Native American children and youth are facing many problems that make it difficult to grow up in a happy and healthy way:

Unhealthy home life

Traditional Lakota values were replaced with non Indian values bringing about a life style that causes individuals to drink and use drugs thereby causing yearly increases in abuse of women and children. Abuse in the home is a common occurrence in everyday life on many reservations.

Bad housing conditions

The housing shortage on Pine Ridge reservation is large and the waiting list for it is long. There are families that live for months in a tent or a car, even in wintertime. Others live with many persons in one house under very poor conditions. On an average, 17 people live in a house that is built for a family of four. Up to 30 people have been reported in one home built for eight.

Most houses are badly insulated and have insufficient heating. Approximately. 40 % of the households are without electricity. Often the houses are lacking stoves, refrigerators, beds and other furniture. An estimated 60 % of the households do not have a phone. Over 400 homes have water delivered by the Oglala Sioux Rural Water Supply. Water is stored in fifty-gallon containers outside the house but moved inside during the winter months.

According to a study reported in a local newspaper, at least 60 % of the houses on the reservation are infested with black mold. Children, older persons or individuals with respiratory problems, living in a mould-stricken house, are exposed to serious and often deadly illnesses, like lung bleedings and cancer.
In many houses cockroaches or mice have taken over.

Soil and ground water in the reservation are frequently contaminated with pesticides and other toxins from agriculture, mining and dumps.

Another reason for bad nutrition is lack of money. Most families on the reservation have only a limited budget for food with many family members to feed. Quantity becomes more of a factor than quality therefore he results are obesity and diet-related health problems

Health problems / Mental health problems

In the previous sections we pointed out some of the conditions leading to health problems in children/youth on the reservation.
Furthermore, much of what endangers the health of the adults also represents a risk for children/youth:
Tuberculosis, pneumonia, alcohol-related car crashes and violence up to homicide, to state some of these risks.
The hospital in Pine Ridge reports on cases of 12-year-old children who had to be treated because of venereal diseases. Children are learning about sex in kindegarden and reports are made to the Social Services of children kissing and sexually acting out.

Diabetes
More than 45 % of the adults on the reservation suffer from Diabetes Type II. Diabetes leads to numerous concomitant and aftereffect diseases along with a high number of dialysis patients.
Cases of Diabetes Type I that is usually found in children/youth are rather rare. But more and more children/youth contract Diabetes Type II. This type of diabetes is related to obesity and a lack in physical exercise.

FAS
Maternal prenatal alcohol use is one of the leading preventable causes of birth defects and developmental disabilities. One of the most severe outcomes is Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), which includes abnormalities in three domains at the same time – disorders of the brain, growth retardation, and facial malformations. FAS is an irreversible condition that affects every aspect of an individual’s life and the lives of his or her family.
In 8 out of 10 families on the reservation alcohol related problems occur with a high number of babies born with FAS

Teen Suicide
Among Native Americans Suicide is the second leading cause of death. The rate of suicide among teens on the reservation is 1.5 times higher than the national average.

Abuse / Sexual abuse

A recent conference in Rapid City was attended by a tribal judge from Pine Ridge who stated that she presently has 40 ongoing cases of child abuse. Each day there are new cases being investigated by the State social services Child Protection Office.
There is a statistic by the Department of Justice stating that the rate for abuse or neglect of Native American children ist about double the national rate. And there is also an estimation that 40% of all cases of child abuse and/or neglect are not reported.
One of the worst abuses is the sexual abuse. (Not only females but also boys) There are cases of children who are sexually abused because the mother had to work – or go drink - and left the child with an unscreened relative or neighbor. Sometimes parents do this to their own children. Kids who have been abused as a child may grow up to become a perpetrator themselves. There are different causes for becoming a perpetrator but one thing is for certain: Sexual abuse of children and youth was not a traditional Native American way of life.
Sexual abuse can lead to changes in school performance, aggressiveness, depression and suicide attempts.

Addictions

Tobacco has been used for generations in a sacred manner however the present day use and abuse is bringing an early death and illnesses.
Everybody knows about the risks of smoking cigarettes. But there is another most popular habit among children/youth on reservations -chewing tobacco.
Among all ethnic groups Native American children/youth have the highest rate of chewing tobacco users and there have been cases reported of preschool-aged children using chewing tobacco. Since chewing tobacco contains nicotine, it also leads to addiction. Beside other health problems chewing tobacco can cause permanent gum recession and even cancers of the mouth and throat.

Few leisure time activities

The reservation has many homes in rural areas. Some students will leave home at 6am to be bussed 50-60 miles one way, picking up students along the way. After school their only recreation will be TV, video games and movies. While some districts of the reservation have youth centers there is no “pick up and drop off” of the students that want to vist the youth centers.