Oglala Sioux Tribe

OST Donation Programs Page

  • Dear internet visitor:

    The economy of the Pine Ridge Reservation is comparable to that of the least developed countries of the Third World . Unemployment hovers around 85% and 97% live below the Federal poverty level . Average annual family income is $3,800 as of 1999. [1] Adolescent suicide is four times the national average. Many of the families have no electricity, telephones, running water, or sewer and use wood stoves to heat their homes. The population has among the shortest life expectancies of any group in the Western Hemisphere - approximately 47 years for males and in the low 50s for females. The

    infant mortality rate is five times the United States national average.  On our reservation, there are hundreds of families who live in overcrowded situations. It is not at all unusual to find a single family home occupied by two elders, their married daughter and her husband, one or two families of married grandchildren and three or four great grandchildren. This results in 10 or 12 people living in a house that is built to house a maximum of four .

    On behalf of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, Pine Ridge Region and Native Americans Nation wide , thank you for your anticipated kindness and charity. 

     

    "Many Thanks!"

 

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