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Pine Ridge / Oglala & Wagner S.Dakota Overview
We now have two Lakota ministry sites in South Dakota. One in Pine Ridge and the other 250 miles east in Wagner. Both serve the Lakota Native American Reservations and have similar needs. The Wagner site is only a year old and would love to have your team come join them as they get this new ministry established. The Pine Ridge Reservation is located in southwestern South Dakota on the Nebraska state line and about 50 miles east of the Wyoming border. Pine Ridge is home to the Oglala Lakota Sioux, which has a total tribal membership of 17,775. The reservation’s fascinating history includes the victory at the Battle of Little Big Horn and the devastating massacre at Wounded Knee. Today, the total land area of the reservation is 2.8 million acres, with 1.7 million acres tribally or individually owned. The land is the economic base of the reservation, as the major occupation is cattle ranching and farming. But employment is the exception at Pine Ridge, where the unemployment rate hovers near 85 percent. Pine Ridge is one of the poorest communities in the country, with 97 percent living below the federal poverty level and an average family income of just $3,700 per year. Further struggles in this community include an adolescent suicide rate that is four times the national average, and high rates of alcoholism, heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Despite these struggles, Pine Ridge residents cling to their resilient spirit and cultural pride. Come to Pine Ridge for an eye-opening experience, including opportunities to bless these hurting people with your service and to show the love of Jesus to this community.
Pine Ridge / Oglala & Wagner S.Dakota History
The Oglala Sioux, along with the six other groups of Lakota, had
separated from each other by the early 19th century. By 1830, the
Oglala had around 3,000 members. In the 1820s and 1830s the Oglala,
along with the Brulé (another division of Lakota) and three other Sioux
sects, formed the Sioux Alliance. This Alliance caused much warfare
between the Western Sioux and surrounding tribes for territorial and
hunting reasons.
Pine Ridge / Oglala & Wagner S.Dakota Culture and People
Family was and still is of utmost importance to the Oglala Sioux,
with loyalty to the tribe coming in close second. Each family had one
or more tipi households. Most women stayed home and cooked and did work
around the tipi until the men came home with food.
Each of the
twenty tribes were subdivided into bands (tiyospaye), which consisted
of a number of smaller family camps (tiwahe). During parts of the year,
the small camps were scattered across the region; at other times, these
camps gathered together as a thiyóšpaye to cooperate on activities such
as a large buffalo hunt. Each summer, usually in early June, bands from
many groups gathered together for the annual sacred Sun Dance.
Writing
in 1875, the Indian agent at the Red Cloud Agency, Dr. John J. Saville,
noted that the Oglala tribe was divided into three main bands: the
Kiyuksa, the Oyuhpe and the head band or True Oglala. "Each of these
bands are subdivided into smaller parties, variously named, usually
designated by the name of their chief or leader.
In the years
immediately following the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, these bands
became increasingly polarized as leaders struggled with decisions
relating to the continued American encroachment on their territory.
Some bands chose to come in to the Indian agencies (forerunner to the
reservations) where they received beef and other rations from the U.S.
government. Other bands decided to remain out, attempting to continue
the traditional lifeways for as long as possible. Many bands moved
between these two extremes, coming in to the agencies during the winter
and joining their relatives in the north each spring. These challenges
further split the various Oglala bands.
On The Reservation
After being moved several times during the 1870s, the Red Cloud Agency
was relocated one final time in 1878 and renamed the Pine Ridge
Reservation. By 1890, the reservation included 5537 people, divided
into a number of districts that include some 30 distinct communities.
Crime Since the only police force on the Pine Ridge Reservation
is the tribal police, most crime is not reported outside the tribe.
Rampant crime, especially drug manufacture and sale. No state or county
courts have jurisdiction. Massive amounts of taxpayer money have done
nothing to raise the standard of living.
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