounded Knee Memorial, and passed a lone trailer. Outside, two Native American kids, a little older than Alex, were playing. One of them looked up and flipped us off.
"Why did he do that, Mom? He showed us his middle finger! That is sooo not nice!" Alex was outraged by this gesture.
To be honest, I didn't know exactly why he did it, but we clearly didn't belong there.
We finally found the Wounded Knee Visitors Center and Memorial. It was a round, dark building that looked like a giant chocolate cake. Inside, it was dark and windowless. Three women sat behind a desk, selling jewelry and mementos of Wounded Knee. The walls were decorated with photos and descriptions of what had happened there. There was a sense of outrage about the place. In big letters on the wall, someone had written: "The Indian Wars Are Not Over."
The following words were written on the wall:
During the 1970's terror once again filled the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The traditional LAKOTA People were being terrorized and murdered. The corrupt Chairman and his Goons along with the F.B.I. carried out the reign of terror. The Chiefs and Headsmen had meetings and called A.I.M. to come and assist. On February 27, 1973 the siege began and the War was on for 71 days. Two LAKOTAS were killed in action, Buddy Lamont and Frank Clearwater who gave the ultimate sacrifice. LAKOTA War leader Pedro Bissonette was gunned down by the B.I.A. Police 6 months after the Takeover. The American Indian Movement was instrumental in alot of the postive changes that affect us today. indian Pride was revived and the resurgence of our Spirituality Began.
All of the writing on the walls was neatly hand-lettered, and there were photos and collages in frames all around. This was clearly something that had been done by the people themselves, to commemorate the sad plight of the Lakota people, of their betrayal by the US government, and bloody battles and sacrifice made by them.
We didn't stay long. The place broke my heart. We bought some jewelry, and gave a donation to the museum fund. The women working there were very sweet, and explained some of the symbolism in the dream catchers and jewelry they were selling. They pointed out the Wounded Knee Memorial on the top of the hill behind the Visitor's Center.
We walked up to the small cemetery and church on the hill. Most of the graves were decorated with plastic flowers, and some had water bottle stuck in the ground by the crosses or other markers that adorned the grave.
During our trip, we saw some of the high points and low points of our country's history. We saw that the early settlers had to have enormous fortitude and courage to cross the plains, and the price paid by the by the equally courageous Native Americans, who defended their lifestyle and lands in the best way they knew how.
As Americans, we tend to cherry-pick our history and focus on the positive aspects, without ever exploring or questioning the dark aspects of it. People paid a price for westward expansion, but it paid off in dividends for some, but not all. We have the highest ideals of "liberty and justice for all," but it has an unspoken caveat: "liberty and justice for all (as long as you are white and male)". We've come a long way toward erasing that caveat, but still have so far to go.
Don't believe me? Check out these statistics about the 28,000 people living in Pine Ridge:
- The median income of residents is between $2600-$3500 per year.
- 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 living on the Reservation have no electricity, telephone, running water, or sewer. Many families use wood stoves to heat their homes.
- 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.
- The infant mortality rate is five times the United States national average.
- The school drop out rate is 70%, with schools on the Reservation receiving the bottom 10% of funding.
How is any of that the mark of a just society?
We drove out of Wounded Knee as the sun was setting over the big western sky. We passed field after field of sunflowers, and noticed that they were all turning away from the setting sun, blown eastward by the high, lonesome winds. We drove and drove, and didn't get out of South Dakota until it was dark.
Want to help the people of Pine Ridge? Check out these sites:
Backpacks for Pine Ridge
One Spirit
Friends of Pine Ridge Reservation
