Pine Ridge Reservation Living Conditions Frederick Cedar Face, President Cedar Face Foundation, Inc. Hau. Hau. I am Frederick Cedar Face • I am the President of the Cedar Face Foundation. Our organization serves, advocates, and promotes the health, wellness, and self- sufficiency of Native Peoples. • From my heart, I shake each of your hands. Thank for your interest in Pine Ridge • Thank you for allowing me to share with you this important information about the living conditions of the people who live in the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. • If you have any questions, or would like to help in some way, please • Call us 605-867-6265, or • Message us at [email protected] I grew up on the Pine Ridge Reservation • I am directly descended from Wounded Knee Massacre Survivors • I am directly descended from Great Chiefs: • Chief Red Shirt • Chief American Horse • Chief Sitting Bull • Chief Gall • I live with integrity, Honor and the Lakota Values Committed to Native American Wellbeing • President, Cedar Face Foundation, serving families (2006 – Current) • Basic Needs • Health and Social Services Access • Promote Civil Rights, Justice and Access to Legal Services • Knowledgable 1851 and 1868 Fort Laramie Treaties with Plains Indians (2008 – Current) • Associate Judge for the Oglala Sioux Tribe (2009 – 2015) Pine Ridge Population Demographics • Oglala Sioux Tribe – Bureau of Indian Affairs Population Count (2016) • Approximately 46,855 • Estimate Approximately 20% live off-reservation • Indian Health Service Population: 26,000 (Indian Health Service, 2016) • Estimate Approximately 20% living on reservation avoid medical service and/or seek services Off-Reservation • United States Census: 3-County Population: 20,922 Distrust of Federal Government • The U.S. Census does not project an accurate population count. • The Oglala Lakota people have a deeply ingrained, long standing distrust of the U. S. government • Today, families often refuse to complete the U. S. Census Population breakdown by Age Groups: • Birth to 18 years: 35% • (25% – 30% students aged 6 – 19 receive special education services) • 19 – 64 years: 54% • 65 years and over: 11% • (Knowledge – Language Keepers) • (U.S. Census, 2016) Unemployment • Unemployment rate • 80-90% (Re-Member, 2007, Red Cloud, 2016) • Work is seasonal – Summer unemployment is slightly lower due to farm jobs and other related employment. Common Employers on the Reservation • United States Government and Tribal Government • Most secure: Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian Health Service • Least secure: Oglala Sioux Tribal government jobs • Cronyism is Often Rampant Entrepreneurship on the Reservation • Estimated 1,200 and more Non Profits on the Reservation • Garage Mechanics, Tire Repair, • Artisans: Paintings, Beadwork, and other arts and crafts sold in stands, and door to door. • Illicit Entrepreneurship: Bootlegging and Illicit drugs Poverty • Almost 50% of residents live below the federal poverty line • 54% of the Children live in Poverty • 69% children live in Single Parent Households Alcohol and Substance Use/Abuse • Tobacco addiction 41 - 44% adults smoke. • Alcoholism rate estimated as high as 80% • Alcohol Impaired Driving Deaths: • 68% of all vehicular accidental deaths of Pine Ridge Reservation. • Illicit drug use pervasive throughout the reservation Violence Affects Every Family o Up to 75% of the criminal cases are family violence related. o 7% of the cases in court may be related to Gang Violence. o Violence against children o Accounts for approximately 50% - 70% in Juvenile Court o Violence against others (non-gang related): up to 5 murders per year . Numerous incidents committed against men and women by both sexes. o All of them were alcohol and substance abuse related Life Expectancy on Pine Ridge o 8 Times the United States rate of diabetes o Twice the rate of heart disease o 5 Times the United States rate of cervical cancer o 8 Times the United States rate of Tuberculosis o Obesity among adults 45%, and o Increasingly among small and school-aged children. o Increasing Type 2 diabetes diagnosed in youth under 16 years. Access to Healthcare on the Reservation o 1 hospital – primary care – Pine Ridge o 3 outlying clinics o Physician to patient ratio: 2,820 patients to 1 physician o Nearly 3 times more patients per than the average U.S. physician Maternal and Infant Health o 300 – 350 infants born at Pine Ridge Hospital. o Low Birth weight: Nearly 8% of all births at I H S o Teen Births: 110 – 118 per year o Infant Mortality is rising: 14 deaths so far this year (2016) o 1 in 4 infants born with fetal alcohol syndrome or effects, remains unchanged. Child Mortality on the Reservation • Child Mortality: 190 – 205 deaths per year • Causes: . Accidental motor vehicle deaths . Accidental poisoning / drug deaths . Sickness . Child neglect and abuse (very few deaths caused by this) Suicide and Injury Deaths • Suicide and Injury Deaths o Suicide rate more than twice the national rate o Teen suicide rate 4 times the national rate o Injury deaths 180 – 205 annually (all ages) Education Resources on the Reservation Education o Approximately 30 – 50% drop-out rate o Four high schools . Pine Ridge High School in Pine Ridge . 2 high schools: . Little Wound High School in Kyle, SD . American Horse High School in Wanblee, SD . 1 private high school, Red Cloud Indian School, in Pine Ridge, SD. o Oglala Lakota College – Centers scattered throughout Reservation Special Needs Students - Notes 25 – 33% of all high school students identified with special needs . Nearly all the Special Needs Students with IEPs successfully graduate . Some Special Needs Students have dual diagnoses and a few, even triple diagnoses in special needs criteria. Symptoms Special Needs Students include: . Fetal Alcohol Syndrome . Learning Disabilities . Physical Disabilities . Long term health issues Environmental Concerns • Bombing Range – Bad Lands – leeching toxins into the soil • May be increasing cancer diagnoses in those regions. • Uranium Contamination . Angostura lake, SD uranium contaminated . Protests against uranium mining ongoing. Thank You I want to thank you for this opportunity to present to you. Our work here is invaluable. Please Help Us In Our Good Work All donations are appreciated and go directly toward the services provided through Cedar Face Foundation, Inc. Cedar Face Foundation, www.cedarfacefoundation.org is in good standing with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, and the State of South Dakota. Thank you for your financial support as we strive to improve and promote the health, education, and wellbeing of Native Peoples of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, including meeting some of the most basic needs of families throughout. References • Bureau of Indian Affairs (2016). Pine Ridge Agency. Retrieved from the World Wide Web October 24, 2016 at www.bia.gov • Indian Health Service (2016). Pine Ridge Hosp Dental Clinic. Retrieved from the World Wide Web • October 20, 2016 at https://www.ihs.gov/dentaldir/index.cfm?fuseaction=OutsideDirectory.displayfacility&fac_id=14&area=1&su=114 • Re-member (2007). Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Retrieved from the World Wide Web September 20, 2016 at http://www.re-member.org/pine-ridge-reservation.aspx • Red Cloud Indian School (2016). The Reservation. Retrieved from the World Wide Web September 20, 2016 at http://www.redcloudschool.org/reservation • Smith, M. (2016). IHS, CMS enter Systems Improvement Agreements for Rosebud, Pine Ridge hospitals. Retrieved from the World Wide Web September 20, 2016 at https://www.ihs.gov/newsroom/index.cfm/ihs -cms-enter-systemsimprovement-agreements-for-rosebud-pine-ridge-hospitals/ • South Dakota County Rankings (2016). County Demographics. Retrieved from the World Wide Web September 20, 2016 at http://www.countyhealthrankings.org rall/snapshot .