Life on the Pine Ridge Reservation
Reva's house
Rez Life
¨ Over 80% Unemployment
¨ Per capita income of $4,000
¨ 52 % of the households single parented
¨ Temperatures from 40 below to 120 above
¨ 8 times the United States rate of diabetes
¨ 5 times the rate of cervical cancer
¨ Twice the rate of heart disease
¨ High rate of teen pregnancy
Man asleep on the streets in White Clay on the reservation.
¨ 8 times the rate of TB
¨ Suicide rate more than twice the national rate
¨ Teen suicide 4 times the national rate
¨ Three times the infant mortality rate
¨ The lowest life expectancy in the U.S. and the 2nd lowest in the western hemisphere.
¨ 68 % school dropout rate
¨ High rate of Drug and alcohol abuse
¨ The poorest of USA’s 3,143 counties*
¨ 60% live below the poverty level
¨ No public transportation, no banks, no movie theaters, no bowling alleys, no recreation centers, no unused clothing stores, no nursing homes
*This was true in the 1980 and 1990 census. The recent census places Pine Ridge third from the bottom; Not because things have improved there, but rather, because things got worse on two other South Dakota reservations.
Where are the Christians to serve? From some research, mostly cults are present. No new language to learn or passports to be sought. Only ones with vision to see will.