About the Pine Ridge Reservation

This naturally beautiful Reservation is rich in culture and tradition, and encompasses rolling prairie, white clay bluffs, ponderosa pine forests, meadows and badlands. The culture of the Lakota people is renowned for its wealth. Although Pine Ridge is rich in many ways, it is poor economically. This vast two million acre Reservation includes the two poorest counties in the United States. Many households are without running water, sewer or telephone. Poverty affects both people and animals in profound ways. See http://www.lakotamall.com/oglalasiouxtribe/ for more information about Pine Ridge.

Some facts about Pine Ridge:

 

• Approximately 85% of the population is unemployed
• Approximately 97% of the population lives below the poverty level
• Shannon County, SD, which sits within the Reservation, is annually ranked as one of the three poorest counties in the United States
• The average life expectancy for men is 48 years of age and for women, 52
• Teen suicide is 150% higher than the national average
• Infant mortality rates are 300% higher than the national average
• Rates of diabetes are 800% higher than the national average
• Approximately 80% of adults suffer from alcoholism
• School drop out rates often exceed 70%
• Average winter temperatures range from 10-20 degrees Fahrenheit
• There is one animal control officer to cover the huge Reservation

 

The grass is not greener on the other side of the fence for this mare and her foal. Horses, an integral part of the Lakota culture, are sometimes neglected.

 

Pete a Lakota Animal Care Giver talks to boy on horseback