A History of Mistrust: Ministry on the Pine Ridge Reservation

Pastors Gus and Terry Craven have been ministering on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation for over 25 years. They discuss the harsh realities of life on the reservation, including high rates of infant mortality, teen suicide, and unemployment, as well as limited access to healthcare and emergency services. They also highlight the joys and challenges of ministering in this context, including a history of mistrust and violence, and the difficulty of conveying the compatibility of Christianity with Native American identity.

Transcript

Ric Shields (00:00):

What would you say? If I tell you there is a place where the infant mortality is up to 300% higher than it is throughout the United States, or that the teen suicide rate is 150% higher, unemployment is nearly 80%, and some 38% of the people are without healthcare. It's a place where if an ambulance or a police officer is needed, it can take two to four hours for them to respond. And the nearest fire department is 40 miles away. It sounds like a third world country, but it isn't. It's life on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Southern South Dakota. And today, we'll look at “A History of Mistrust - Ministry Among Native Americans.”

I'm Ric Shields. Thanks for joining us on this episode of the DoorWays® Ministry Network podcast. On this episode, I'm talking with my new friends Gus and Terry Craven, who administered among Native Americans for over 25 years. Gus is an enrolled member of the Oglala Lakota Sioux Tribe on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in southwestern South Dakota. They currently live on the reservation in the town of Wanblee and serve as the pastors at the Eagle Nest Life Church. Thank you, Gus and Terry for joining me on this episode today.

Terry Craven (01:24):

Yeah. Thanks for having us.

Gus Craven (01:26):

Thanks for having us, Ric. We appreciate it.

Ric Shields (01:28):

Where you're at The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, is one of the largest reservations in the US. I think it's the second largest, the first largest is the Navajo reservation. My brief research shows it's 2.1 million acres, or it's over 3,400 square miles. And though it may be really large geographically, its population is really only around 20,000 people, and that's under six people per square mile. And that alone has to provide some unique ministry challenges. What are some of those challenges that you face because of that low population per square mile and that big geography?

Gus Craven (02:06):

You know, one of the things is, like for an example with the tire repair you know, there's communities 40 miles from us if you're going to get a tire fixed. And people like to shop at Walmart. We're a hundred miles from Walmart. We have one to the west of us in Rapid City, we have one to the east of us in Pierre.

Ric Shields (02:28):

And that's just, it's not fair. Let me tell you that's not fair because I can go out a half mile up the street to the north and a half mile to the west, and I've got a Walmart Neighborhood Market. Or I go south three miles and I've got a big Walmart Supercenter, and I can't imagine what it's like to have drive a hundred miles just to go to Walmart.

Gus Craven (02:48):

Yes, sir. And, and that's, you know, the sad part of it is for us here on the reservation is prime, I mean for the distance wise, but there's a lot of people that struggle with transportation. There's a lot of people that struggle with gas just to get to someplace. You know, and with the high cost of gas and so forth, that makes it difficult. You know, we do have a grocery store here in our community with a small gas station. But let me just share this, that if you have a diesel, a vehicle that runs by diesel, you've got to go 40 miles to get diesel because the gas station does not have diesel. Right? Yeah. So

Ric Shields (03:30):

You got to use diesel to get there, and you've got to use diesel to get back. You better have a pretty big tank.

Terry Craven (03:34):

I was going to say, like our community Wanblee, there's a population is maybe around 700 plus. And then in our district, Eagle Nest District, there's Wanblee and five to 15 miles, there's other little communities surrounding our community. So, there's like Georgetown, Lakota Fund, Hisle. So, for us to get to those communities is very difficult. And for those communities to get to us is very difficult. And those communities don't have any meeting areas like a community hall or anything like that. So, to minister in those communities is pretty difficult.

Ric Shields (04:16):

The history of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation contains stories of some major conflicts that have occurred at Pine Ridge. There's the Wounded Knee Massacre of December 1890. As many as 300 tribal members were killed or wounded. And though it's not funny, it's kind of interesting, around 65 members of the US Cavalry were killed or wounded through what was considered friendly fire, or soldiers shooting other soldiers.

(04:44):

There was occupation of Wounded Knee in 1973 with a two-and-a-half-month standoff with US law enforcement, the Pine Ridge Shootout in 1976, and the subsequent death of the activist Anna Mae Aquash.

(04:56):

Does a history of past mistrust and violence impact your ministry opportunities today? What do you think?

Gus Craven (05:03):

Yes, sir. You know, I was down in this area during the takeover at Wounded Knee. So, I do have firsthand knowledge of that episode, and I can tell you that the unrest and the turmoil was very horrific. That unrest and that that spiritual if you will, mistrust in that anger towards if you will, the white man has, I mean, it's still there because there have been so many atrocities towards the native people throughout the years. And Ric, you know, that as well as I do that the hurts and the pains even though they're sometimes pushback a lot of times they don't go away.

