Shocking FACTS about the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation

November 2009

The Pine Ridge Reservation

In many ways South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation, home of the Lakota Sioux Tribe, is a saturated “fly trap” of well intended do-gooders. While researching life style statistics for this report I found volumes of websites, blogs, articles and postings by groups and individuals working to alleviate the extreme poverty and harsh living conditions of the 18,600+ people on the Pine Ridge.

While I have been unable to verify all of these figures (see attached sheet of verified figures), the Pine Ridge Reservation Is among, if not thee, poorest counties in the United States.

This area is afflicted with some of society’s most devastating problems including; poverty, alcoholism, diabetes, teen suicide and violence.

Here are some facts, many of which contradict each other, I have found on the internet;


1.) According to ‘Red Cloud Indian School’ (Pine Ridge Indian Reservation Demographics, 2009);

• 80% of residents are unemployed (versus 10% of the rest of the country)
• 49% of the residents live below the Federal poverty level (61% under the age of 18),
• Per Capita income in Shannon County is $6,286,
• The Infant Mortality rate is 5X higher than the national average,
• Native American amputation rates due to diabetes is 3 to 4X higher than the national average
• Death rate due to diabetes is 3X higher than the national average
• Other than Haiti, Life Expectancy on the Pine Ridge is the lowest in the Western Hemisphere;
-Men 48 years,
-Women, 52 years


2.) According to the New York Times (Kilborn, 1992);
• The Pine Ridge covers 2 million acres (Larger than Connecticut),
• 63.1% of all residents live in poverty in 1989 (national average 14.2% in 1991)
• The interview was with Father Joseph Daniel Sheehan


3.) According to City-Data.com (Pine Ridge, South Dakota (the city), 2007);

Pine Ridge South Dakota % Difference
Median Household income $24,346 $43,424 56.07%
Median Age 19.7 35.6 55.34%
Est. per Capita Income $7,373 $22,252 33.13%
Est. median home value $27,379 $118,700 23.07%
Average household size 4.4 2.5 (people) 176.00%
Percentage family hholds 86.2% 67.0% 128.66%

Residents with income below the poverty level 2007
61.0% 13.2% 462.12%
Residents with income below 50% of the poverty level 2007
25.9% 5.8% 446.55%

For the population over the age of 25;
- High School or higher 62.1%
- Bachelors degree or higher 4.3%
- Grad. Or Prof. degree 1.2%
- Unemployed 35.5%


4.) According to ‘Native American Times’ (Schwartz, 2006);

• 58.7% of Grandparents on the Reservation are responsible for raising their own grandchildren,
• The median income varies between $2,600 and $3,500 per year,
• 97% of the population lives below the Federal poverty line,
• The unemployment rate “is said to be approximately 83-85% and can be higher during winter…”
• Teenage suicide rates on Pine Ridge Reservation are 150% higher than the U.S. national average for this age group,
• The infant mortality rate is the highest on this continent and is about 300% higher than the U.S. national average,
• The rate of diabetes on the Reservation is reported to be 800% higher than the U.S. national average,
• Reports indicate that 50% of adults on the Reservation over the age of 40 have diabetes,
• The tuberculosis rate on the Pine Ridge Reservation is approximately 800% higher than the U.S. national average,
• Cervical cancer is 500% higher than the U.S. national average,
• “It is reported that at least 60% of the homes on the Pine Ridge Reservation are infested with Black Mold Stachybotrys.”
• The school drop-out rate is over 70%
• Teacher turnover (rate) is 800% that of the U.S. national average,
• “There is an estimated average of 17 people living in each family home( a home which may have two to three rooms).”
• 39% of homes on the Reservation have no electricity,
• There are no public libraries except one at the Oglala Lakota College (in an area the size of Connecticut),
• Alcoholism affects eight out of ten families on the Reservation,
• The death rate from alcohol-related problems on the Reservation is 300% higher than the remaining U.S. population,


5.) According to the United States government's Census Bureau, 2009
(www.quickfacts.census.gov)


South Shannon Reported
Nebraska U.S.A. Dakota County Pine Ridge
Education
2008 Bachelors Degrees 23.70% 24.40% 21.50% 12.10% 4.30%
2008 High School Diploma 86.60% 80.40% 84.60% 70.00% 62.10%
2008 Population Change 4.20% 8.00% 6.50% 9.40%
2000 Home Ownership 67.40% 66.30% 68.20% 48.60%
2000 Persons per Home 2.49 2.59 2.50 4.36
2008 Below Poverty 11.1 13.0 13.2 47.4 (below)
2008 Med. Hhold Income 47072 50740 43507 25964
2000 Med. Home Value 88000 119600 79600 25900 27397
1999 Per Capital Income 19613 21587 17652 6286 7373
2008 Retail Sls per Capita 11729 10615 12626 2347
2008 Building Permits 6346 905359 3884 0
2008 Population 1783432 304mill 804194 13637 28787
1990 Native Population 12410 1937391 50575 14295
1990 % Native Population 0.8% 7.3% 0.8% 92.2%
2008 Federal Dollars 13.9m 2.536b 8.7mil 139,986
2008 Fed Dollars per Cap. $7.84 $8.34 $10.92 $10.27
1995 Population % Veterns 11.0% 10.5%


