"The images are searing.

A 10-year-old boy drunk on the street. A middle-school student with a cigarette asking for a light. Eight- and 10-year-old children cowering as a parent approaches, not sure whether they would be hit or hugged.

The sad, desperate hours of a teen as she was beaten to death in an abandoned house. A 16-year-old mother of two contemplating suicide in the middle of the night.

In the eight-day series Growing Up Indian, reporter Steve Young and photographer Devin Wagner introduced us to dozens of youths such as these, using their real-life horror to outline the monumental challenges facing Native American children in this state.

But the most chilling fact to emerge is this: These young people are not strangers. They are South Dakotans.

They are our neighbors.

The stories told during the past week should have provided an emotional gut-check moment for each of us."

Get the Story:
Editorial: It's time to help our neighbors - including those on reservations (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 11/14)

Related Stories:
Argus Leader: 'Growing up Indian' on South Dakota's reservations (11/8)