50,000 People Face Humanitarian Disaster -- In South Dakota

[unhappycamper]

50,000 People Face Humanitarian Disaster -- In South Dakota
TruthOut.org / By Rose Aguilar


November 14, 2010 | All it took was a one-minute commentary. On February 9, 2010, Keith Olbermann told his viewers about a humanitarian crisis affecting 50,000 people. It was so bad, college basketball fans were being asked to share their soles. "Haiti?" he asked. "South Dakota. The shoe donations are being sought at the University of South Dakota and they are for the residents of the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation."

On January 21, 2010, a devastating blizzard and snowstorm hit the area, one of the poorest in the country, knocking down over 3,000 utility poles. Residents were without electricity, water or heat in subzero temperatures for weeks. The tribe declared a state of emergency. "The government has done next to nothing for the Native Americans, who on a nice, sunny spring day there still face unemployment of 85 percent," Olbermann said sternly. "Doing nothing for these people, an American tradition since at least 1776."

He then directed viewers who wanted to donate to the Countdown website, where they would find a link to the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe storm relief fund.

There were no videos or photos of the devastation. There was no interview with a tribal member. It was a one-minute commentary. According to Tribal Chairman Joe Brings Plenty, Olbermann's call for donations, coupled with community efforts and matching money from the Bush and Northwest Area Foundations, brought in $975,000. Daily Kos blogger Bill in Maryland posted a diary with donation links for neighboring tribes.

There were no videos or photos of the devastation. There was no interview with a tribal member. It was a one-minute commentary. According to Tribal Chairman Joe Brings Plenty, Olbermann's call for donations, coupled with community efforts and matching money from the Bush and Northwest Area Foundations, brought in $975,000. Daily Kos blogger Bill in Maryland posted a diary with donation links for neighboring tribes

[Oceansaway]

1. K&R...n/t

[OneGrassRoot]

2. K&R. Thank you. n/t

[theHandpuppet]

3. As someone who for a lifetime has witnessed the MSM ....

... ignore devastating natural disasters in Appalachia and came to realize that the plight of mountain people is apparently of no interest to the viewing public, I can totally relate. Thank you for posting this.

[northernlights]

5. because the MSM chooses not to inform the viewing public

does not equate to the viewing public not being interested or not caring at all. The *fact* that a 1-minute statement without pictures or video triggered nearly a million dollars in donations belies your statement.

You can't be interested in something if you don't know it exists. And not everybody is walking around aware of what goes on in every corner of their own town, let alone the entire country. That simply is not possible, and it's neither fair nor *helpful* to blame people in such a way.

If *you* honestly cared, you would do something to help -- whether donate yourself or informing people about the situation and where and how they can help -- instead of attacking them for something they had no way of knowing about.

[theHandpuppet]

9. Or just perhaps...

You might consider researching my posts or reading my journal before you make assumptions on what I have or haven't done about bringing this topic to light.

[northernlights]

13. then I'll put it this way....

no matter what you may be doing to help, you are undoing your help when you blame people for not being aware of something that isn't blessed and published in the media.

If you want to attack ignorance, then help to undo the ignorance. Don't attack the people who are ignorant..it is not their fault. Attacking people -- especially the innocent -- generally doesn't win them to your side. :eyes:

Again, look at the facts. A simple 1-minute announcement in front of a relatively small group raised nearly $1M in donations.

How much donations do you think your attack-post above generate?

[PBass]

27. Overreact much?

What did you accomplish with your finger-wagging?

:eyes:

[theHandpuppet]

29. Thanks

I have to admit, that was rather bizarre.

[progressoid]

4. Just saw a bumper sticker yesterday

On a car driven by a Native American. It read, "Think you can trust the Government? Ask an Indian".

Having been on a couple of reservations in SD, I can understand that sentiment.

[Starry Messenger]

6. k&r

[madrchsod]

7. i think our liberalhistorian works in that community...

