The Oglala Sioux Tribe Is Suffering a Flooding Crisis and Nobody Seems to Care

Carrie Boike | Posted on April 12, 2019

The New York Times

Add that to a long list of indigenous issues that the U.S. government has chosen to ignore, as per tradition.

Devastating floodwaters have stranded and displaced thousands of people from the Oglala Sioux Tribe on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Why is it that I wouldn’t have even known about this story if not for the array of outspoken indigenous activists I follow on Instagram who keep me updated on the issues that most mainstream media don’t bother to cover? Shout out @lilnativeboy for being extra vocal about the Pine Ridge situation.

The New York Times, one of the only news outlets to cover this story, rightly identified the flooding as a “humanitarian disaster that seems unlikely to abate soon.” States across the midwest have suffered flooding, but at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, aid has come days later than the rest of the midwest, leaving people stranded and unable to leave their property.

Members of the tribe have spoken out, saying they have insufficient resources to cope with the flooding but are trying to work with what little they have. They have dealt with shortages of food and medical supplies, destruction of homes and other structures, at least 8,000 residents without water, stranded residents and unconfirmed deaths. (aberdeennews.com). Several of these residents have medical conditions, including one woman who was stranded at her home, unable to get to chemotherapy. It is estimated that around 800 people were still stranded as of last week.

The governor of South Dakota, Kristi Noem, has been criticized for being slow to send aid to Pine Ridge, claiming that she approved the requests for assistance as soon as the tribe sent them. But efforts to respond to flooding all over the midwest were quick and effective, while residents of Pine Ridge were fending for themselves for days. Now, volunteer groups and the American Red Cross are providing aid to the reservation, but this disaster exposes the ongoing issue of financial and infrastructural neglect on reservations like Pine Ridge. While reading about this story, I can’t help but be reminded of hurricane Katrina.

As we deal with the increased frequency of climate disasters, one observation that many have made is that those who suffer the most from these events are often those who have had the least impact on climate change. Indigenous people living in a colonized society who have been systemically cut off from funding for hospitals, schools, roads and even drinking water are paying the price for widespread environmental irresponsibility. South Dakota needs to do better. The U.S. government needs to do better. Stop neglecting these communities and start preventing humanitarian disasters.

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IG: @carrieboike