standing rock

South Dakota, Part 2:

When it came time to head to McLaughlin, SD to do our volunteer stint, I was beyond ready to get there. Since both of our computer’s batteries were dead and we had no access to the Natural Law Institute’s (the place we were volunteering at) phone number or address, we asked some people in town where Robert White Mountain (the Institute's leader) lived. The city is so small, the kids we asked knew right away where he lived. We had no idea what to expect of the facilities we would be residing in or what type of activities we would be doing as part of our volunteering. As we drove through town we spotted the red house on the corner the kid described to us. When we knocked on the door, a friendly woman named Beth answered the door and asked if we were Guy and Heidi. She welcomed us in, and shortly thereafter Robert came home.

The afternoon was spent with Robert telling us what the reservation was like, some Native American history, and allowed us to get to know one another. I think every American is aware of the fact that over a century ago Native Americans were stripped of their land and either killed or forced onto tiny Indian reservations. And most people are also aware of the poverty and less than desirable living conditions that presently exist on those very reservations. But it certainly was eye-opening to learn more about and be surrounded by these depressing circumstances. Robert shared with us that in the year 2009, there were an astonishing 21 suicides in 24 days. Or was it 24 suicides in 21 days? Either way, the suicide rate is off the charts on the reservation and was referred to as the suicide capital of the U.S., second only to the rate in Japan. 85% of the residents are unemployed, and 90% are alcoholics. 100% of the people are certainly affected by alcoholism. There are high rates of crime and poverty, and many young people are involved in gangs. As one might imagine, there is a general atmosphere of hopelessness and despair. After listening to all of these disheartening facts, I certainly felt that way as well.

In telling us about Native history, Robert brought up the fact that Native Americans culture included following, respecting, and gaining life through the buffalo. When the white man came to live in America, buffalo were over-hunted and reduced from millions to about 1,000. Coupled with the fact that Native Americans were held captive, no longer allowed to roam and follow the herds to hunt them (in a manner than never exploited the buffalo), their way of life was suffocated, and both the Natives and the buffalo suffered. The beautiful balance had been destroyed, and Native Americans literally starved, and were forced into a restricted and cruel life on what was, and still is, a concentration camp. Robert referred to his city as “Bear Soldier.” It is technically the town of “McLaughlin,” named after the man who killed Sitting Bull, a great Lakota leader. How sick is it that these Native Americans have to reside in a city named after the man who killed their revered leader? Not only that, but there is an “Indian curfew” siren - originally put in place decades ago, letting folks know that any Indian still on the street after that point could be “fairly” shot. It still sounds every night. It made my stomach churn listening to it. Really, it felt like a concentration camp. How is it possible that this still exists today? How can people think that racism still doesn’t exist today? But then I think back home to North Minneapolis, and remember that the ghettos across the country are all living this same terrible reality.

It was fascinating to listen to Robert talk about his culture, Lakota history, traditions and leaders. What a beautiful way of life the Lakota people had, before it was destroyed. Well, almost destroyed. It seems as though Robert and his wife have really taken it upon themselves to turn things around…not just for their city, but their reservation, their tribe and the world. They started the Natural Law Institute as a place for people to learn about Native history, culture, and traditions. A place for people to come to feel safe, connected and positive about their future. They bought their house a few years ago for $7,000, in hopes of one day using the entire building as their community center. Until then, they use it as both a gathering place and their home where they live with each other, their one year old baby Cante, Robert’s adult son, and daughter with four small children. The extended family took a few days to really warm up to me and Guy, but once they did they were all as warm and affectionate as could be. Cante was adorable and already adopting his culture; any time mom or dad put on Native music he would grab hold of anything near to him, and “dance” by stomping his right foot up and down.

Back to the Institute…they currently have an internet station for anyone who wants to drop by and use a computer, beading classes, their own personal library for people to use, a sweat lodge, a recording studio for community members to use, a large orchard with fruit trees, a community garden, and a large organic garden for use by their family, as well as for community feeds (and as a general example of sustainable living). They hope to expand their services to creating earth homes - inexpensive housing made with dirt and sticks that is supposed to be warm in the winter, cool in the summer. They dream of having the orchard grow into a bigger sanctuary, as well as their own garden; “places people can come to heal” Robert says. Beth also plans on a place with horses, where kids can learn to ride and care for their own animals. They are just oozing with dreams and positivity the entire time we are there. In fact, they have gained the attention of human and animal rights activist Jane Goodall, who has offered her support in various ways to the Standing Rock Reservation. Robert is a strong believer in the power of his Lakota heritage, including the use spiritual ceremonies. He also is diligent in his writing, and wants to spread the word to world about stopping the “Indian Wars.” I am in awe of Robert and Beth’s very real, very natural optimism, and find it infectious. How can people living in this environment feel this hope and have such incredible vision? Robert says he is not an activist. I don’t care what he wants to call himself, he is an incredible person and leader. For more on The Natural Law Institute, visit http://www.thenaturallawinstitute.com/