[newfie11]

8. I was there .

There was a trailer in Eagle Butte that a tribal policeman lived in. It was in a low area in town and the next morning he could only see white out the windows. It was buried. He ended up having to crawl through the roof.

There were also some outside folks with a snow cat trying to deliver stuff to the out lying areas of the rez. They were missing for a while but finally were found. I can't remember the rest of that, its been to long for my old memory.

[lightningandsnow]

10. When I saw this subject line, I knew it was going to be about the indigenous community.

"Progressives" need to stop ignoring the continuing colonization and oppression of the indigenous people of Turtle Island (what we'd now call the Americas).

[Catherina]

11. Rec'd. Thank you. n/t

[L0oniX]

12. This is going to happen to all of us serfs in various forms eventually.

Do you know who the real enemy is yet?

[lightningandsnow]

15. No. The oppression of indigenous people is different from general classism.

The both feed into each other, but all things considered, a white working-class person will still have more privilege than a working-class indigenous person living in colonized territory.

[L0oniX]

18. Working class means nothing when you can't find a job.

[AndrewP]

14. K&R

[Tyrs WolfDaemon]

16. It really pisses me off...

Thanks to Bush and his ilk (Along with all sorts of other factors) we are spending untold numbers with too many zeros in these damned wars. We would be doing so much better as a country if that money had been invested in the people living in our own country! I know this is preaching to the choir, but I just had to vent a bit.

[TxVietVet]

17. When do we stop the destruction of OUR society

by the conservanazi controlled MSM. They alienate,defame, demonize any and all that comes in their path of destruction.
I live in the South. The conservanazi hate talkers on conservanazi/christian radio STILL demonize Black Americans from the Katrina disaster along with the former governor of Louisiana and the mayor of New Orleans.

That's the face of America THE REST OF THE WORLD SEES.

Like a couple of my Austalian friends see, WE, AS A NATION, ABANDON THE POOR AND DOWNTRODDEN, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY ARE REALLY DOWN.

AMERICANS ABANDON AMERICANS.

Wake up, the life and job you save may be your own.

[leftstreet]

19. K&R

[Odin2005]

20. There are no words.

:grr:

[hfojvt]

21. I guess they are trying to raise about $500 million

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/news-water-crisis-cheyenne-river-sioux-reservation

"This project has been instrumental in highlighting the crisis on the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Reservation. Within a couple of days of hearing the news, Spencer had pulled together a collection of celebrities and filmed a public service announcement. The campaign is not asking for donations but for people to speak out and make their voices heard. A website has been set up that enables people to send a letter to their local congressman and ask them to petition the government to provide the tribe with the US$492.5 million in funds needed to build a new water infrastructure; a venture that would create the much needed employment on the reservation."

[truedelphi]

22. Meanwhile, a tribal leader on the Wounded Knee Reservation, whose

Hemp plants were bringing about a wave of prosperity for all that he knew, got in trouble with the United States Government, which felt that it was their right to oversee what is or isn't planted on tribal lands.

A documentary has been made about this man's situation, but it points out how totally ridiculous
our Federal government is. Shouldn't the Federal Government be more concerned with the terrible behavior exhibited on Wall Street, behavior impoverishing so many of us, rather than with the occupation of Alex White Plume, hemp grower?

It really make s me wanna scream "Give us back our country."

The tribe can import hemp products from Canada, but cannot grow those products themselves.

Even a former CIA head has commented that industrial hemp is something that should be happening.
Industrial hemp has such a low amount of THC that it is not able to be used as a recreational drug.
It is only worthwhile in the sense that products can be made from it.

[newfie11]

28. wounded knee is on the Pine Ridge Rez n/t

[DeSwiss]

23. K&R

http://www.sioux.org/english/lakota_archive_news.php">

[ProgressiveEconomist]

24. LINK to "Bill in MD" posts at dailykos.com

http://bill-in-md.dailykos.com/

[democrank]

25. Thank you so much for posting this.

[handmade34]

26. rec