Giving and receiving

How many times has what was once considered to be a "great idea" actually turned out to be as good as it was proclaimed to be? I would venture to guess that most ideas fall short of their original intent, but I think I have actually been a part of something that may trump most of the great ideas I have encountered. It is not often that you can use something that you know and truly enjoy to help a young person in a rather hopeless situation, but the project we are undertaking now does just that.

My family and I took part in a branding over the Fourth of July in our old stomping ground in South Dakota. The branding was hosted by our former neighbor and long-time rancher Joe Kary, whose parents homesteaded in the territory. In addition to the regular group of hands he rounded up to help, Joe also invited a handful of Lakota kids from Parmelee, where he runs the convenience store.

They were green hands and had never taken part in such an event. But they were very interested in riding the horses and weren't afraid to grab a calf and wrestle it to the ground so it could be vaccinated, castrated and branded. They even got to sample their work when a few of the "mountain oysters" were grilled on the branding fire. They started out talking "smack" and bragging about how tough they were, but it didn't take long for them to realize that all of their tough talk in town didn't add up to much when it came time to "cowboying up" on the ranch.

Much of this was recorded on video, except when the inexperienced wranglers chased the herd of calves over top of the film crew and flipped the firebox upside down in the dry grass (twice). We had more than a few exciting moments and most everyone went home with some kind of battle scar but, all in all, it went well.

Several weeks had gone by since the branding and I talked to Marty Beard, horseman, farrier, hunter and mule expert from North Dakota. We were discussing the upswing in the number of teenage suicides that were taking place on the reservation near Bismarck. I called Joe and he reported that teenage suicide was on the rise on the Rosebud, as well. During the course of our conversation, he mentioned that the "city slickers" who had been at the branding were no longer the local troublemakers and had taken an interest in being a part of more activities on the ranch.

Suicide in South Dakota is twice as high as the national average for people from 14 to 24 years of age and especially prominent in tribal youth. These deaths are commonly related to depression, substance abuse and conduct disorders. In 2004, suicide was the second leading cause of death for this age range. One in five students has made a plan to attempt suicide and 9 percent have attempted it at least once in the last year.

The context of these conversations between Marty, Joe and I, along with a meeting with horse trainer Rick Wheat, led us to what we now believe to be our "great idea." We had so much faith in the plan that we decided to give it a test. Millions of dollars of government and private industry funds are being funneled to "who knows where" on these reservations and still our youth are taking their own lives. We decided to take matters into our own hands.

On Sept. 17, with the help of Joe, Rick, Marty and Dean Yellow Hawk, we initiated our attempt to change the attitudes of young people on the reservation and, hopefully, give them a reason to live. We recruited 10 kids from the Rosebud Reservation to participate in a one-day horse-training clinic. Round pens were set up and some fairly untamed horses were delivered to the St. Francis, S.D., rodeo grounds. The kids watched Rick give a training demonstration and were given one-on-one instruction in starting a horse. The kids worked hard and nine of the 10 were able to ride their horses before the day was over.

Marty gathered the kids around a horse called Jaw Breaker, a name he earned when he sent a rider to hospital, to learn how to clean, trim and rasp hooves. When one young horseman learned that he could make $5 per hoof for doing this job, he became excited. He had hope! He was actually looking forward to what he could do and the money he could earn.

Before the event was over, we had ten proud, confident kids with a newfound passion. We had made believers of the parents and onlookers. We had tapped into the culture of the Lakota and brought them back to their long-standing partnership with the horse. Between the horses and the kids, there was now a mutual trust and respect. When we left that day, Joe summed up it all up by saying, "You may have literally saved a life today." Not only did we give something to these kids, but what we got back may have even been greater. The old saying, "'Tis better to give than to receive," certainly comes to mind.

The United States spends millions of dollars helping people around the world while our own children are taking their lives. While I certainly don't believe that any child should be allowed to suffer, I think it is time we take care of our own, whether they are on the reservations or in the inner city slums. We can't rely on the government to do what is each of our own responsibility and we can look to the traditional culture of the American Indians for our guidance. For generations, tribal members of all ages have been involved in the growth and development of their young people. Drugs and alcohol have broken these bonds but now is the time to show these kids, and all of our youth, that they do deserve a bright future.

You might not be able to put on a horse-training clinic, but maybe you know how to garden or sew or carve wood. Perhaps you don't live near a big city or a reservation, but there are kids everywhere that are looking for a purpose and a meaning in their life. They are seeking someone who can give a little of their time and share a little of their experience. The future of our great nation is in the hands of our youth. If those hands can be busy at beneficial and valuable skills, they are less likely to be building meth labs and stealing to support their bad habits. Every one of us can make a difference and the future of our world depends on it!

Editor's note: Trent Loos is a sixth generation United States farmer, host of the daily radio show, Loos Tales, and founder of Faces of Agriculture, a non-profit organization putting the human element back into the production of food. Get more information at www.FacesOfAg.com, or e-mail Trent at trent@loostales.com.

9/24/07

2 Star EK

Date: 9/20/07

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