In my teens our family lived in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. In the late 1960's it was a different place.
It was much nicer in many ways. Homes were kept up, fewer junk cars, roads in better shape, airport runway better kept up, better paint on about every building, Billy Mills Hall in great shape, on and on and on I could go.
I was in Pine Ridge a couple days ago. Drove around on all the roads I drove my HONDA 350 motorcycle on when in high school. Hard to believe. Really hard to believe.
If you have ever been to a communist country Pine Ridge looks like a community in a communist, socialist country! Amazing the similarities.
If you ever want to see what the United States government has done to Native Americans on an Indian Reservation head on out to Pine Ridge.
It's rough. The loss of human capital is staggering. The effects of the breakdown in family structure, the rampant addictions in the population, the effect of inflation on the standard of living, the decline in educational levels, I could go on and on and on.
Today, the little ones suffer. In so many ways. The cycle continues. The cycle of single parenting, drugs, violence and aversion to formal education.
White Clay is out of beer but Pine Ridge is not out of trouble.
Say a prayer tonight (and every night) for Pine Ridge.
It needs to heal itself.
