Tag: reservation

This Photographer Is Shining a Light on the Dignity of Indigenous Women

Posted on by robbie

Indigenous women face disproportionate levels of violence. 84 percent of them experience some form of violence during their lifetimes, and one study found that in certain regions, native women face murder rates more than 10 times the national average. One photographer is using her art to call attention to the issue — and, in her own way, fight back against it.
“People go missing on the reservation like it’s going out of style,” says Toni Roth, a photographer and resident of the Yakama Indian Reservation in Toppenish, Wash.
Roth has been a photographer for the last five years, but recently her work took on an entirely new meaning. In January, Roth started taking portraits of women and girls from the Yakama tribe decked out in their traditional regalia. The photos are striking — colorful, regal and almost ferocious — and she hopes they’ll drive awareness and action on the epidemic of missing and murdered native women.  
“I wanted to portray them in their natural state,” Roth says, “showing that these women are strong, they’re independent, they’re needed in their community [and] they’re just as important as anybody else.
“I feel like if more people brought light to the situation and took it seriously, then maybe more people would get involved, and actually realize that this is an epidemic,” Roth says. “This is real, and it’s something that needs to be taken care of.”
Watch the video above to see Roth’s work and find out how you can help fight the epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous women.

If you have information on the whereabouts of missing individuals on the Yakama reservation, please contact the Yakima Police Department at 509-575-6200.

MORE: Serving Victims on the Rez, How Today’s Street Artists Are Mobilizing Activists

The Race to Save a Language — and Its People

Posted on by robbie

As the coach of the Crusaders, the boys’ basketball team at the Red Cloud Indian School in Pine Ridge, S.D., Matt Rama knew his players were bright, talented and dedicated. But he also knew that as kids growing up on this reservation they struggled with a host of deep-seated issues — from trouble with decision-making on and off the court to confusion about self-identity.
Roughly the size of Connecticut, Pine Ridge is often defined by some hard truths: Alcoholism affecting 8 of 10 households, an average of 17 people living in reservation homes and the lowest life expectancy in the United States. Rama, 41, spent most of his time and energy working on ways to build his players’ self confidence, from including prayer in his pre-game speeches to incorporating Lakota ritual in practices. Then one day — on a whim — he started calling plays in the native language of the Lakota people. The results were astonishing. During the next seven years, the record at Red Cloud was constantly rising, until it reached 133 wins and 40 losses, and Rama’s team averaged 17 wins a season, never again losing more than 25 percent of their games. He coached 41 All-Conference players and four First Team All-State players. Perhaps even more impressive, his team had 16 Academic All-State players and won the State Academic Achievement Team Award every year after he started calling plays in Lakota.
“I had no idea I could make such a difference in the players’ lives and the lives of their families by bringing the language back to them,” Rama says. He watched firsthand as the use of the Lakota language changed the way these young men felt as people. Inspired by this result, Rama decided to go back to teaching elementary school with an emphasis on the Lakota language. He wanted to make sure no other young Lakota person he encountered would miss out on the chance to understand their ancestral language —and the self-identity and worth that comes from that knowledge. In 2012 Rama teamed with his friend and fellow Lakota language booster, Peter Hill, to reach kids even before they entered elementary school. Today he is the co-founder and program director of Lakota Language Immersion Childcare — the only program of its kind in the country. Continue reading “The Race to Save a Language — and Its People”