“Sober Indian | Dangerous Indian” sheds light on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
After learning about social issues affecting people living on the South Dakota Pine Ridge Reservation, John Maisch, asst. professor at the University of Central Oklahoma, knew he had to advocate for change.
At Pine Ridge, Maisch said the teenage suicide rate is 150 percent higher than the national average, and the infant mortality rate is 300 percent higher than nationwide statistics, with one out of every four children being born with fetal alcohol syndrome. Whiteclay, Neb., only 250 yards across the South Dakota border with a population of 12, sells an average of four million cans of beer per year.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between 2005 and 2009, the highest suicide rates for those ages 10-24 years were among American Indian/Alaskan Natives with 31.27 and 10.16 suicides per 100,000 among males and females, respectively.
Issues surrounding these topics inspired Maisch to create his documentary, Sober Indian | Dangerous Indian.
“Everyone who watches the film comes away with a deeper knowledge about what’s happening on Pine Ridge, what’s happening in Whiteclay, Neb. and about the challenges that these individuals face in overcoming their addiction,” Maisch said in an email.
The documentary was first screened April 26 in San Francisco, Calif., and Maisch will bring it to the University of South Dakota in conjunction with the Native Studies program Nov. 7, with a 7 p.m. screening at Farber Hall.
Elise Boxer, a Native Studies assistant professor, said the screening is a way to highlight Native American social issues and USD’s Native Studies department.
“Film or the use of media is a really good way to look at a lot of these issues,” Boxer said. “Even with a lot of my students that I teach, there’s a stereotype that Indian people are alcoholic, but there’s a lack of understanding as to why there’s high use of alcohol on reservations.”
As an educator, Boxer’s goal is to create a connection between students and the Native American community, which she said Maisch’s film does well in providing students and community members information in an accessible format.
“If you don’t have that background history or knowledge, that’s what the film does — it provides you all the information you need,” Boxer said.
Jordan Cartlett, a fifth-year Native Studies minor with an additional minor in interdisciplinary science and major in health science, is planning to attend the screening.
“Overall, I think it’s awesome that they are going to have it,” Carlett said. “(Alcoholism) is a large issue in South Dakota. It’s something we frequently talk about.”
Even though Cartlett said having the screening on a Friday night wasn’t the best planning, she still hopes students utilize the opportunity.
“I definitely encourage students to go,” Cartlett said. “It should be educational and eye opening for a lot of students.”
Whether they realize it or not, Maisch said students are able to be a “driving force behind so many social issues,” something he has seen from his time at Midland Lutheran College in Fremont, Neb.
“College students have an incredible amount of power if they choose to exercise that power,” Maisch said. “USD has the moral authority to step up and demand change, to demand that the President reinstitute 1882 Executive Order prohibiting the sale of alcohol in the 50 square mile section of Neb. property that border the Pine Ridge Reservation, called the White Clay Extension.”
Through taking action, Maisch said students could make an immense impact on the lives of people living on the Pine Ridge Reservation.
“If USD students choose to accept that challenge and get involved, they will save lives — tens of thousands of lives — over the next few generations. And they will be able to look back 25 to 50 years from now and say that they played a role in reducing the number of women being assaulted on the reservation, the number of children being abused on the reservation and the number of infants being born with fetal alcohol syndrome on the reservation,” Maisch said.
(Photo: Activist Frank LaMere is one of many people featured in John A. Maisch’s new documentary Sober Indian | Dangerous Indian. The documentary, which focuses on social issues such as poverty and suicide on the Pine Ridge Reservation, will screen at the University of South Dakota Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. in Faber Hall. Submitted photo / The Volante)
