RT's Breaking the Set at Pine Ridge, SD

Say what you want about Breaking the Set and it's parent company RT, but this two part report needs to be seen by all:


Pine Ridge Reservation: Where Despair Meets Hope


Pine Ridge Part II: From Broken Treaties to Future sustainability

The first part of the report deals with an overview of life on the reservation, tribal leaders trying to legalize alcohol, and how one woman, Tiny DeCory, and her organization BEAR is trying to provide help to build up confidence in children to reduce youth suicide in the community.

The second part has Abby Martin talking about the history of the Black Hills, how Christianity's influence lead to the destruction of native culture with Floyd Looks for Buffalo Hand, and then interviews Henry Red Cloud, the great-great grandson of Chief Red Cloud.

With all the talk of how the government has screwed us Americans over (I talk about white, middle class people for this term), our problems today are just peas to how the Native Americans were treated for over a hundred years.

No one aside from them will ever know what it is like to live in a peaceful, self-sustaining community, then suddenly be confronted by strange people who decide that the land you live on is now theirs. Then they move you to the most uninhabitable land, or some that is too small to support your community. You are not allowed to hunt and provide for your own family, instead you get meager rations.

Missionaries come in and force you to convert to their religion, saying that everything you have ever believed in is "sinful" and "not the true way".

You will never witness your children being torn away from your arms by the Strangers and being sent to boarding schools, their hair cut off, taught to speak only the Strangers' language, and learn only what the Strangers know, which also includes their views on your people.

That was the experience of the Native American, and it still prevails today.

Some background on Pine Ridge:

The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation (Wazí Aháŋhaŋ Oyáŋke in Lakota, also called Pine Ridge Agency) is an Oglala Lakota Native American reservation located in the U.S. state of South Dakota. Originally included within the territory of the Great Sioux Reservation, Pine Ridge was established in 1889 in the southwest corner of South Dakota on the Nebraska border. Today it consists of 3,468.86 sq mi (8,984.306 km2) of land area and is the eighth-largest reservation in the United States, larger than Delaware and Rhode Island combined.
The reservation encompasses the entirety of Shannon County, the southern half of Jackson County and the northwest portion of Bennett County. Of the 3,143 counties in the United States, these are among the poorest. Only 84,000 acres (340 km2) of land are suitable for agriculture. Extensive off-reservation trust lands are held mostly scattered throughout Bennett County (all of Bennett County was part of Pine Ridge until May 1910),[1][2] and also extend into adjacent Pine Ridge (Whiteclay), Nebraska in Sheridan County, just south of the community of Pine Ridge, South Dakota, the administrative center and largest community within the reservation. The 2000 census population of the reservation was 15,521; but a study conducted by Colorado State University and accepted by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development has estimated the resident population to reach 28,787.[3]
Pine Ridge is the site of several events that marked tragic milestones in the history between the Sioux of the area and the United States (U.S.) government and its citizens. Stronghold Table—a mesa in what is today the Oglala-administered portion of Badlands National Park—was the location of the last of the Ghost Dances. The U.S. authorities' attempt to repress this movement eventually led to the Wounded Knee Massacre on December 29, 1890. A mixed band of Miniconjou Lakota and Hunkpapa Sioux, led by Chief Spotted Elk, sought sanctuary at Pine Ridge after fleeing the Standing Rock Agency, where Sitting Bull had been killed during efforts to arrest him. The families were intercepted by a heavily armed detachment of the Seventh Cavalry, which attacked them, killing many women and children as well as warriors. This was the last large engagement between U.S. forces and Native Americans and marked the end of the western frontier.
Changes accumulated in the last quarter of the 20th century; in 1971 the Oglala Sioux Tribe (OST) started Oglala Lakota College, a tribal college, which offers 4-year degrees. In 1973 decades of discontent at the Pine Ridge Reservation resulted in a grassroots protest that escalated into the Wounded Knee Incident, gaining national attention. Members of the Oglala Lakota, the American Indian Movement, and supporters occupied the town in defiance of federal and state law enforcement in a protest that turned into an armed standoff lasting 71 days. This event inspired American Indians across the country and gradually led to changes at the reservation, with a revival of some cultural traditions.

