Life on an Indian Reservation

14 Feb posted by

I’m still in answer mode, so y’all should strike while the iron is hot!

Heather’s first question:

I have read your mentions about the reservation. I have looked up Hope, SD.
Do you actually live ON the Indian Reservation or is it just close by like I saw on the map?
Are the Indian Reservations really as bad off as they are portrayed in the movies?

This is a multi-faceted question Heather, so I’ll do my best to answer it from my perspective.

Catching Rain Drops: Photo by Your Cowgirl

Yes, I live on an Indian Reservation. My future husband known as Zach, My Cowboy, or Mr. Hotness, is a 3rd generation rancher and is a Lakota Sioux Indian. From my perspective, living on a reservation could be compared to life in a 3rd World Country- though I’m fortunate enough to live in a nice house and not struggle on the meager to non-existent income of some. There are many people on the reservation however, that aren’t as fortunate as us. Our particular reservation, The Cheyenne River Sioux, is located in two of the poorest counties in the United States. Dewey and Ziebach counties make up the reservation and are comprised of about 2.8 million acres (though roughly half of  that land is owned by non-Indians- yet more post fodder!). It is roughly the size of Connecticut (some say Rhode Island and Delaware combined). Unemployment hovers between 75-85% in those counties.  Ziebach county has the highest child poverty rate in the United States.

According to the 2000 Census, Ziebach County’s per capita income was $7,463 and the median income for a family was $18,672; 49.9% live below the poverty line.

Dewey County (where we reside) doesn’t fare much better- the per capita income was $9,251 and the median income for a family was $24,971; 33.6% live below the poverty line.

I’m sure that compared to a lot of people on the reservation we seem wealthy and I can tell you, from seeing first hand, that there is plenty of the crab in the bucket syndrome to go around.

There is a total population of about 14,000 +/- on the reservation and not all of them are Indians. I am not, of course. Probably something like 3000-3500 non-Indians live on the reservation- which brings up another subject- the US Government treats the Indians like lesser individuals. Just calling it like I see it. Indians are not allowed to own land in their name- it must be held “in trust” for them, through the US government, because clearly they’re not responsible enough to do the right thing with it.*insert sarcasm here*

I must add, that from my perspective, conditions are worse here for many residents than they would be if they lived in an inner city- because at least in the inner city you are part of a stronger city/state infrastructure, and you’re closer to the general populace.   We are so remote (mind you, I LOVE that part of my life), that people forget we’re there.  The fact that it’s been three weeks since one of the worst storms the state has ever seen left the reservation without water (due to lack of infrastructure and funding), and some places are still without electricity,(there’s even a school that’s closed) and you don’t see this getting any national attention, should be evidence enough of this bias. Short of the article above and Keith Olberman who has called out the Senate Indian Affairs Committee on their apathy toward the situation (video) if you don’t read this blog regularly would you have any idea life has been bad for these people?  You wouldn’t know we have a crisis on our own soil because the media ignores it. Keith’s mention and linking to his website has helped to raise $250,000 for the tribe, as their $175,000 emergency fund has been completely depleted.

Historic Corrals on Hwy 212. Photo by Megan Zeller

Speaking of water infrastructure, until the 40+ year old water system is upgraded, development in the communities on the reservation is at a standstill because the water system cannot hold any more residences.  And clearly, there has been poor planning in the current water system.  According to Indian Housing (via Census Data) 14.7% of reservation residents live in over-crowded conditions compared to 5.7% of the rest of the US.

I have plenty more to say on this subject, and it’s such a great subject, that I will be writing more about it!  Thanks, Heather!  I would love to see if I could cajole Zach or his dad to write more on the specific history of our reservation. His dad is a living history book!

Heather’s second question was: Do you have any other interests other than horses and jewlery?

It might be shorter to write a list of things that don’t interest me! I love art- and enjoy drawing and painting. I also sing, play the piano and the guitar. I love to read and you’ll find me, more often than not, (or when I’m not on a Twitter addiction) with a book in my hand. I’m a television junkie. I actually enjoy running and biking and hiking and snow skiing; any outdoor activity. I love decorating and interior design.

Keep the questions coming folks! This is fun!


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Filed Under: family, life, politics, ranching

The State of the Horse Industry: Part 3

8 Feb posted by

Previously we’ve looked at Arguments 1 and 2, in favor of closing the horse processing facilities.  And if you missed the introduction, or the post that defined animal rights vs. animal welfare, you might want to catch up before reading this one!

Today we’ll tackle Argument 3 (from this report)- that horse owners will do the responsible thing.  As we’ve already learned- the majority of horse owners make between $25 and $75k per year.  The average cost to keep a horse yearly is between $2500-5000 per horse (with vet care).  This is based on numbers I’ve read around the country, and my own math from what I did when I was training 5+ horses per month for others (note- I was keeping horses in town- not turned out on the range)- bringing the total amount of horses I fed/maintained yearly to about 9-10 horses per month. Do the math.