So, beyond the beautiful vision that Robert shared with us during our visit, we were able to participate in some practical things to help out (which really didn’t amount to much, but we hope we at least put a dent in their “to do” list). We were asked if we’ve done a lot of gardening when we arrived, which of course we’ve done NONE of, but said we were happy to learn! We did quite a bit of weeding, and some planting of vegetables in their garden, and got their sweat lodge cleaned up for a new season. Another young man, Orion, arrived while were there (he’s staying for the entire summer), who was quite the gardening expert, and helped guide us with planting.

During our final day at Robert and Beth’s, Robert planned on taking us on a trip to the Grand River, for a special “project.“ One of the that they want to do is make clothes from animal skins for their son, and hope to make and sell clothes in the future (they hope to celebrities!). Last fall, they put out a sign asking for people to donate their deer hides in hopes that they’d get a few. They ended up getting about 25. Robert explained to us that the old tradition of preparing hides to make clothes includes soaking them in the river so that the hair falls off and the fish eat any membranes or fat remaining on the hide. Do you see where I’m going with this story? Well, we agreed to participate in this process in any way that we could, and said we were here to help.

Robert led us into the back of the yard, past “Dirty White Boy” (their dog), to the place that the hides had been residing since LAST FALL. He mentioned that they had salted the hides in attempts to preserve them, but honestly didn’t know what condition they’d be in since they’d be in plastic garbage bags all winter and thawed out this spring (not to mention it was now the end of May). As we approached the large mound, a terrible odor permeated the air, and I saw swarms of flies hovering over the garbage bags of which I did not want to know the contents thereof. Guy and I exchanged nervous glances and began hauling the bags over to the family’s mini-van. As Orion and I stood next to each other waiting for our next instructions, I noticed him staring at the ground with a disgusted look. As I followed his gaze, I discovered, to my horror, what he was looking at. Maggots. This was distinctly what I had been fearing. A clump of maggots sat on the sidewalk, taunting me, leaving me to wonder how many more there would be when we opened the many bags of deer hides. As we were loading the bags into their mini-van, I noticed Guy popping in and out of our own van, where he was frequently applying sanitizer to his hands. I laughed. When all of the hide bags were finally loaded into the vehicle, we covered them with a tarp, baby Chante was tucked into the back seat, and we were off. I can only imagine the smell in that van.

When we arrived at the Grand River, Robert told us that we should collect some strong sticks in order to create stakes to which we would attach rope to hold the hides. After we got a good pile of branches, Orion began sharpening the ends so they could be driven into the ground. Guy grabbed some of the sticks to hammer them along the river bank. And that left me to…well, assist with the hides, I guess. I couldn’t very well just stand there and do nothing! So I stood alongside of Robert and told him to instruct me what to do. Of course I was terrified as I took the first hide out of the bag, fearing the large clump of maggots I saw earlier, picturing them falling on my lap. Fortunately, this hide was maggot-free. “You take the thickest part of the hide where there is a lot of fat left - the neck - and make a small cut through it.” Fat? Neck? Cut? Sure, I can do this, I thought, I just can’t think about what I’m doing. So after struggling to make the cut (yes, it WAS thick, and not as easy as it sounds), Robert then showed me how to tie the rope to the hide and to the stake and toss it into the river. And there you have it. I did it! As we went along the river, we were running low on rope, and decided to string three hides together at a time. It was also becoming increasingly difficult to climb up and down the river, so the boys were just dropping the hides down to me to tie up. I don’t know if you’ve ever had the opportunity to throw deer hides in the river, but let me tell you if you haven’t had the pleasure: trying to throw three deer hides in one few swoop is no easy task. In fact, they’re pretty heavy. As I tried to swing them back and forth to gain enough momentum to propel them into the water, they were flapping against my entire body repeatedly, leaving chunks of hair on my clothes. Needless to say, I smelled like rotting deer hides for awhile.

I definitely found some humor in the fact that neither of the boys so much as touched a hide during this experience (no Guy, holding them by a rope to lower them down to me does not count as “touching"), but I think Robert found even more humor in it and referred to me as being like one of the old fur trappers...or something like that.

Since we left shortly after our deer hide encounter, I don’t know what ended up happening to the hides. Did they float away? Are they hairless and fat-free? Will they be used to clothe Suri Cruise? We will have to check in with Robert and Beth to see what the current status is, but regardless of the outcome it was certainly an unforgettable experience for me!

All in all, the time we spent at the Standing Rock Reservation has definitely been the most meaningful for me. I really enjoyed learning everything we did, and wished we had more time there. I hope to visit there again some day soon.