Yeah I've met some people lake going to do or
say stuff in me. Kids go to advertisements it is
seeing natives and then then. UCL go high everywhere and
that's sad sad. Pine ridge in South Dakota is second
biggest reservation in the United States. Larger than Delaware and
Rhode Island combined. Covering more than two point seven million
acres of grasslands. Yeah Phyllis dill green. But feel blood
Lakota people living here are wracked by 87%. Unemployment. And
many live in crippling poverty. Pine region and neighboring rosebud
reservations. Are located in two of the poorest counties in
America. Alcoholism. Drug addiction domestic violence. And sexual abuse are
all issues at the tried cases. Indian children are twice
as likely any other ethnicity. Died for the each of
24. According to the Indian law and order commission. And
other than unease and no reservations. Mental health services are
hard to come by. Leading young people like Shawn Thornton
on her own. They went to depression from what happened
with me in my home. Whenever you give guys just
decided to name just leave the house and don't come
back tally so reserved. Just twenty minutes from Thornton's high
school is the historic wounded knee monument. At this site
in December and 1890. The US cavalry massacred an estimated
300. Men women and children. Of the Greek scene nation.
That painful day is still remembered by the Lakota people.
As are the promises made by the US government has
not been capped. Promises that include providing health care education.
And public safety. What we figured out and leave through
our work and rosebud is it's not a question. Who
has been exposed to violence as a child it's a
question of who has not. Been exposed to violence as
a child. So you can't look at that justice portion
of it or look at. Kids who are quote unquote
in trouble. And and saying well. What's this kid doing
here come on this kid messed up no it's not
that simple it goes back to I believe where that
child has come from and everything that's happened. In between.
With too few police officers. And a broken justice system.
Children often do not know where to turn. And whenever
area on Monday it would get drunk I would send
my dad's done. And I problems with his side of
the timing is an his sisters and Brothers. And don't
get mad at me for putting into. So I had
to put up all that. And then plus out schools
to do it again I mean comical better in the
end and to come to class on zionists like that
saw. Does that one point I was getting my net
positively at school. I was putting it my parents when
they're drunk. Aside Olivier and in this that's when side.
Getting over doing myself a bit about an easier way.
My mother always said in my grandmother as well mostly.
You only one chuck your company which means you talk
to them respectfully. You're going to find out lot of
things about them kick. Under rosebud reservation. Pat that hand
is trying to rehabilitate troubled Indian teenagers. I helping them
learn more about their identity. It's believed that this is
the breed. Of hero and elder sort of got kind
of believe that when you do more user. The more
you get out of sort of more to elders share
stories with you. Okay is that we have your seven
funerals. First time offenders they come in here in what
is it that you do the first one being almost
24 hours maybe for six hours he knows is he
cracked. You know. Sometimes maybe these kids don't feel. That
they're putting Miriam nobody's gonna listen to that woman who
go to court court put the continued detention order on.
Do you understand the system so you got it going
Saddam. You know cover that iced. But bad hand in
his colleagues will soon lose part of their staff to
run their programs. Because some other grants have ended. Familiar
story in Indian Country. Fortunately or unfortunately a lot of
the funding. Four different services here on the resignation comes
from different grants obviously those can't have a and date
and so it's not something that carries on indefinitely. I
think the challenge to the ties and tribal workers is
to figure out how to keep these programs sustainable once
need to acquire those funds. Shawna hopes to graduate high
school next year meet the resignation and joined the army.
Like I say get and I today and I can't
come back to Perez and help out. But for now
she is still living on pine ridge and for the
past year she's chosen to stay with the friends family
when she feels safest. She still isn't getting all the
help she needs to heal from the violence and alcoholism.
She was exposed to in her past. Sometimes they just.