Mass Suicides Among The Native American Community Remind Us Who Is Actually Marganalized In This Country

NY Times- Since December, the Pine Ridge Reservation, a vast, windswept land of stunning grasslands and dusty plateaus, has been the scene of an unfolding crisis: Nine people between the ages of 12 and 24 have committed suicide here.

John Yellow Bird Steele, the Oglala Sioux tribe president, last week. He declared an emergency on the reservation in February.CreditKristina Barker for The New York Times Two teenagers hanged themselves in December. In the next three months, seven more young people were found dead, including Alanie Martin, 14, who was known for her love of basketball, cheerleading and traditional Indian hand games. When Santana killed herself in February, she followed the recent suicide of a boy who attended her school, Wounded Knee, named for the 1890 massacre that occurred where the reservation stands today.

Many more youths on the reservation have tried, but failed, to kill themselves in the past several months: At least 103 attempts by people ages 12 to 24 occurred from December to March, according to the federal Indian Health Service. Grim-faced emergency medical workers on the reservation, which is the size of Delaware and Rhode Island combined, say they have been called to the scenes of suicide attempts, sometimes several times a day.

Several officials with knowledge of the cases said that at least one of the youths who committed suicide was influenced by Slender Man, a tall, faceless creature who appears in storytelling websites, often as a figure who stalks and kills victims. Two girls in a Milwaukee suburb last summer said the character had inspired them in the attempted murder of a classmate.

“They call him the Tall Man spirit,” said Chris Carey, a minister who works with youths, some of them suicidal, on the reservation. “He’s appearing to these kids and telling them to kill themselves.”




​As a middle class, white American male I don't have too much to complain about in terms of prejudice. Unfortunately in today's society, we might be the only ones. Every other day it seems like women are complaining about equal pay or about everything being sexist. Gays want to get married and have everyone accept their lifestyle. Transgenders just want fucking everything all at once. Black people to don't want to get killed by police.  

You know what? It's time we take a look around and see how good we all fucking have it. See that house you live in? See that yard your kids are playing in? None of that shit is yours. We stole it. We all fucking stole it all. Everyone is crying about being offended, while Native Americans got fucking given South Dakota and told to kick rocks. Were the cops mean to you? Guess what? Indian reservations don't even have cops because that's how awful they are. Cops will travel from out to state to come and man Baltimore, but they they would rather quit than step foot into an Indian reservation. You want to talk about marginalized? Let's talk about the people that we took every thing from and forced them to all become alcoholics. Let's talk about the lives that are so bad that a demographic of people had to make up a fictional character that demanded their suicide because life couldn't possibly be that bad unless their was some subhuman force behind it. You want to cry about how bad your life is? There has been 103 suicide attempts of people between the ages 12-24 in the last 4 months on this reservation. ONE HUNDRED AND FUCKING THREE. Literally every other demographic of society doesn't even know how much life sucks by the age of 12, and American Indians are already tired of living it. Were all sitting here on a Friday waiting a few more hours to pound drinks for fun, while Native Americans are drinking to forget that an entire nation was stolen from them. Thanksgiving? How about "thanks, give me back my fucking land"? Fucking Squanto should be sitting here writing this blog about me. He should feel bad for the white people that he put on reservations, not the other way around. Everyone has their own troubles, but next time you want to bitch about them ask yourself, is it as bad as being regulated to being an alcoholic in South Dakota?