Pine Ridge Reservation Essay

We have come to learn over the course of time that American Native Indians still have no clear answer on whether they are considered sovereign or not. The definition of sovereignty is to possess power, and although some Indian Tribes are climbing the ladder in earning this right, there is one reservation imparticularly that is suffering due to the neglect of the US Government. The Pine Ridge Reservation is one of the poorest areas in America and suffers great poverty due to the actions of the US Government. The Snyder Act of 1921 charged the US Department of the Interior with responsibility for providing education, medical and social services to many Native nations and tribes, including the Oglala Lakota, yet this Act is not showing any improvements. Below, we will explore the main reasons for this deficit and those include The Treaty of Laramie of 1868, the lack of importance shown towards education, the lack of jobs, and finally what all of these causes lead up to statistically. The Pine Ridge Reservation is home to the Lakota Indians and is located in the black hills right under one of America’s most prestigious landmarks, Mount Rushmore. In the spring of 1868, a treaty with the Sioux tribes was signed known as The Treaty of Laramie. This treaty was to bring peace between the whites and the Sioux who agreed to settle within the Black Hills reservation in the Dakota Territory.1 In the Treaty of 1868, the United States saw the Black Hills as land set aside for exclusive use by the Sioux people.1 Clark, Linda. "Sioux Treaty of 1868." National Archives and Records Administration. Accessed November 9, 2015. After that statement, we could presume that the United States at this time had the best interest of the Indians in mind, but shortly after the treaty was broken. The treaty was broken due to a man named George A. Custer. George led miners into the Blacks Hills who were on the mission to find gold. Once gold was found, hunters were moving in onto the grounds that were technically owned by the Sioux tribes. This resulted in the government going against the treaty and fought against the Sioux in the Black Hills until the government confiscated the land back in 1877. To this day, ownership of the Black Hills remains the subject of a legal dispute between the U.S. government and the Sioux.1 So since there is no clear answer as to who owns the land, who makes the decisions that result in such poverty? “The Bureau of Indian Affairs’ mission is to enhance the quality of life, to promote economic opportunity, and to carry out the responsibility to protect and improve the trust assets of American Indians.” 2 The main problem when it comes to the lack of education in Pine Ridge is all because of the BIA and BIE (Bureau of Indian Education). While the 565 Native American tribes recognized by the U.S. government enjoy sovereign status …show more content…
As a child in school and them knowing the success level of students who go through the school on Pine Ridge, why should they feel the courage to pursue on when they know they are being set up for failure? Also, because of the lack of jobs, most of these children 's parents sit home and all they do it gather around and get drunk because that is all they can afford to do. So as a child with no hope for furthering their education and no hope of finding a job, and they can’t even go to their parents for help, these are the reasons so many innocent children are trying to take their own lives. To try and escape the poverty they live in which in all, turns around on the problems of the …show more content…
Pine Ridge needs more individuals such as Henry Red Cloud to help change the reservation. If only the tribes were able to cut the tie with the government, they could go about being a sovereign nation and stop depending on the government for help that they are not receiving. If the government were to step up and take charge to help improve the living conditions, they need to start by looking at the main problems which are education and jobs and the impact those have among the people that live