“Pine Ridge is hard core.”—the late Louis Bad Wound, Oglala Lakota friend of ours used to say. I think Louis meant a couple different things by “hard core.” For one, Louis and his friend Larry Red Shirt led the fight whose battle cry in the 1980s was “The Black Hills Are Not For Sale.” This after the US Supreme Court ruled that the taking of the Black Hills (7.7million acres of the lands considered sacred by the Oglala Lakota) by the United States in defiance of the Ft. Laramie Treaty of 1868 was illegal. Although the gold and other natural resources extracted from the Black Hills is valued at more than $60 billion, in 1980 the Supreme Court ruled that the US government should pay the Oglala Lakota Nation $106 million—$17.5 million in principle plus 5% interest. Louis Bad Wound died in 1982 but 20 years later the Oglala Sioux Nation has refused to accept the money (now more than $200 million) even though they represent the poorest people in the US. This refusal is a source of pride and inspiration for the people of Pine Ridge. For another thing, the poverty of Pine Ridge makes it hard core. It’s tough to grow anything there because of the harsh climate. Any growing season is beset with the occasional hailstorm, long periods of drought, plagues of grasshoppers, high winds, poor soil, early freezes at the end of summer, late thaws in the spring, and on and on.

When Plenty first started working at Pine Ridge in 1985, there was 85% unemployment. Today there is 85% unemployment. Median annual income is around $3,000. In 1985 it was reported that 30% of all adults over the age of 55 had diabetes. Today it is said that almost 50% of all adults over 40 have diabetes. Life expectancy for men is 48 and for women it’s 52. Between 60% and 80% of babies born on the Reservation exhibit Fetal Alcohol Syndrome that contributes to retardation.

In 1985 Plenty started working with some of the families living around the Slim Buttes area in the southwestern corner of Pine Ridge Reservation. We were assisting them in establishing home gardens so they could be eating organically grown fresh vegetables to help balance the high salt, high fat US government-issued surplus food commodities handed out to Indians on the Reservation. In 1989 there were 11 gardens in the project. By the year 2000 this number had swelled to over 200, and this year there were 330. The phenomenal growth of the project is due in part to the generous funding of “Running Strong for American Indian Youth,” to the tireless efforts of Plenty Board Member and Project Manager, Thomas Kanatakeniate Cook, and the irrepressible spirit of the Oglala Lakota people in the face of daunting obstacles.

When I visited in August I was excited to see that two beautiful timber frame greenhouses have been constructed for the gardens project with the able assistance of the Fox Maple School of Traditional Building. The Fox Maple School is also helping to construct a two-story building for project offices and workshop. A gigantic root cellar has been built into the side of a hill next to this building on Pine Ridge. What the project needs most at this time is a tractor repair garage where the gardens project tractors can be worked on during the winter, and more funding to maintain the tractors.

Another exciting development is happening on the industrial hemp front. Proponents of allowing South Dakota farmers to grow industrial hemp have managed to get a resolution placed on the November ballot. Recent polls show 85% support for the initiative across the state. In anticipation of a new Pine Ridge natural resource, a company from LA, “Hempcore,” that manufactures skateboards from hemp and maple wood, is building a production facility just south of the Reservation. Hempcore hopes to be able to provide lots of new jobs for the Oglala Lakota population.

I got a close look at the beautiful kitchen and dining room constructed by Plenty volunteers at Slim Buttes. This new building has been much appreciated by the numerous volunteers who camp at Slim Buttes while taking part in projects on the Reservation. Next year, these Plenty volunteers are planning to build new fly proof latrines and solar showers for the volunteer camp.