(05:51):

And, you know, and so like, I'll give you an example of you know, being, if you're familiar with what they call the boarding school era? And this was when, you know, the, this was all done, if you will, under the auspice of Christianity or if you will, the auspice of the church that native kids were literally dragged out of their homes and loaded on buses or 

(06:20):

Wagons. And they were taken they would take them to these border schools. They shaved their heads, they would take off all their clothes, make them put on these uniform type things. And so, all of that anger from generation to generation has been handed down.

(06:38):

 You know, an individual told me that they would line them up on, on these knee rails. And my mother was raised during this boarding school era, and she talked about how they would line them up on the rails. And they had all these things that they were to recite and, and these, and if they weren't recited correctly, they would take their shoes off and they would slap the bottom of their feet.

(07:05):

Now, all of that said is that, and we know that the enemy is the father of all lies. So, he takes those lies and he just conveys them from generation to generation and keeps the fire stirred for the anger, the mistrust. And, and if you will, the church you know, when I come along and I say, “Well, I'm a Christian,” and you know, right away the flags go up because you are one of them.

Terry Craven (07:32):

We've all been traumatized in some way. And we've been abused as children. We've been abused as adults. We've been traumatized in some way, and God wants us, he wants to bring healing to us. That is what you said that we're a different kind of church. We are because we want to bring the healing balm of Jesus. And we want to bring, to tell you that, you know, through forgiveness and love, that there can be healing. We can be restored, you know, but to get them to understand the process of...

Ric Shields (08:10):

You get past that initial introduction and get a chance to see who you are. But getting past that first part is really difficult.

Gus Craven (08:19):

It Is. Yes. And, and not only that, but conveying to them that it's okay to be an Indian and to be a Christian. You when you become a Christian, you don't, if you will, lose your nativeness, if that's such a word. Do you know what I'm saying? But to convey that and to get that across is, I mean, that's just one more obstacle that, you know, the enemy uses to hinder the people from coming, if you will, over to the church.

Ric Shields (08:52):

And the wonderful redemptive analogies that exist in Native American culture that can be used to help them realize, no, this is, we're talking about God, we're talking about his love for you. And I think those are, those are great.

(09:04):

Gus and Terry, I can't help but notice some difficult demographics associated with the Pine Ridge reservation. I noticed that 57% live below the federal poverty line, and that is nearly four times higher than the national average. In 2020, the US Census Bureau reported a median income of just under $37,000. And that's about 50% less than the national average. 38% are without healthcare, and that's almost five times higher than the national average.

(09:38):

So, Pastor Gus and Terry Pine Ridge looks to me like a pretty hard place to live. So why is it so difficult?

Gus Craven (09:45):

You know, here's a couple more thoughts on these statistics, is that, you know, why is it that we have a suicide rate for our teenagers that's been rated at 150% higher than the national average? Why is our infant mortality rate almost 300% higher? Why is our school dropout rate sometimes rated over 70%? Well, one of the reasons why is because of our, if you will, the unemployment on this reservation is 85 70 to 80, 85% reservation wide.

(10:16):

And so, when you have those kinds of surroundings and, and you stop to think about like for, for an example. It’s like living in an inner city without the city, okay? So, we have Indian healthcare, IHS Indian Healthcare Service. It is provided and, and we have an ambulance service. But there are times that it takes between 2-4 hours for an ambulance to reach its destination or a police officer or a police officer. We live 40 miles from a fire department.

(10:50):

And that's where we have to focus, Ric, on the point that the enemy keeps the pain alive. With Wounded Knee, a horrific thing that happened. And my understanding is we passed some bill or something that they're going to try to build a monument, and a memorial there and do some work there. And, but my point is, is that there's so much hurt that is right there that goes from reservation wide that you just have to understand that, you know, the pain is evident no matter where you go. Because when you say Wounded Knee to the majority of the people, they understand what it is of the atrocity. When you say Pine Ridge to someone, you say Pine Ridge in Indian Reservation, a lot of people we've been, it's been told to us time and time again, that's got to be one of the hardest places to do ministry. That's got to be one of the worst places to do. But no, it's one of the best places to do ministry, because if it was easy, everybody would be out here doing it.

Ric Shields (11:52):

You're listening to the DoorWays® Ministry Network podcast. My name is Ric Shields, and I'm joined on this episode with my friends Gus and Terry Craven, who are the pastors at Eagle Nest Life Church in Wanblee, South Dakota on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Pastor Gus and Terry feel called to share the gospel with members of the Oglala Lakota Sioux tribe, where Gus is an enrolled member.

