Rocket Boom, "The Res"
I don't get the chance to watch a lot of TV beyond the competition shows on Bravo and sports on ESPN. I have, however, shifted to watching a lot of video weblogs. I was surprised today that Rocket Boom spent their entire show today on a transmitter going up in one of South Dakota's reservations, Pine Ridge.
I never held a proper understanding of America's relationship to its natives, but being here makes observation speak volumes with silence and separation. The raw statistics are striking (via Wikipedia): 85% employment, and 97% living below the Federal poverty level. If you're in Sioux Falls, however, you may as well be a world away. Strange in a place with no immigration borders, no physical barriers of integration.
My mother, in an offhandedly insightful way, remarked when she saw a Native American man, destitute near downtown: "Eh, that one has lost hope!" And, on the face of it, without having to be a mystic, you can see that these people somehow did lose themselves when their land was taken from them.
It's hard not to be cynical, but that's not the whole story. There are a lot of Native people who seem to be fighting for their communities and wellbeing. When Jonathan was here we happened upon a presentation on Lakota people at Falls park. The youths earned feathers for personal achievements - staying in school, cultural knowledge and so on. What's in a feather? These weren't your run of the mill feather - they were massive, rare specimins. One kid had a bald eagle feather - so large it almost seemed disproportionate. He bore it with pride.
On my way home I occasionally hear the National Native News show on NPR. A world within the world of "America."
Well, I hope you enjoy your visit to The Res. And stay tuned to Rocket Boom, it's good stuff.
4:52:16 PM 
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