Poverty Reports for Pine Ridge residents U.S. Census Report 2000

46.4% of households on Pine Ridge are in poverty.49% 1990)
39.4% of Sioux families lived in poverty; 44.4% of individuals
60.5% of households have no father figure in the home.
47.5% of the Pine Ridge above the age of 18 live in poverty.

Native Population U.S.A. taken in 1995
Native Population Shannon County taken in 2000 Approximate

Individual
Indian Health Services Budget 2007 (HIS) $4.2 Billion $13.92
Bureau Indian Affairs 2010 Budget 2007 (BIA) $22. Billion $73.07
"Reported" Annual Pine Ridge income from Casino per individual $0.15


Works Cited
Kilborn, P. T. (1992, September 20). Life at the Bottom - America's Poorest County / A Special Report; Sad Discinction for the Sioux: Homeland Is No.1 in Poverty. Retrieved 2009 October, from The New York Times : www.nytimes.com/1992/09/20/us/life-bottom-america-s-poorest-county-special-report

Pine Ridge Indian Reservation Demographics. (2009, July ). Retrieved 2009 October, from Red Cloud School: www.redcloudschool.org

Pine Ridge, South Dakota (the city). (2007, July). Retrieved August 28, 2009, from City Data.com: www.city-data.com/city/Pine-Ridge-South-Dakota.html

Schwartz, S. M. (2006, November 3). Life, conditions, and hopes on the Pine Ridge Oglala Lakota (Sioux) Reservation of SD. Retrieved 2009 23, October , from Native American Times: http://proquest.umi.com/pqdlink?vinst=PROD&fmt=3&startpage=-1&ver=1&vname=PQ...

United States Census Bureau. (2009). Retrieved September 2009, from quickfacts.census.gov: www.quickfacts.census.gov

This report compiled by Prof. Rick Galusha
Galusha can be contacted at rick.galusha@gmail.com

Listen to the Pacific Street Blues & Americana radio program on Sunday, December 6th for our 3rd annual 'Toys for the Pine Ridge' phone drive. Hear the show live, online at www.897theriver.com 9 a.m. - Noon CST. Join us as Lash LaRue's citywide effort to bring a smile and a ray of sunshine to a Native child's face. YOU really can make a difference!

Album Review Mark Knopfler 'Get Lucky'

Artist: Mark Knopfler
Title: Get Lucky

As the founder of Dire Straits, Mark Knopfler found vast success and recognition with songs like, ‘Down to the Waterline’ and ‘Money for Nothing.’ Since reaching the pinnacle of economic success, much like Neil Young or even Bob Dylan, Knopfler has downshifted his career by going solo and putting out albums that lean heavily on roots and less on ‘rock n’ roll.’ While FM radio audiences may have felt slighted, music aficionados have been the beneficiary as Knopfler’s solo records have been consistently excellent.

Along with fellow Northumberland son, Sting, Mark Knopfler hails a part of his life from the Tyneside area of northeast England near Newcastle upon Tyne. Like his musical doppelganger, Knopfler goes back to the sound of his northern heritage using bagpipes, flute & whistle and accordion to create a soundscape enhanced by Celtic textures but anchored in post-1980’s folk music. Knopfler’s songs are panoramic with haunting tones that are fresh and familiar; telling stories of characters from his youth including meeting noted British race car driver Bobby Brown or memories of the United Kingdom’s ‘Remembrance Day’ along with “Angry Alfie, Bill and Ken.” It is interesting that both Knopfler and Sting draw upon the memories of the now long gone shipbuilding industry that once employed the working ‘Geordies’ and ‘Macums’ of the Tyneside area. As heard on Sting’s, ‘Soul Cages’ album and on Knopfler’s song, ‘So Far from Clyde’ (a reference to a water inlet in Scotland).

In recent year’s music’s “in crowd” crowed about Knopfler’s two duet albums with American songstress Emmylou Harris. While tasty the real gems of Knopfler’s body of work lie within his solo efforts rather than the albums by Dire Straits or Harris. For radio programmers, ‘You Can’t Beat the House’ is an easy entry into this album while ‘Piper to the End’ is a rich Celtic sound. The album’s title track is another accessible track to allow listeners a doorway into Knopfler’s rich musical expression. This is a true artist and therefore plan on it taking a few listens before the album begins to unfold for you. Knopfler is a master ballad writer and, as his work with Dire Straits has shown, a pretty good up-tempo songwriter too. Due to the niche nature of his work and the seemingly unique roots he brings together for the foundation of his songwriting, Knopfler is not for every listener but for those willing to invest the ear-time – his work will become among your favorite, ‘return to albums.’

