When One Thinks About Pine Ridge...

…they think of poverty, they think of desperation, they think of despair. So often the lens through which places like Pine Ridge are presented is one of prescribed misery. And though Pine Ridge is a hard place, and yes, a poor place, It is rich in much else and there is much here beyond misery.

It’s true, Pine Ridge has its issues, as do communities across the country and the globe. The conditions many live in on the Rez are abhorrent and unacceptable. The opportunity to thrive is far too limited. However, many rightfully refuse to be defined by their present circumstances and live in opposition to the existence they are continuously boxed into by society at large. 

When I first came to the Rez, driving around, I saw so much negative, so much to be upset about, to be angry about, so much that I wanted to fix. I viewed these people and this place as broken. It was a long time before I woke up and realized that all I was seeing was exactly what I was looking for. My eyes were half shut, my vision preconditioned to see what I thought I ought to. But this was a mistake and a disservice to the people who live here. My ignorance was denying them the fullness of their lives and their right to exist as they see fit.

Today, as I drive around Pine Ridge I see hardship, yes, it is hard to miss, but I also see happiness, laughter and joy. Visible examples of this reality are all around me, I just have to pay attention to what I am looking for. 

When I think of Pine Ridge I see the smile on Robert Red Feather’s face as he hands me a can of pop, a thank-you for the wood delivery that day and far more than he ever needed to give. I hear the loud celebratory war cry booming out of John Little Moon and echoing across the butte as we realize, over some small talk, that we share a birthday (March 30). I feel the warmth of a home heated by the very wood we deliver when Doree excitedly invites me inside to show off her newborn granddaughter. These are but a few examples.

I think about that granddaughter and how the Pine Ridge she grows up on might be different than the one her grandmother has experienced. Change is slow and this place, people and culture have been deeply wounded. Deep wounds take time to heal, but the people here are strong. I am honored, privileged and humbled to be able to serve them in the small ways I do. I will not “fix” this place and neither will anyone from the outside, but we can help where it is needed, and when we are asked.

I am often taken aback by the beauty of Pine Ridge as I drive around delivering wood. The tree-capped bluffs that surround me on the way into Manderson, gorgeous scenic vistas heading from Porcupine to Wounded Knee, where one can see for miles, the sky visibly meeting the horizon in all directions. The Badlands that stretch out and engulf me as I head north from Sharps. The magpies that fly by in twos, threes, and sometimes four or more, wings exploding with color as they leap into the sky.

The Oglala Oyate of Pine Ridge amaze me daily with their resilience. I am aware of how much the wisdom of this culture and the experiences of the people here have to offer both me as an individual and society at large. 

Pine Ridge has a rich cultural heritage that is treasured and protected. What this country once attempted to smother out is now burning strong, and I see in every pow-wow, sweat lodge and sun-dance a continued resistance and defiance to attempted subjection and eradication. The Lakota language is spoken by many and is now being taught in schools so that children may learn and ensure the transfer of knowledge to future generations. 

It is powerful to witness the unbreakable spirit within many on the Rez and I am continuously inspired by and grateful to those I meet. I hope that as a society we begin to wake up to the value represented by this lands First Nations. Those whose culture history and identities were formed here, for countless generations, on the very soil so many of us now also call home. 

If I have learned something, it is that it is important to listen to and to learn from those who came before us. To see as best we can through their eyes and to take lessons from their wisdom. There will always be more we can learn. So start paying attention. 

What are you looking for?