(12:15):

So, in a place that experiences so much poverty and hardship, and you've just alluded to this, it seems to me it would be an easy place for people to hear and receive the gospel and become followers of Jesus. But you're telling me that's not really the case.

Gus Craven (12:29):

Yes, that's correct. When you, when you get down to the bottom line of ministry on the reservation, some of these kids come from, we take kids camping in throughout the, in the summertime. We take them down in the river. We call it Camp Noah. And we've been doing it for a long time. Here's an example of, we took kids, and we got an old bus, and we hauled them down there, and, and we stayed three or four days, and we just let them be. Kids splash around in the water, you know. We have campfires and s'mores, and we just feed them till they can't eat anymore. And here's the thing. When we're going down there and they see the river and you know, they're all excited and everything. The second day you're there, the walls come down a little bit more. And about the third night at the campfire, you know, things really begin to get real.

(13:20):

And then you’ve got the last day. You're loading up in the bus, all the old stuff comes back, the happy go lucky kid leaves. And the old stuff, because the defense system, if you will, comes back up because they know that nothing has changed at home. Everything that they left is going to be there. When we get back home, everything's going to be there.

Terry Craven (13:43):

Many people want help, but they don't know how to deal with the pain, the alcoholism, the drugs, all of that's here just like anywhere else. But because we live in a rural area, there's no accessibility for success. There's no opportunity. They want to change. They cry. You see the tears, you see the pain, you see the, the want and the desire to know Jesus in their lives to change, but we can't save them. Only Jesus can. And so, they have to make that decision to really want Christ to be a part of their life. But when they leave our church, they, they go back into the same environment, the same people, the same problems, issues.

(14:31):

So, it's very difficult to be set free. And, and we talked about the parable of the Sower and the soil, because we can sow as much seed as possible, but where that seed lands is where it lands, we don't decide what kind of soil it's going to land in. But we have to sow. That's what the Lord said. And so, we, we are here and we're just doing what he's asked us to do. And we'll stay here until he says, leave you know.

Ric Shields (15:05):

Pastor Gus and Terry, you have initiated some really important ministry projects to make the gospel real among those that you serve. I'd like you to take a couple minutes to give us a brief overview of some of those. Talk to me first about this program where you're doing some life skills. Tell me about that.

Gus Craven (15:21):

The life skills program, we set it up. The Lord said, you know, take them beyond the VBS. So, in other words, VBS is good, and, and most of the groups that come in, and we're going to do, you know, vacation Bible school and that is awesome. But let's get past the evangelism step. Let's go into the discipleship part. Let's get on something that hasn't been tried before.

(15:46):

So, life skills. We had a welding program. We brought some boys together and some girls, and (This has been several years ago. It was our first one.) we had a welding instructor come from Colorado. Came up four days teaching them in classroom. And then we'd go out in the shop, and we had a couple of welders donated to us, and just little wire welders. And so, they got to use hand tools and cutting torches and grinders and all the things that are related to metal work. We got some metal donated, and some old well pipe. And we built a load-out chute. We’ve got a few cows, and you can load cattle in a horse trailer.

(16:26):

And so, you know, that went on when they got a little certificate. Three or four years later down the line, and they went to a place like where all these college school, what is it?

Terry Craven (16:35):

A vo-tech school.

Gus Craven (16:36):

A vo-tech school, where these colleges. Anyway, they show their, hopefully the kids are going to sign up there and go there. And so, this tech school, and they had a welding division. They were showing all the welding. And this was my wife, she worked at elementary school. So, she was pretty exposed to these, you know, the kids and the scenario there. And so, Terry, what did she share with you? The teacher of this school?

Terry Craven (16:59):

They were walking by the welding area and one of the kids said, “I know how to do that.” And she was like, “How do you know how to do that?” And he said, “I went to Pastor Gus's welding school and I learned how to do that.” She was shocked. She was like, did he really come to a welding school? And I was like, yeah, he did. He stayed four days. He, they welded all kinds of things. And so, he's telling the truth.

Ric Shields (17:24):

Yeah. And you've done some other life skills too. Some plumbing. Tell me about that.

Gus Craven (17:30):

Yeah, we had one guy, I think he got it from a hardware store, but it was like a kitchen sink. It was set up, and then you could turn it around and you could see the backside of the kitchen sink. And they explained how to take it apart, what to do if your sink was leaking. This is what you replaced. This is what you do.

(17:49):

 We had one last summer. A couple of gentlemen from Colorado came up and they did, what’s called the handyman projects. And basically, it’s like if someone were to put a hole in your sheet rock, how do you fix the hole in your sheet rock? Or what do you do with, in essence, just simple little things. Like a yard gate on your house fence and it, maybe it doesn't swing right or something. How do you fix the, and those kinds of simple things can convey.

