The residents of the Pine Ridge Indian reservation struggle with alcohol addiction, unemployment, violence – but also with the search for their identity. To this day, they re-enact the Little Bighorn hunt every summer, the Oglala Lakota’s most important victory against the colonialists. (Image: Aaron Huey / Alamy)
Alcohol is actually prohibited on the Pine Ridge Indian reservation. Even so, two out of three residents are addicted to alcohol. The consequences are devastating – especially for young people.
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Friday is the worst day of the week for Cheryl Locke. Then their students beg to be allowed to stay in the classroom and not have to go home – to drinking parents, night-long parties, empty refrigerators. Locke would like to keep the children at school. “A lot of people don’t get a warm meal all weekend,” she says, sitting in her living room. On Mondays, the students returned hungry and fell asleep in class. At first, Locke was angry with the children. Until she understood what was going on at home. What alcohol does in their families.
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