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There's a Cry for Social Justice Stirring in the Hearts of a Generation, Yet It's

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There's a Cry for Social Justice Stirring in the Hearts of a Generation, Yet It's A CASE FOR HOPE There’s a cry for social justice stirring in the hearts of a generation, yet it’s a cry that is only just starting to be heard. CONTENTS 3 EMBRACING CHANGE Issues facing Native Americans today, from suicide, sex trafficking, drug/alcohol abuse, poverty level, and educational shortfalls. 9 EMBRACING CULTURAL IDENTITY The awakening taking place of culture and the impact that it’s having on Native youth spiritually, mentally, and physically. 12 EMBRACING EDUCATION The role education, combined with the Native culture, is having in providing hope and direction for a bright future. 16 EMBRACING MENTORSHIP The role mentors play and the impact they can have in the lives of these young people. 20 EMBRACING HOPE Hope is the catalyst for the future. Hope is what lights the flame for a brighter future. 22 EMBRACING PARTNERSHIP Encouraging donations that make a real difference. What the power of unity can do to make an impact. Hope is what lights the flame for a brighter future. 2 A Case For Hope EMBRACING CHANGE Issues facing Native Americans today, from suicide, sex trafficking, drug/alcohol abuse, poverty level, and educational shortfalls. Introduction he vast plains of South Dakota are home to a total of nine reservations and Tdesignated tribal land areas—more than any other state. It’s estimated that the combined population of these reservations is over 110,000. The people who reside here call themselves Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota, which are dialectic distinctions between three major divisions of the Great Sioux Nation. As there are nine reservations, there are also nine tribes: the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe, Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, Oglala Sioux Tribe, Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and Yankton Sioux Tribe. The culture and history of these nations is a beautiful and rich heritage; however, it’s one that has been in a battle to be heard and understood. Beautiful South Dakota Plains. Prairies. Bandlands. Forests. Mountains. An abundant variety of wildlife. Also home to 4 of the poorest counties in the country. 3 A Case For Hope Before the establishment of the Indian reservations 165 years ago, this country’s Native ancestors had one of the healthiest cultures the world has ever known. They had a deep sense of community and family. They were masters at parenting. There was no alcohol. Poverty did not exist. They took care of Mother Earth, and Mother Earth took care of them. Lakota chief Red Cloud was an important Native American leader who fought to save his people and his people’s lands. He spoke of the Lakota Way and believed all Native people should be proud of their heritage and should preserve their way of life by following the seven Lakota virtues: respect, honesty, compassion, generosity, prayer, humility, and wisdom. Through each passing generation, however, the voice of the Lakota Way “They made us many gradually became a mere whisper through promises, more than I the plains, and a people’s culture and identity fell altogether silent. At times, can remember, but they Native Americans have lost their way of never kept but one; they life, their beliefs, and their cultural identity. Native children were taken promised to take our to boarding schools and forced to land, and they took it.” assimilate—to give up their language, their dress, and their customs. Just - Lakota Chief imagine—an entire culture being Red Cloud dismantled and left in ruins. And the trauma from that tragedy has not subsided; instead, it has been passed down from generation to generation. Native Americans have since been in a struggle to maintain their identity, feeling the weight of outside stigma and criticism due to ignorance. These circumstances have caused a downward spiral of hopelessness, pushing the Native people toward a darkness that dims their future and opening a door to poverty, drugs, alcohol, suicide, and all forms of physical and sexual abuse. 4 A Case For Hope Here are some sobering statistics relating to Native Americans in our community: • Almost 1,000 suicide attempts were recorded on the Pine Ridge Reservation between 2004 and 2013, the Associated Press reported. • On the Rosebud Reservation, 47 teenagers committed suicide over a two year period, and at least two children a day are victims of a crime or exposed to abuse, neglect, or violence in school, the Washington Post reported in November. • Among Native Americans, 40 percent of those who die by suicide are between the ages of 15 and 25. It is the second leading cause of death and 2.5 times the national rate. • The youngest to die by suicide was only 12 years old. As mentioned above, the Pine Ridge Reservation captured national headlines last year when 12-year-old Santana Janis took her own life. Suicide is always a tragedy, but when it happens to someone so young, with so much life left unlived, it’s unbearable. To think about the pain and hopelessness that she must have been feeling—it’s heartbreaking. The same month that Santana took her own life, the president of the Oglala Lakota declared an emergency on the reservation due to the loss of 11 young lives in just seven months as well as an additional 176 attempted suicides by young people. Teen suicide is an epidemic among the Native American population. Too often, suicide is seen as the only way out of abuse, molestation, and poverty. