[Don't read this article...unless you have thick skin.  If you continue, you might feel a bit of shame, or you might be pricked by my sarcastic edge and become a bit offended.  But, if you read it through -- thanks.]

“Do not judge your neighbor until you walk two moons in his moccasins.”  – Cheyenne Tribe proverb, source unknown 

I happen to be one the old fashioned folks who actually believe we should care for the most vulnerable among us, you know, the “least, the last, and the lonely” as Jesus urged.  I think there’s a reason God challenges us — over and over — in the Bible to give special (preferential?) treatment to “widows, orphans, and strangers”.¹ 

Check it out, you’d be surprised how many times God says something about caring for the most vulnerable among us (i.e. widows, orphans, and strangers) and how few times homosexuality, for example (just one of our insane obsessions), is mentioned.  Hmmm…  We see what we want to see.

How are our children?

A few days ago I wondered:  How are our children? (See my last article, How Are Our Children?).  It’s the least we can do, especially while we are so confused about how to spend our tax dollars.  I propose we start with our most vulnerable — our children.  Since we seem to be afraid that we’ll run out of money, let’s be wise and spend our first dollars on our children, especially our most needy children.  Makes sense to me.

So, I have been wondering lately about some special children in our country – Native American children.  Like most hungry children, their plight is not their fault.  Even a sloppy reading of U.S. history tells me that these children are suffering not because of their own doing. 

Let’s blame the parents.

We can blame their parents, but blaming the parents of our Native American children is disingenuous when we consider what we (the rest of us who, for most of U.S. history, have NOT been vulnerable) have caused with our self-indulgent policies.  They got in our way and we killed them or moved them because they were not like us, and because we could, even though they were here first.  When we grew tired of killing them we isolated them by shoving them onto land that was/is considered the least productive and least habitable in our country.  Go figure.  Again, even a sloppy reading of the data about life on a Native American reservation should be embarrassing.  Why is this not more embarrassing to us?²  OK, ease up on the sarcastic edge, Jeff.

Children on the Pine Ridge Reservation

Consider the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.³  This is not the largest reservation in the U.S., but it is generally considered one of our most distressed and oppressed reservations.  The Pine Ridge Reservation is home to the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) Tribe.  About 40,000 people live on its 11,000 square miles.   

How are their children?  Perhaps I should ask — given our historic connection to them — how are our children?   For comparison, on average only about 14 percent of all of South Dakota’s families statewide are living below the federal poverty level with children (under 18) in the home.  This is considered the child poverty rate.  Statewide, South Dakota is doing well generally – the U.S. child poverty rate is about 18 percent of families. 

Pine Ridge Child Poverty Rate

However, on the Pine Ridge Reservation (and other Native American reservations) things are different.  Let’s look at one example: Shannon County, SD, located entirely on the Pine Ridge Reservation.  Over 85 percent of its residents are Native American (highest density in the U.S.).  Based on per-capita income Shannon County is the second poorest county in the U.S.  The child poverty rate in Shannon County is 52 percent.  This means that over half of the families in this county with children in their home are living below the federal poverty level. So, tell me, how are their children?

 Again, even a sloppy reading of the data about this reservation or most other reservations will bring you to a less than rosy conclusion.⁴.  Their children are not doing well — and have not been doing well for many years.  Is there hope?  Sure, from what I can see Native Americans are a proud and resilient people despite how they have been treated by the rest of us. 

What Now?  At Least Start With The Children.

But I wonder, as we argue about how to spend our tax dollars, can we at least start with our children, especially our most vulnerable children?  We could start with Native American children.  Why not?  Here’s what I suggest:

• First, thanks to you for reading so far — this stuff is not easy to hear.  You know, the “shame” factor. 
• Second, check out the facts for yourself.  Don’t trust my numbers. ⁵ 
• Third, do something about this one thing.  At the very least, let’s start with our least, our children, our most vulnerable children.  If you are looking for a way to help the children on the Pine Ridge Reservation, a great resource is Chris at Friends of Pine Ridge Reservation (http://www.friendsofpineridgereservation.org).  Chris represents multiple non-profit organizations all dedicated to serving the most vulnerable at Pine Ridge.  She’ll guide you with your donation. 
• Then, make a call to your elected representative in the U.S. House or Senate.  Tell him or her you want to spend our tax dollars first on our most most vulnerable children.  You could mention the Lakota children at Pine Ridge.       

© Copyright by Jeffrey Y. Harlow, PhD (2009).

1. Of course not every widow is vulnerable, and not every stranger is vulnerable, but most orphans are vulnerable.  The point is that these groups are stripped of their power and protection in society, and so they represent vulnerability — a widow has lost her means of support, a stranger is without friends and family nearby, an orphan has no one for protection and provision.
2. I could use the word “shame” but then you might stop reading.
3. I’m not picking on South Dakota — a great state — it happens to be where Pine Ridge is located.
4. My own data sources for this article are: the U.S. Census Bureau (http://quickfacts.census.gov), Kids Count (www.kidscount.org), The National Center For Children In Poverty (www.nccp.org), The Oglala Sioux Tribe website (http://home.comcast.net/~zebrec/index.html), the Population Reference Bureau (http://www.prb.org/Articles/2008/childpoverty.aspx), and an article by freelance writer Stephanie M. Schwartz called The Arrogance of Ignorance, http://www.nativevillage.org/Messages%20from%20the%20People/the%20arrogance%20of%20ignorance.htm 
5. I expect, other than slight differences you might find due to estimation methods, you’ll see that my numbers are generally accurate.