Pine Ridge Wiki

Furthermore, I have to commend the people in the reports, as they are trying to ensure that the Lakota way can adapt to a changing world, and hopefully rise up from the poverty imposed on them.

RT is a very good news channel and I'll flag ya for the story and star you just because Abby Martin is there

reply to post by Zcustosmorum


thank you.

I find Abby Martin and the rest of the Breaking the set crew does the best reporting outside of MSM. Also, I'm glad their TV channel is awesome. Hell Larry King has 2 shows on there.

Of course, like some will say, there is an agenda. But I believe it's a fairly positive one.

reply to post by TheToastmanCometh


I live just north of Pine Ridge and pass through it regularly on the way to visit relatives and a good friend is an art teacher at the school. This area suffers from poverty like most have never seen and likely never will, this is a third world nation right in my back yard. It is estimated that Pine Ridge has over 30 active gangs remember there are only an estimated 30k people residing there.

reply to post by TheToastmanCometh


What is RT network please. Probly know it but can't put it together right now lol. I thank you for the post. My great grandmother was on the trail of tears. I don't know much about her. My grandmother showed a very old and weathered black and white picture of her once dressed in her native garb.

She started to tell me more as I was bright eyed and had a million questions about my heritage. I must have said or asked something wrong, I think it was about the reservation, she changed. She got very quiet and put everything away and never spoke of it again.

This broke my heart and has to this day. Unable to find and know my native relatives. I did contact the tribe. Ironically, they are are very paranoid thinking I want something from the. So they will not tell me anything unless I can provide her name is on one of the two official roles. Which is almost or is impossible for me because I don't know my great grandmother name.

I can't tell you how deep this pain goes.

None of the other minorities have anything to complain about compared to native Americans. They had everything taken from them. Whole nations killed and becoming extinct. Extinct.... Native Americans have the highest rates in all the bad categories. Alcohol, drugs, suicide etc etc etc also unemployment and education and economic as well. But they don't complain and cry about everything.

Think about it, there is no united states, it never belonged to them.

The Bot

Aka Redeagle

reply to post by TheToastmanCometh


S and F for an important topic. Thanks for sharing.

You will never witness your children being torn away from your arms by the Strangers and being sent to boarding schools, their hair cut off, taught to speak only the Strangers' language, and learn only what the Strangers know, which also includes their views on your people.

That was the experience of the Native American, and it still prevails today.

Yes, it still prevails today because so many people turn a blind eye to it.

But that is not to say it couldn't be done to our children ~ by the same government and elitist mindset that did it to theirs.

Unfortunately, we live in a society that selectively picks which victim to glorify....

When I was in my eleventh grade US & State Government History class...we spent SIX months discussing slavery.

In comparison...when we finally focused on my heritage (Sioux and Cherokee) with the Native American Indians....

............there was all of six paragraphs in the class text book. I was so utterly shocked, I actually counted the paragraphs. And, they were short ones, too.


What also appalled me, was that considering this was a first period class, when we were talking about slavery, everyone was bright eyed and bushy tailed. THE moment we switched to someone else, to something of my heritage....nine tenths of the class was asleep as we covered the six paragraphs.

reply to post by dlbott


RT is a news station out of Russia, Russia Times.

Also, I am so sorry to hear about your great grandmother, she should have never went through such pain. My great grandfather had some native (plains I believe as he came from the raymond/lincoln area) in him, as well as some Sinti Roma through my great grandmother, and I would have loved to know more about their backgrounds as well.

If I remember, there is a nice written history in my great grandma's hand in my grandparents' basement.

reply to post by zeroBelief


That is really tragic.

At my school, we spent maybe 2 or 3 days on the subject. I remember I made a poster about buffalo hunting and dressing as Sacajawea for a school project...with baby sister as little Jean Baptiste

TheToastmanCometh
reply to post by zeroBelief

 

That is really tragic.

At my school, we spent maybe 2 or 3 days on the subject. I remember I made a poster about buffalo hunting and dressing as Sacajawea for a school project...with baby sister as little Jean Baptiste

Well, it just shows that people are egotistical, and only rarely interested in things beyond themselves or what applies to them.