Comment and thanks

Pine Ridge and Rosebud are home to the Oglala and Sicangu Lakota respectively. The poverty that traditional Lakota and many other Native Americans suffer is the result of land seizures in the 1800s and a shameful Reservation system that followed and remains today. Pine Ridge and Rosebud are controlled by the US Department of the Interior - Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Injustices meted out to the Lakota over many decades have resulted in lifetimes of misery. In this adversity however, the Lakota people are finding the means to hold on to family tradition and culture.

My name is Dave Terrey a UK drummer and I've created ‘drummersuk’ to support this struggle. My blog pages are only a snapshot of the poverty that Pine Ridge, Rosebud and many other American Indian Reservations endure so please go to the links for a fuller understanding of the suffering. Thank you in advance for your support.


My special thanks go out to the following:

Stephanie M. Schwartz
Former freelance writer and member of the Native American Journalists Association (NAJA) who died Aug 2009. Kindly allowed me to use her first-hand information and statistics concerning conditions on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Please check the link Arrogance of Ignorance which will also take you to her website.

Kalpesh Lathigra
Kindly allowed me to illustrate the poverty with his very personal images from Pine Ridge. Please check the link Lost in the Wilderness which will take you to his website.