In the late 19th century legend of Crazy Horse, the Oglala Sioux leader prophesied an economic, spiritual, and social renaissance among Native Americans. Now that prophesied generation, the Seventh Generation, is here—and they’re determined to live up to the legend. The South Dakota-based photographer Kristina Barker spent several days on Pine Ridge Reservation recently meeting the young leaders who are confronting generational poverty, trauma, and cultural disconnection and using educational attainment as key to reclaiming Native identity and culture. Read the feature story “The Real Legacy of Crazy Horse” by Alia Wong, here.
The Red Cloud High School student Jacob Rosales is celebrated for his academic achievements that are providing him with post-high-school educational opportunities. “It’s not our fault,” Rosales said, when asked about what he wants people to know about life on the reservation in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. “There’s a liquor store right across from the border. Right over there.” In spite of the challenges young people face on the reservation, Rosales is spending the summer in the Washington, D.C., area for an internship at the National Institutes of Health, after which he’ll be heading up north to start college at Yale University. Rosales has long been on a mission to attend a prestigious university, but if he hadn’t gotten in to Yale, he had plenty of backups: He was accepted to six other Ivy League schools.
(Kristina Barker)
https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2017/08/a-reservation-restored/535656/
