Statistics About Pine Ridge Reservation

• Pine Ridge Reservation is the poorest county in the United States.
• Rapid City, South Dakota, is the nearest town of size (population approximately 57,700) for those who can travel to find work. It is located 120 miles from the Reservation. The nearest large city to Pine Ridge is Denver, Colorado, located some 350 miles away.
• 97% of the population lives far below the U.S. federal poverty line with a median household income ranging between $2,600 and $3,500 per year.
• There is no industry, technology or commercial infrastructure to provide employment for its residents, contributing to its 90% unemployment rate.
• There are no banks, motels, discount stores, and the one grocery store of moderate size is tasked with providing for the entire community.
• There is a 70% high school dropout rate.
• The average life expectancy on the Reservation is 47 years for men and 52 years for women.
• Teenage suicide rate is 150% higher than the U.S. national average.
• Infant mortality rate is the highest on this continent, and about 300% higher than the U.S. national average.
• There’s an estimated average of 17 people living in each family home, a home that may only have two to three rooms. Some Reservation families are forced to sleep on dirt floors.
• Over 33% of homes have no electricity or basic water and sewage systems, forcing many to carry (often contaminated) water from local rivers daily for their personal needs.
• At least 60% of homes on the Reservation need to be demolished and replaced due to infestation of potentially fatal black mold; however, there are no insurance or government programs to assist families in replacing their homes.
• Weather is extreme on the Reservation. Severe winds are always a factor. Summer temperatures reach well over 110 degrees and winters bring bitter cold and can reach -50 degrees below zero or worse.

Aaron Huey’s effort to photograph poverty in America led him to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where the struggle of the native Lakota people — appalling, and largely ignored — compelled him to refocus. Five years of work later, his haunting photos intertwine with a shocking history lesson.