| Giraffes have been sighted in SD
|
| Imagine
a place about the size of Connecticut, a place that’s hot
and dusty in the summer and bitterly cold in the winter. It has
no resources—no oil, gas, minerals, crops, or lumber. There
are no theaters, nursing homes, or public transportation. A third
of the houses don’t have electricity or running water. Forty
thousand people live in this place. Their unemployment rate is
upwards of 85%. The infant mortality rate is 2.5 times the US average
and the diabetes rate 8 times higher. The TB rate is 10 times higher
than nearby areas. Life expectancy matches that of Haiti. Imagine having to live there. Now imagine choosing to live there. Since 1993 Dr. Andrew Hurst and his wife, Vashti Apostol-Hurst, have chosen to live in this desolate place—the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, USA, the most prosperous country in the world, in its most prosperous time. |
Although the Hursts had enjoyed life in Seattle and New York, they fell in love
with the people of Pine Ridge, the Oglala Lakota (Sioux), when they spent a month
there as part of his residency program. Now “Doc Andy” provides medical
care on the reservation, and the organization the couple founded, the National
Association for American Indian Children and Elders (NAAICE) has created 30 support
programs. These include programs for home ownership, for renovating homes and
service facilities; building wheelchair ramps, playgrounds, vegetable gardens
and outhouses; distributing food, clothing, fuel, furniture, school supplies,
Christmas gifts, and new-baby supplies; running a basketball camp, and managing
volunteers who come from far and wide to work on NAAICE projects.
Perhaps
even more importantly, the Hursts have become messengers to the rest
of America, sounding the alarm about the dire situation at Pine Ridge
and drumming up concern and concrete aid.
“Winter’s coming,” says Dr. Hurst. “We need to reverse our
history of genocide against First Nations people, to see our own human rights
issues instead of just pointing the finger at other countries. We must help these
good people.”
The Hursts will tell you they’ve gained more than they lost in aiding the
people of Pine Ridge—they gain every time an Oglala Lakota begins living
a better life.
When Vashti Apostol-Hurst was asked why they persist, she told us, “Why
do we go on? Because they go on. They are people of great dignity and grace.
We know that other Americans will help when they realize what a crisis this is.” If
you’re one of them, contact NAAICE at PO Box 1906, Pine Ridge SD 57770,
605-867-2000.
|
||||||
