Pine Ridge is one of the most impoverished areas of our country. The average life expectancy of a man is 48, of a woman 52. Alcoholism is rampant plaguing 70 – 80% of the population. Unemployment runs at 85%. Teen suicide is 5X’s the national average. It is a hard place. Yet despite all of the desperation and oppression, there is a palpable heartbeat of pride, resilience, and hope amongst many of its people. We of Solutions go there two times a year to immerse ourselves in another world, a third world in the heartland of our nation. One cannot experience this place , this people, without impact. We are changed for the better, and hopefully made a little difference in the lives of those so much less fortunate. This poem is my attempt to capture the essence of a recovering nation. We are all related!
Sunflower fields in full bloom, offering
A kiss of color on poverty acres
As prairie ghetto trailers house a history hidden
By the blind eyes of the authors
Who dare not share the shame
Of oppressions bitter rewards
We have come to take a taste
Of the lost supper
Red Road journeys fading in time
Embers stoked by the battle hardened
Waging sustenance for the starving
Who see no horizons
Marching only in place
On the Trail of Jeers
Seeking direction from the resolute
Where wisdom rules
We have come to take a listen
To the Truth
Frost crackle blankets on
Hand me down floors
Relief coming in the firerise
Of dawns not yet vanquished
If only faith remain
In the pugilist heart of many scars
Still beating, Undefeated
We have come to take a look
At ourselves
Mitakuye Oyasin
For more pictures click on the picture above!
Dan Reed
Program Director
Solutions
