Kalpesh Lathigra // PHOTOGRAPHY / Lost in the Wilderness
As you drive across the Midwest of the USA, you can only be in awe of the raw beauty of this vast endless landscape. If the land could speak, it would tell a sorrowful poem of people who once roamed free but were broken by the greed of another. During the period of 1860-1890, the Native American peoples were the victims of genocide as they were seen as savages and heathens in need of civilisation. The US Government of the time broke Treaty after Treaty with the various tribes and used the Army to deliver their own brand of justice across the New World as land was forcibly taken in what became known as The Indian Wars. The numerous tribes from the Navahos, Cheyenne, Apache, Cherokee and Sioux were forced on to reservations, the worst land for cultivation was given to them and the buffalo that once roamed the plains became no more as they were driven into the ground like the Indians.
Life on a modern Indian reservation is the result of all that came to pass, the poverty, and acute social problems that resulted from the hopelessness that was endemic…. Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, it is home to the Oglala-Lakota (Sioux). It is a place that is steeped in history and also reflects the aftermath of a conflict, which still today over 150 years later, affects the everyday lives of these people. This reservation was established under the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1876 is home to approx 40,000 people, 35% of which are under 16 years of age. This reservation is approx 11,000 square miles (over 2 million acres), and sits in Shannon County, one of the poorest county’s in the United States. I have made numerous visits to Pine Ridge, whilst my initial view was that of the constant reminder of poverty and hardship, as time has passed I have learned to go past the surface and realise that the there is a deep foundation of strength and hope, many of the various Lakota families are part of a cultural and social renaissance. The Lakota language is spoken and actively encouraged; there are small businesses, educators, community groups and individuals investing their time and energy for a hope for the future.
