The Health Crisis of Oglala Lakota Sioux Indians in South Dakota

Written by: Olivia Oser

Pine Ridge Healthcare Facility in South Dakota

www.ihs.gov/greatplains/healthcarefacilities/pineridge/.

Historically, Native Americans have struggled with health issues due to a lack of concern from the government. They were given empty promises of health care for years and all they got was intergenerational trauma instead (Wienski). They face a plethora of health issues that range from diabetes and obesity to alcoholism and suicide. The Oglala Lakota Sioux Indians of South Dakota are still struggling with the basic right to health care. They have one of the highest death rates in the United states with “premature mortality” as the reason for this (Wienski). There are many factors that contribute to this health crisis as well as many negative impacts to the culture.

Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is one of the largest in the state and yet is one of the poorest communities as well. The reservation sits on around 2.8 million acres of land, with a population estimated to be around 28,787 (“Our Story, Our success”). The average poverty rate of the United states is 15.6%, with the Lakota average being a whopping 53.75% (Pine Ridge Indian Reservation”). The high poverty rate coincides with the high unemployment rate of 80%, leaving many Native Americans unable to afford basic needs let alone private healthcare. Discrimination also makes it hard for them to get the proper medical attention they need and deserve. These factors lead many to develop health issues, mostly preventable, such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease and high infant mortality (Wienski).

The Indian Health services or IHS is a government funded program, like the VA, that is supposed to set up clinics and hospitals to help with Indian care (Whitney). The government had promised Indians health care in treaties in the past for their land, and unsurprisingly, never followed through with this. In 2016, the IHS, promised more funding and better health care in The Pine Ridge Reservation but again didn’t follow through and many died as a result (Ferguson). These hospitals funded by the IHS, such as Rosebud, have struggled to perform at the standards needed and in turn ended up letting many Native Americans slip through the cracks. An example of these failures come from a health inspectors’ analysis of the Rosebud hospital. They observed a young girl at the age of twelve trying to commit suicide in the Rosebud hospital with her broken call-light cord which shows a direct link to lack of medical care and the high teen suicide rates among the community (Ferguson). This hospital was forced to shut down for a while and this only furthered the issues of the Lakota who had no other close hospitals to go to when in need of medical attention. This is why the death rate is so high because chronic illnesses are ignored and put off until they are no longer preventable.

The effect of premature deaths among the Lakota on the culture is catastrophic. The Lakota’s alcoholism rate is 552% higher than the average, with their teen suicide rate being 150% higher as well as their diabetes rate being 800% higher (Wienski). These astronomical numbers are a result of the poor government allocation of funds and high poverty rates due to lack of resources. 85% of families in the Pine Ridge Reservation are reported to be affected by alcoholism (“Pine Ridge Indian Reservation”). Another reason the numbers are so high is because of discrimination that some Lakota are faced with in the hospitals. It is “overt” discrimination in places like the Dakotas where the Native Americans are common and prejudice against them stops them from getting the care they need (Whitney). This just shows how the lack of medical care contributes to inter-generational trauma and high death rates.

This information shows us that every single demographic among the Lakota Indians are being affected. The infant mortality is five times higher than the average in the United states with 58% of grandparents raising their grandchildren (“Pine Ridge Indian Reservation”). Teens are experiencing mental illnesses as a result of inter-generational trauma that leads to higher levels of suicide (Wienski). Adults are afflicted by Alcoholism which makes them four times more likely to get killed in a car accident or die earlier of a chronic disease (Wienski). Most of the Lakota Indians don’t make it very far into their elder years, as the average age of death is 50-60 years (“Pine Ridge Indian Reserve”).

The effect of not having enough healthcare resources to Native American has been devastating for more than a few generations. The current issue is of the IHS being severely underfunded and not concerned about the health of the people its supposed to care about. This lack of resources leads the Oglala Lakota’s to have a high death rate and low death age. People are not given access to healthy resources and when they get sick and need care they are not provided with safe facilities and caring physicians like most of us are. The government has made countless empty promises to provide care for the Lakota Indians and thousands have died in the meantime. How any more have to die until the government will keep its promise?

Sources

Ferguson, Dana. “What We Learned Reporting on Dangerously Bad Care on the Reservation.” Center for Health Journalism, www.centerforhealthjournalism.org/resources/lessons/what-we-learned-reporting-dangerously-bad-care-reservation.

“Our Story, Our Success.” Red Cloud, www.redcloudschool.org/reservation.

“Pine Ridge Indian Reservation - Health & Wellness.” Black Hills Knowledge Netowork, www.blackhillsknowledgenetwork.org/community-profiles/pine-ridge/pine-ridge-indian-reservation-health-wellness-2.html#.XmkUCqeZNQI.

“Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.” Re, www.re-member.org/pine-ridge-reservation.aspx.

“Pine Ridge Service Unit: Healthcare Facilities.” Great Plains Area, www.ihs.gov/greatplains/healthcarefacilities/pineridge/.

Whitney, Eric. “Native Americans Feel Invisible In U.S. Health Care System.” NPR, NPR, 12 Dec. 2017, www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/12/12/569910574/native-americans-feel-invisible-in-u-s-health-care-system.

Wienski, Kenneth. “Leading Health Challenges Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota Oglala Lakota Sioux.” Juniper Online Journal of Public Health, 2017, juniperpublishers.com/jojph/pdf/JOJPH.MS.ID.555574.pdf.