Land Tenure and Livelihoods of the Oglala Lakota - Kathryn M ...

Stromberg 11
H.U.D.‟s policy of creating cluster housing developments on the reservation, and the
atmosphere now surrounding them, is associated with this cultural divide. Many contend that the
changed spatial organization of settlements has accelerated assimilation and culture loss. The
violence, domestic abuse, alcoholism, and gang warfare that afflict the reservation are in
particular associated with cluster housing. One man who has returned to live on his allotment
told me,
I would never raise my children in these cluster houses...I was raised out in the country.
Whenever we do ceremonies, that are spiritual necessities of the child, I have the ability
to do that right next to my home, cause there‟s a sweat lodge there. I couldn‟t do that in
the cluster housing because there‟s not enough room. And most of the people in the
cluster housing are not culturally inclined, so you don‟t want to set up a sweat lodge in
cluster housing, because there‟s drunks, drug dealers, and a lot of conduct unbecoming.
So even if I lived in cluster housing and was able to build a sweat lodge where I live, I
have to compete with the majority of these children that have conduct unbecoming.
Meaning they cuss, they lie, they steal, the boys disrespect girls, the girls might fight...its
very non-conducive to raising children in a traditional setting, so that‟s why I would
never raise children there...definitely not Lakota culture.
Others agreed that traditional cultural practices are hindered in the cluster housing. A
tribal member who lives in Pine Ridge Village said that the developments have
hurt the tribe in ways that I cannot begin to describe...they're little more than little
ghettoes on the rez. With people still having some allotment...their dreams are to have a
house built on their land, that‟s where we want to live. I'd rather live out in the country, a
place where I could put a sweat lodge, have some animals, garden, fish, all that stuff.
We can't put a sweat lodge up in town...sometimes when we have a singing practice with
the drum, the cops get called on us, they say „we know you're having a party‟. I don‟t
even think we need anybody to oppress us anymore, we're damn near oppressing
ourselves.
Living out on one‟s allotment is frequently seen as the preferable traditional choice, even
for many who are not able to do so. One man spoke about how building a house for one‟s family
is a spiritual requirement for a traditional Lakota, and praised the virtues of self-reliance. “I raise