Argument 3. Horse owners will be responsible and take care of their horses so a ban on slaughter will not result in horses not being cared for.


Horse ownership has many different interpretations and levels of commitment. While many horse owners take very good care of their horses this does not hold true for everyone. While neglect may not be intentional in some instances, it happens. Educating owners to proper nutrition, dental and hoof care, can make big changes to the horse’s management.

Reports of horses being abandoned are on the increase (Associated Press, 2007). Reported through the Brownfield Ag News for American, “Closing horse processing plants in the United States has led to increased abandonment and neglect of horses in this country and the inhumane death of horses across the border” (Young, 2007).  A Georgia Tifton Gazette article indicates rising neglect is evident across the state due to many factors, one of which is the closing of the slaughter houses (Cone, 2007). In Utah’s Department of Agriculture and Food, Terry Menlove, Director of the Division of Animal Industry, reports a larger number than usual of abandoned horses. Because of a lack of places to send older horses, some owners are keeping these horses and the horses starve to death in the field (T. Menlove, personal communication, January 2, 2008). Reported inthe Drovers Alert “the number of owners charged with animal cruelty due to neglected horses is on the rise as the price of horse ownership increases. So, the fallout from the closure of the slaughter facilities: More horse are suffering from starvation and neglect” (Henderson, 2008). The Wall Street Journal cites “the number of horses whose owners won’t or can’t properly care for them is mushrooming” (Prada, 2008). C.J. Hadley, publisher of the magazine called Range, indicated that “animal lovers with big hearts and no idea what’s required to take care of a horse have shut down slaughterhouses that were needed” (Prada, 2008).

If you haven’t witnessed the cruelty known as Mother Nature, and you’re still in favor of keeping closed the slaughter facilities, because you LOVE horses, I recommend you reconsider.  Seeing an old horse die of starvation, colic, or  by freezing to death, etc. is one of the saddest things you’ll ever witness. Bottom line- my horse. My property. I have said it before and I’ll say it again- If I choose to pay a vet to euthanize it for me, so be it. If I choose to send it to the kill plant, so be it.  If someone can’t afford to feed their horse, how can they afford to pay a vet to put it down?  We’ve even discussed the fact that you can’t hardly give a horse away right now.  Since most of  the rescues are full (that is a discussion for another day) I ask you, “what on God’s green earth are they supposed to do with their horse?”  Please note,  I do not advocate cruelty and I certainly don’t like to read stories like the one below:

HSUS offers reward in case of abandoned horses

by Associated Press

Posted on November 21, 2009 at 1:37 PM

******

TACOMA, Wash. – The case of five emaciated horses found abandoned in a Pierce County forest has prompted the Humane Society of the United States to offer a $2,500 reward for information leading to arrests and convictions.

In a statement, the animal welfare organization says it appears the animals were afraid to leave the area where they had been dropped off, and could have been stranded as long as two weeks.

It said the horses discovered Nov. 12 on a logging road near Elbe were cold, hurt and “horribly malnourished.”

The HSUS says two of the horses are about 15 years old; another is suspected to be pregnant and a fifth was euthanized.

The group’s Washington state director, Dan Paul, says struggling horse owners can turn to rescue groups, online adoption programs or even humane euthanasia.

Abandoning animals in Washington is a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum 90 days in jail and $1,000 fine.

Pierce County Animal Control is investigating.

Stories like the above are becoming all too common since the closing of horse processing facilities in the US in 2007. As has been discussed here recently, HSUS doesn’t run a single shelter or even help the animals that it “rescues”.

What many of you who, haven’t had the opportunity to see horses in the natural environments, don’t realize is that horses that have lived in a stall, or small acreage all their whole lives, really don’t know how to be a horse, like the horses we have on our ranch. Or like the horses that run wild through the deserts of Nevada, or other parts of the west. They don’t understand how to forage. How to range, or even how to drink. You think to yourself, oh, that should come naturally to the horse, but it doesn’t if they’ve been in a small acreage, or even a barn where there has been food and water in front of them 24/7.  They really don’t know how to go to water once a day and drink; then travel back out several miles to graze. Horses on the range do that daily.

Horses on the range also know how to get along with and read other horses. Horses kept in captivity tend to be more aggressive and mis-read the signs that ferrel horses will give them, such as “get out of my space”. It’s not unusual for a horse previously kept in captivity and then turned out with range horses to end up getting a severe beating, in part due to the fact that they aren’t as fluent at speaking horse as a range horse. They’re also not nearly in the same physical shape as range horses. Trust me. I rode my gray mare, Nora, daily, but when it came time to turn her out with horses twice her age, she couldn’t keep up. It’s like the person that runs on the treadmill vs. the one that runs XC. They’re not even in the same league.

