Today, the Lakota people of the Pine Ridge Reservation have the lowest life expectancy within the United States. On the Standing Rock Reservation, suicide among youth has taken a terrible toll. As in many rural areas, use of methamphetamine snares young and old alike though in Indian Country it has reached epidemic levels; Colombian and Mexican gangs have open up shop on the reservations where they are largely ignored by Federal authorities. Abandoned and open uranium mines leek arsenic and radiation into reservation water supplies. Throughout the Oceti Sakowin Oyate—People of the Seven Council Fires—diabetes, alcoholism, cancer, multi-generational trauma and discrimination are serious health issues.
These issues are major contributors to the disintegration of our families. Healing families means not only providing health care and economic self-reliance. It also means encouraging a traditional Lakota diet, supporting people in recovery from addiction and alcoholism, and directly addressing ongoing historical collective trauma and its mental health impacts.
Many people across the Lakota, Nakota, and Dakota Territory are working to address these problems. They are not simple to solve and will not go away quickly. However, with continued attention, even the most difficult problem can be healed.
At the Lakota People’s Law Project, our efforts center on families in crisis. The trauma of losing children to the foster care system is indescribable and can worsen a family’s health problems. We support our clients in their efforts to heal in all areas of their lives by providing referrals to other organizations, a compassionate ear, and legal support as they work their way through a process that provides many barriers. Currently, we are also seeking funds to bring a counselor on staff to provide talking circles, individual support, and group counseling, and we are seeking funds to address suicide among our youth.
By increasing the health of the families we work with, we are working toward the long-term goal of healing our peoples’ bodies, minds, hearts, and spirits.
Regain our Health
Wicozani—Healing Mind, Body, Heart and Spirit
Today, the Lakota people of the Pine Ridge Reservation have the lowest life expectancy within the United States. On the Standing Rock Reservation, suicide among youth has taken a terrible toll. As in many rural areas, use of methamphetamine snares young and old alike though in Indian Country it has reached epidemic levels; Colombian and Mexican gangs have open up shop on the reservations where they are largely ignored by Federal authorities. Abandoned and open uranium mines leek arsenic and radiation into reservation water supplies. Throughout the Oceti Sakowin Oyate—People of the Seven Council Fires—diabetes, alcoholism, cancer, multi-generational trauma and discrimination are serious health issues.
These issues are major contributors to the disintegration of our families. Healing families means not only providing health care and economic self-reliance. It also means encouraging a traditional Lakota diet, supporting people in recovery from addiction and alcoholism, and directly addressing ongoing historical collective trauma and its mental health impacts.
Many people across the Lakota, Nakota, and Dakota Territory are working to address these problems. They are not simple to solve and will not go away quickly. However, with continued attention, even the most difficult problem can be healed.
At the Lakota People’s Law Project, our efforts center on families in crisis. The trauma of losing children to the foster care system is indescribable and can worsen a family’s health problems. We support our clients in their efforts to heal in all areas of their lives by providing referrals to other organizations, a compassionate ear, and legal support as they work their way through a process that provides many barriers. Currently, we are also seeking funds to bring a counselor on staff to provide talking circles, individual support, and group counseling, and we are seeking funds to address suicide among our youth.
By increasing the health of the families we work with, we are working toward the long-term goal of healing our peoples’ bodies, minds, hearts, and spirits.