Band: Tower of Power
Title: Great American Soulbook
Rating: 8

Writer: Rick Galusha

Combine one of recorded music finest horns bands with the best of the best soul songs and you get the new Tower of Power album, ‘Great American Soulbook.’ While mass appeal has overtly missed this terrific bay area act, for more than four decades (’68 – present) Tower of Power have graced, albeit surreptitiously, some of radio and recordings most popular acts including; Aerosmith, Elton John, Little Feat, Phish, Santana, Heart, Huey Lewis and the News, the Monkees, Santana, Elkie Brooks, Elton John, John Lee Hooker, Rod Stewart, Jefferson Starship, Mickey Hart, Spyro Gyra, Lyle Lovett, Poison, Phish, Toto, and the Brothers Johnson.

Perhaps the comfort of this album is that there are no surprises. Across their 22 albums the band has been consistent and ranged from brilliant to good. As the title of the album implies, TOP covers twelve well known soul songs including; Billy Paul’s ‘Me and Mrs. Jones,’ a medley of James Brown hits (an early influence on the band’s sound development) and Bill Wither’s ‘Who is He and What is He to You.’ Perhaps the highlight of the album is Tom Jones version of Sam & Dave’s, ‘Thank-you’ (as covered earlier by Z.Z. Top). Other guest appearances include; Sam Moore’s (Sam & Dave) cover of the Otis Redding hit, ‘Mr. Pitiful, ’ two songs with British youngster Joss Stone who joins the band for, ‘It Takes Two’ and ‘Your Precious Love’ and the aforementioned Huey Lewis on, ‘634-5789.’

Any song on this album is immediately radio friendly and music fans will find the performances and singing to be excellent. No, TOP is not breaking any new ground with this release but perhaps seeing the rewards that Rod Stewart and others had using well known covers to find financial success, Tower of Power has fallen back on their early influences and personal favorites to release an album that most soul music fans and many blues fans will find hours of enjoyment listening to.

album review: Dani Wilde, 'heal my blues'

Artist: Dani Wilde
Title: ‘heal my blues’

Much like Motown, RUF Records has created a formula to produce “blues” albums with European overtones that are beginning to be embraced by a wide, white American audience. More than anything else the ‘Suburban Blues’ audience craves a wailing guitar and smooth melody lines. Recently I asked friends to name their top blues albums of the last decade; one said simply, “the one with the guitar solos.” And so it is.

At the dawn of this new millennium Europe seems to be making an effort to replicate the blues boomerang of England in the 1960’s and Wilde seems to be a full fledged member of that movement. To reach wider audiences radio and music gets homogenized. Wilde’s new album, ‘heal my blues’ is a near perfect example of the “demographic specific slotting” that we see in “pop” music today. Wilde’s songs are slick and entertaining; well arranged tracks that include appropriate blues textures and good production value. If you’re a listener that defines “authentic” blues as rough and unfinished; this is not an album for you. However, if you are among the vast unwashed masses that appreciate a well performed tune with sufficient emoted emotion and over arching guitar solos – you will probably be drawn into Ms. Wilde’s album. Harp playing brother Will Wilde’s wailing jumps in and out of the songs with apropos vigor. Surely this is exactly the type of album that radio programmers interested in building a larger audience will embrace. Wilde “sells” her music through visual as well as visceral content creating an enriched entertainment value that many acts today miss.

Is it credible? It’s British. Can the British play the blues? Some would say that from Peter Green to the Hoax, the answer has been yes. Will everyone agree? No. Does it matter? It only matters if it is your money. Is there a marketing machine behind Wilde and is it gathering momentum? Yup! Will you play it on your radio show? Until the cows come home. This is a packaged artist that can check all the boxes of being a blues artist but will not add anything to the genre; there is nothing original going on here (but the point is, there doesn’t have to be). Wilde’s music and showmanship is unlikely to create a circle of lasting influence or be escalated to significant stature by gathering critical acclaim. None-the-less, it is well done, it is fun and chances are good you’ll be seeing Wilde and band at a venue near you. Chances are even better that Wilde will strike a chord with appreciative festival audiences who use the term “great” with ease but with the usual lack of discernment.