(18:14):

We're hoping that we can get one that would be like, if you will, auto mechanics. Now let's just say for an example, the area you come from. We get a group of people. And here's the thing, I know this just as well as you and I and Terry are sitting here, that we could go to these churches and there are untapped resources that are just sitting in them pews. And here's an example.

Terry Craven (18:40):

They're saying, use me. Use me.

Gus Craven (18:42):

But, but yet, but yet they're being overlooked because somebody says, well, you know, they, they're retired, they're gray haired, little older. They can't, but here's the thing. All of the gifts that they have, we can take, you know. God gave them that. Let's say somebody that's an auto mechanic. Let's bring, use that as an example. And they bring their tools. And let's say we get a couple old lawnmowers donated to us. So, they take the lawnmowers, put them on the table. They show the kids how to tear everything apart and clean everything up, put it into new parts, put it all back together. Could you imagine the sense of accomplishment when that kid reaches down and pulls that rope, and that lawnmower starts?

Ric Shields (19:21):

That's pretty good.

Terry Craven (19:22):

And then he can make money.

Gus Craven (19:24):

And that's it. We can teach them to take your lawnmower and go mow lawns and you $5 a lawn, or whatever it may be. And then teach them, okay, you can make money with this thing. And, and it goes on to, if you will, and here's an example that where, where we can teach them biblical principles. Because first of all, you go to the, the elders and the widows, and you mow theirs for free.

Ric Shields (19:51):

That's pretty cool.

Gus Craven (19:51):

Because the Bible says, you take care of those elders. The widows. So, teach them that, you know what, yes, you can make money and have an income, but teach them that it's better when you give to start with.

Terry Craven (20:05):

And the thing is, when we have these life skills, we have devotional time. We have prayer time. We, we teach them the gospel message while we're teaching them how to do something with their hands.

(20:19):

And we've done it with the girls, too. We've had sugar and spice. We had them come for like four weeks and learn how to read a recipe. And at the end, they got certificates, and they made a huge, massive, beautiful supper for their families and invited their families. We've done tie blankets, we've sewn pillows, we've painted bird houses, we've done so much with life skills. And it works. It really works.

Ric Shields (20:47):

Now, we can't go away without hearing this story about a few years ago, and some very well-meaning people came from a church and came to the reservation to help paint a house, but there was a problem. What happened?

Gus Craven (21:01):

Well, they came to us, and they said, okay, well, summertime, it's hot. We're standing out here <laugh> painting this house. And it's like, we looked in the window and there's some teenage boys laying on the couch playing video games and the air conditioner is on. So, we know that they're comfortable. And here we are out here. And why is that?

(21:22):

And I told them, I said, it's because you're standing out here painting a house. And the bottom line is that, yes, let's paint the house, but let's take an extra four hours and let's get them boys involved, and let's get them out there and say, okay, we're going to do A, B, C, X, Y, Z. We'll show you how to do that. We'll teach you how, so on and so forth.

(21:42):

You know, Habitat for Humanity set up a good example of what was sweat equity. And the people would get in the home, but they had to put time involved. And, you know with that in mind, take those kids. Even if it takes you longer, if nothing more than have them carry your, your paintbrush or have them carry your tape, measure something. And yet the bottom line is that when we begin to do those kinds of things and get the kids involved, get the family involved. Say, you know what we'd like you to do is cook a meal for all of our workers, and we'll provide the food. We don't want to be a financial burden to you, but we'd like for you to put on a meal where we can break bread together. And then when that happens, there's an open door right there, because then you can teach them about breaking bread together. And that what the Christian principles behind that.

Ric Shields (22:39):

What if we brought an extra oh, couple hundred bucks with us and hired some of those kids to help us?

Gus Craven (22:46):

There you go. Bingo. Yes, sir.

Terry Craven (22:49):

Do whatever you can. Like we try to do anything that we can to bring the message to the people. And so, I would just tell them, just let God be God in your life. And follow, take his lead.

Ric Shields (23:09):

It's like the Apostle Paul wrote, I've become all things to all men. So that by all possible means I might save some.

Gus Craven (23:18):

The job that we have and the area that we live, you know it. Yeah. It's, it's sure enough difficult. It's a long way from anywhere. But here's the thing. If we can convey what he has explained to us, and someone even in the, in the darkness of night would cry out, then we've done what we're supposed to do.

Ric Shields (23:45):

Thanks again for listening. I hope you found this podcast to be helpful. Please feel free to share it with others you think may benefit from it.

(23:54):

Would you like someone to pray for you? I'll pray for you. And if you'd like, I'll share your note with others who will pray and believe for God to work on your behalf, drop me a note at info@DoorWays dot cc.

(24:05):

Until next time, may you sense God's presence, the love of Jesus, and the grace of the Holy Spirit in your heart, your home, and in your spheres of relationship in the days ahead. God bless you.