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for the American Indian youth ages 15-25. The suicide rate for this age group is 4 times the national average. 5 A Case For Hope Undergirding these heartbreaking, real stories in the heartland of America is destitute poverty. A multitude of these Native American reservations are poorer than many third-world countries. For the Pine Ridge Reservation, there is 80-90% unemployment. The life expectancy is 48 years for men and 52 years for women—the second lowest in the entire Western Hemisphere. 2 out of 5 Native Americans graduate from high school Only 11% have a college degree. Poor economic conditions have led to underfunded schools. “There is an extreme shortage of awareness about Native American youth who in many ways feel forgotten and don’t feel like they are a part of the 21st century America. They feel that pain very much,” says Shiza Shahid, co-founder of Malala Fund, who recently visited the Pine Ridge Reservation. In May of 2016, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Safe and Healthy Students awarded Crazy Horse School on the Pine Ridge Reservation in southwestern South Dakota a Project School Emergency Response to Violence (SERV) grant totaling $107,631 to assist with the ongoing recovery efforts following these numerous student suicide deaths and attempted suicides during the last couple of years. “The youth of this community represent its future,” said U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr., further stating, “The Department of Education is committed to helping this community recover from these tragedies. This grant will help Oglala educators strengthen the learning environment so that all students can reach their full potential.” From the New York Times to the Huffington Post to Teen Vogue, media outlets in the United States are finally starting to address the depth and breadth of the problems that are plaguing Native Americans in this country. 6 A Case For Hope Domestic Abuse and Rape Teen suicide and record poverty levels aren’t the only disturbing problems plaguing Native American youth living on reservations. Domestic abuse, rape, and sex trafficking are urgent issues that are happening in distressing numbers. Is justice served for Native American women? Nationwide an arrest is made in just 13% of the sexual assaults reported by American Indian women, compared with 35% for African American women and 32% of Caucasians. “One in three Native American women reports being raped, and yet, calls for justice are not answered,” the Journal of Political Inquiry states. “For Native American women who report their assault, their plight is mostly unheard or ignored.” The Supreme Court highlighted this issue when it reinstated the conviction of an abuser in a domestic abuse case. Norma Rendon, Native Co-Director for the South Dakota Coalition Ending Domestic and Sexual Violence, said: “There has been a war against Native women and children of this country, and it exists to this day. And they say, ‘Well, how is it existing today?’ Well, it’s existing through men being able to rape our women, and there’s no consequences. So what is that telling the male population of America? If you’re going to rape anybody, rape an Indian woman because nobody cares; you’ll get away with it.” Sex trafficking within the state and on its reservations is a horrifying reality. Contributing to this injustice is the influx of hundreds of thousands of men during the Sturgis Bike Rally and continuing on through the fall hunting season. Of course, most of these visitors are law abiding citizens, but as former U.S. Attorney Brendan Johnson said, “Wherever you have a large gathering of men, you have a strong opportunity for prostitution and sex trafficking.” (See alarming statistics here.) 7 A Case For Hope Underage Native American teens are being lured into forced prostitution in exchange for drugs, alcohol, or even just food and shelter. Once they get in, they feel they can never get out and often keep it hidden for fear they will disgrace their families. A survivor bravely shares: Meet Lisa Heth who dedicates her life to ending domestic and sexual violence, “I did fall victim of human trafficking in including sex trafficking.
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