Album Review: Plateros, Hang On

Plateros: Hang On

Levi Plateros is this year’s version of Los Lonely Boys minus the kooky antics and overdriven hype. The Plateros band includes what I assume is his father on bass and a cousin on drums. Their multi-layered vocal lines are pure and sweet. While Levi’s muse is a blasting guitar line set over rich melody lines, this band can pile-drive a song with the best of the blues genre’s bashers and then just as easily pull back with heavy pop music hooks and soft, melody rich tracks.

In small doses the band’s uses its unique musical influences to add a sonic flair that are subtle yet compellingly interesting. In the end Levi runs wild with loaming and lilting guitar solos that likely draw in all but the most harden blues-rock guitar aficionados’. For some the lack of chain-saw ratcheting will be a turn off and thus the band perceived as having too much melody; however, if the debut album by Los Lonely Boys ever got your toes tapping – Plateros is a fine second step.

Least we remiss the marketing aspect, Plateros is an all Navajo band and fits nicely among other indigenous and/or sibling acts like; Santana, Indigenous, Los Lobos, Homemade Jamz Blues Band and the aforementioned Los Lonely Boys. Again, this is a band worth keeping your eye on and it is fair to expect big things from them in the future.

Album Review: Aynsley Lister, equalibrium

Aynsley Lister: equilibrium

For anyone that has been listening to ‘Pacific Street Blues & Americana’ over the years you know I love a well played guitar. Love it to the point of being downright discerning – which is a nice way to say finicky. While tasty players like B. B. King, Eric Clapton and Buddy Guy are perhaps the progenitors of tasty blues licks – there is a new generation of players that deserve some kudos. Yes, we all lost something special when Stevie Ray died. Among the players I really enjoy are included; Joe Bonamassa, Robben Ford, the late Rory Gallagher, Mato Nanji of Indigenous and Aynsley Lister. Lister is the new kid on the block and based upon his last two albums; ‘Upside Down’ and this new effort, ‘equilibrium’ Englishman Lister has easily moved solidly into the world’s “next big thing” slot.

In a traditional sense, if Luther Allison is the blues, then Lister ain’t. Sorry folks, no 12 bars here. Instead Lister uses the tones and textures of contemporary electric blues against a melody rich lyric line that is immediately accessible and immediately enjoyable. While the blues-rock genre is ripe with slingers – there are few bonafide songwriters in the mix and, as perhaps the first real blues-rock songwriter might say, “Move over rover and let Jimi take over.”

Lister’s ability to lift and soar while honoring the song is an impressive art. His bursts of energy lie beneath slower moving passages that provide emotional uplifts that are “gob-smackingly good” and at the same time beautiful and genuine. From the perspective of player records for the last twenty years, Aynsley Lister is clearly a talent worthy of your attention and interest.

Blog: August 13, 2009

I recently got into a conversation with a local impresario. It seems there are more n’ more shows in the market every year. As we have seen in the housing, electrical, airline and energy industries, when supply dramatically exceeds demand there is a retrenchment. In this example, between the free shows and the possibly over-abundance of quality line-up shows – there simply isn’t sufficient audience to support all these shows. On first blush this is hardly a negative; when was the last time someone had the gall to complain that there was too much going on in Omaha? So we have it pretty good right now; as the Horseshoe Casino realized by literally having to give away concert tickets to see the recent ARC Angels show. So tune your fiddle Nero as amid a recessionary decline there is less and less ticket buying capacity up against more and more shows.

Interestingly, since CD’s sales have fallen more than 50% in the past five years, the Wall Street Journal recently discussed how CD’s are being used to drive concert ticket sales as artist derive income from performance now rather than album sales. So where does the “equilibrium point” between ticket demand and artist availability meet? The market will determine. I know this; my days of paying $75 or more for concert tickets is over. And if very many others feel as I do; that either than cannot afford high priced tickets or they simply see their home, vacation or IRA as a better investment, artists are going to be getting crunched from both sides.
Think about that; CD sales are nearly inconsequential and a recessionary period coupled with too many concerts will likely drive ticket prices down. Seemingly one can draw the impression that contemporary society is reducing the value of music across numerous fronts.

Is it fair to say that Bono was the last rock star?

While I still place a premium on recorded music, I find the thuggery of modern sports to be beyond the pale. As a society we are paying virtually uneducated brawlers millions to throw a ball across the plate while we ask the educators of the next generation of American’s to use their comparatively meager incomes to buy supplies that our education system can no longer afford to purchase.

Where does the source of this problem lie?

With you of course - And with me. As a society we get what we pay for. In America today we vote with our dollars and more of us are voting for ‘Tiger Woods’ and ‘A Rod’ than that gal in the classroom teaching our kids. Damn shame it is too. It seems to me we are voting less and less for the ‘Eric Clapton’s’ of the world but still dramatically over-paying for the ‘Bob Stoops’ of the world. So before you bitch, look in the mirror – there lies the problem.