Delphine Red Shirt. Photo by Rich Luhr
Potato Creek and the Wablenica Crisis
By Delphine Red Shirt
Lakota Country Times Columnist
lakotacountrytimes.com The common definition of an orphan is a child whose parents, both mother and father are dead. A less common use of the word is when one parent dies. In our Lakota culture, where many times I have heard reference to the most pitiable children, and the word used is always wablenica. Today, when a parent stops caring for that child, because of substance abuse or other issues, probably the proper word for these children is wablenica. One thing is certain, and that is the growing problem on the Pine Ridge Indian reservation and most likely throughout Indian Country, that child neglect and abuse are issues we cannot ignore if we are to survive as a people. What happened at the housing cluster at Potato Creek, South Dakota on November 12th is a case that should be known by all who are raising healthy children on the Pine Ridge reservation. Every parent on the reservation should be outraged: two small girls, ages 3 and 4 were found by the police during a house “party” who were starving and possibly sexually abused. But the silence is deafening. What is the solution? Culturally, in our not so distant past, Lakota relatives step in and take the wablenica. Today, this is happening at Pine Ridge, as relatives try to step in and remove the children; from situations where they are left to defend themselves as helpless as they are, knowing that harm does come to them in a world where drugs and alcohol dominate. Recently, a child living in Kyle who was taken by a Lakota relative describes the abuse of her brother, a toddler, by a grown man; the abuse occurred within the housing cluster there as well. The seven-year child knows the name of the man who sexually abused her brother. In this situation, we Lakota say, takuni waste sni, nothing good comes from the neglect and abuse of children. So, what is the solution? In frustration, I looked at how a person might go about opening an orphanage? Most of what you find out there is information on how to open orphanages in Indian or Africa, hardly any in our own country. Why? Because we as a first world nation no longer need places like orphanages? What the organizations, mostly Christian, say about opening a safe haven for children is that it takes vision and careful, careful planning. They don’t discount the bureaucratic red tape and corrupt officials in the foreign countries they try to serve. My feeling is you might find the same situation in many places in the U.S. and on reservations if you try to start an orphanage. A case in point is the silence at Potato Creek. The best encouragement these Christian organizations give is the smile on the children from the people of color that they serve in Africa and India. I for one believe them, because over a year ago, family stepped in and helped three Lakota children to a safer environment. Every day, I see their smiles, as I check on these children often. How many more children have to die on the reservation before we as Lakota people step in? The advice in the U.S., one Christian group states, is to contact the regional office of the secretary of state to register, and to obtain information on state and federal requirements. With American Indian children there is an extra step as they are protected, but the Oglala Sioux Tribe (OST) should have no problem, if it decides to open an orphanage for the wablenica. The next step for OST would be to purchase or lease a building, most states require about 35 square feet of personal space to develop emotionally and socially. The staff needed would be counselors, psychologists, guardians or house-mothers, speech and language therapists, housekeepers, cleaners, cooks, and other administrative staff. They would need professionals who might place orphans with families if adoption is in the picture. These Christian groups rely on charity to provide necessities, including vehicles to transport the children. They recommend a financial or operating plan; appealing to local church groups, wealthy individuals, and even businesses. The accreditation and licenses needed would be with the Council on Accreditation, The Child Welfare League of America, and the Alliance for Children and Families.
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One organization recommends that the first step is to learn the culture of the people that the orphanage should serve. In our culture, the wablenica do respond to the love and care of relatives other than their own parents. It is part of the way we survived, no one is left out. For us, it is second nature to raise children as a community and we need to revive those ways. In the end, the housing authority at Potato Creek made a “sweep” of the housing cluster to determine if there were other children living in the horrific situation the two small Lakota girls were. It is up to the people in charge at the highest levels in the tribe to respond to this crisis by opening a home for Lakota children now. As they were flown to Sioux Falls for care, one of the small girls ehala shke, it was said she smiled. (Delphine Red Shirt can be reached at redshirtphd@gmail.com) Find the award-winning Lakota Country Times on the Internet, Facebook and Twitter and download the new Lakota Country Times app today.
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