What do those numbers mean?
They represent the:
3 Funerals for girls within
10 months who were only
14 years
13 years
18 years
3.10.14.13.18
My daughter and I have lived here 12 months exactly and I've attended 3 funerals for 3 incredibly beautiful, bright and lovely souls, 2 were suicides and 1 car accident (no seat belt).
What did these girls have in common?
Beauty
Laughter
Powerful Smile
Family
Siblings
Friends
Prayer
Future
Life
Love
We can't bring these beautiful living beings back to us, but we will eternally be surrounded by their soulful spirits.
Death is such a huge part of my community here in Pine Ridge. As I watched the final viewing of today's funeral that took place in our high school gymnasium because today's funeral is for a girl who just graduated high school three months ago in May '10, I wonder, if death were to overcome a community elsewhere in America, as it has here in Pine Ridge, would the community response be different?
Here, there is such an acceptance of death. As a community, why aren't we enraged that our youth are dying prematurely?
The two suicides were of girls 14 + 13.
People, at 14 + 13, these girls decided they would end their lives. End their lives. That is the most outrageous and scary option thinkable, yet to them, it was the only option.
...my heart is heavy with grief and sadness, but my mind is racing with questions about what can be done, by every single one of us living here, to protect and save our youth.
What can be done? Where do we begin?
Tashina,
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry. I don't have any words that can make it better, but I can share your grief. This year, in a five-month period, at my son's high school, one student killed himself, one attempted to on school grounds (another student found him,) and a teacher's husband/father of 3 students shot himself. We live in a small community where everyone knows each other. The suicide prevention counselors said suicide is like a contagious disease, especially with teens. It has been three months since the last death. Parents are starting to exhale, and although there may be more grief to come, I can only hope that we have all learned a little more about this, and hopefully can help prevent it in the future.
Heartbreaking, Tashina. Thank you for speaking of these things here.
ReplyDeleteMany songs and prayers to Pine Ridge. One way to begin protecting our children: teach them to stop viewing life through the eyes of Western Society. Too many details to spell out, but in a concise generalized reply, stop our youth from believing in Western Society. From there, we need to build uniting bridges between our people on the rez and off the rez, as well as building an economy that supports NDN Country. Yes, way too many details that need to be spelled out there as well. Those are a few of the basics... still we have many other things we need to do for these kids, as well.
ReplyDelete