This above story is, I believe,  the direct result of the closing of  US horse processing facilities. The HSUS/ASPCA and PETA took away that option and that part of the market. Why are groups like these not more concerned with the life of the horse while it is alive?  Why are they so concerned with what happens to it at death? We can’t crawl into a horse’s skin, so who are we to say that a captive bolt is any less disturbing to them, than the drug that is given to *humanely* euthanize them?  And why, if these groups, are so concerned with keeping horses from being processed are they not spending a good portion of their war-chest helping struggling horse owners, and rescue groups with things like feed costs, gelding colts, and euthanization? Why do they not run a single rescue group? I ask you, “What really then, is their agenda?”

It really boils down to them putting their money where their mouth is, and as several commenters have previously pointed out- and as we discussed here- these animal rights groups want the extinction of all domesticated animals. They’re on record as saying that. Why would we not believe them?  They spend their money to lobby congress and keep the public perception on their side. They don’t spend their money saving animals.  And those of us that do love our animals, well, we spend our money to keep those animals healthy.

That said, though, we are going to have to do something other than opine about it. Maybe it means getting on the phone with AQHA and urge them lobby for us (which I am told they do). Maybe it means getting on the horn to the local extension agents when we see neglect cases; maybe it means we give any extra money we have to groups like the United Organization of the Horse which is working fervently to bring back “humane” processing in this country. Whatever it means, we better figure it out soon.

As always, comments and discussion are welcome. But don’t troll me, and don’t be ugly. I’m all about discussion if you can refrain from name calling.

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Filed Under: horse slaughter, horses, peta, politics, ranching

The State of the Horse Industry: A Series

24 Jan posted by
Some 2009 Foals

Some 2009 Foals

I have decided to do a weekly, to bi-weekly post, at least until I feel like I’ve exhausted my resources, on the current state of the Horse Industry. As an industry professional, I think it’s important that public become educated on policies that they have helped perpetuate either directly or indirectly. Maybe you’re not in the horse industry and find that these policies don’t directly affect you; however, I hope you’d take from this  that the same groups that are responsible for making changes in the Horse Industry (HSUS and PETA) are the same groups that could make owning pets for the rest of you more difficult or costly; they’re often the same groups that can cause an increase in prices in the cost of agricultural goods and services. I hope to show the correlation through these series of posts.

Before we get too involved, I’d like to run through some numbers. In 2005 the American Horse council did a study on the Industry.  The numbers are big, interesting, and are the best place to start this conversation.

You can buy the study in its entirety here but we’ll highlight most of the relevant points:

  • There are 9.2 million horses in the United States.
  • 4.6 millions Americans are involved in the industry as horse owners, service providers, employees and volunteers.  Tens of millions more participate as spectators.
  • 2 million people own horses.
  • The horse industry has a direct economic effect on the US of $39 billion annually.
  • The industry has a $102 billion impact on the US economy when the mulitplier effect of spending by industry suppliers and employees is taken into account.  Including off-site spending of spectators would result in an even higher figure.
  • The industry directly provides 460,000 full- time equivalent (FTE) jobs. (And as someone who has made a living working in the industry I can tell you, that there is no 40 hour work week- to do it right you plan to work 60-80 hours a week. That includes help, not just the trainers).
  • Spending by suppliers and employees generates additional jobs for a total employment impact of 1.4 million FTE jobs.
  • The horse industry pays $1.9 billion in taxes to all levels of government.
  • Approximately 34% of horse owners have a household income of less than $50,000 and
  • 28% have an annual income of over $100,000. 46% of horse owners have an income of between $25,000 to $75,000.
  • Over 70% of horse owners live in communities of 50,000 or less.
  • There are horses in every state. Forty-five states have at least 20,000 horses each.

Of the 9.2 million horses used in the United States the numbers are as follows:

  • Racing- 844,531
  • Showing- 2,718,954
  • Recreation- 3,906,923
  • Other- 1,752,439

“Other” includes farm and ranch work, rodeo, carriage horses, polo, police work, informal competitions, etc.

The economic impact of the industry is huge:

The study documents the economic impact of the industry in terms of jobs and contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It is greater than the motion picture services, railroad transportation, and some types of manufacturing. It is only slightly smaller than the apparel and other textile manufacturing industries.

The study’s results show that the industry directly produces goods and services of $38.8 billion and has a total impact of $101.5 billion on US GDP.

It is strong in each activity with racing, showing and recreation each contributing between $10.5 and $12 billion to the total value of goods and services produced by the industry.

Now that we have some idea how big the industry is we’ll be better ready to delve into the subject later this week. If you have questions, please leave them in the comments section and I’ll compile a list of them to answer as need be.


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Filed Under: horses, peta, politics, ranching