Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is now facing a water shortage in the wake of a winter storm that left thousands trapped. Bismarck, North Dakota NBC affiliate KFYR reports that the Oglala Sioux Tribe issued water restrictions on Monday and that officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) would be arriving this week, prompted by the dangerous conditions that isolated Pine Ridge, which is still being dug out by residents and the National Guard.
Some residents went without electricity during the storm, instead using up propane and whatever firewood (or burnable material) was available to survive the two weeks of sub-zero temperatures bringing ice and snow. Basic necessities were a major concern, as there was a firewood shortage but frequently no safe way for outside communities, groups, and nonprofits to safely get to Pine Ridge. Conditions simply made it impossible to even break down the firewood, much less transport it.
Minnesota Public Radio offers a list of nonprofits helping the community as milder storms begin to form, providing some semblance of relief to the region. But winter storm crises don’t exist in a vacuum and the Oglala Sioux Tribe has struggled substantially in the past few years—as well as generations—due to systemic issues that have endangered everything from members’ health to financial security.
Officials plan to lift water restrictions on Friday but that’s only one means of relief. And it remains to be seen the ways in which FEMA will truly equitably aid the community—and whether it will fall short in its efforts, as it’s been prone to do. More must be done to ensure that communities aren’t resorting to literally burning clothing to stay alive and rationing food.
Some residents went without electricity during the storm, instead using up propane and whatever firewood (or burnable material) was available to survive the two weeks of sub-zero temperatures bringing ice and snow. Basic necessities were a major concern, as there was a firewood shortage but frequently no safe way for outside communities, groups, and nonprofits to safely get to Pine Ridge. Conditions simply made it impossible to even break down the firewood, much less transport it.
Minnesota Public Radio offers a list of nonprofits helping the community as milder storms begin to form, providing some semblance of relief to the region. But winter storm crises don’t exist in a vacuum and the Oglala Sioux Tribe has struggled substantially in the past few years—as well as generations—due to systemic issues that have endangered everything from members’ health to financial security.
Officials plan to lift water restrictions on Friday but that’s only one means of relief. And it remains to be seen the ways in which FEMA will truly equitably aid the community—and whether it will fall short in its efforts, as it’s been prone to do. More must be done to ensure that communities aren’t resorting to literally burning clothing to stay alive and rationing food.