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Pine Ridge Indian Reservation Struggles With Suicides Among Its Young

May 1, 2015 /

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Since December, nine people between 12 and 24 years old have killed themselves on the Pine Ridge Indian reservation in South Dakota, and dozens of others have tried, but failed.

A few days before Christmas, Santana Janis, a 12-year-old Lakota Indian, decided that she did not want to live anymore.

A bright, outgoing girl with a shy smile and passion for horseback riding, Santana’s moods had turned dark. She lived in a derelict two-bedroom trailer with a grandfather, Earl Tall, and as many as a dozen siblings and cousins. Her mother, an alcoholic, was an intermittent presence in her life. Their town, Manderson, was torn by drinking, fighting and violence.

By JULIE BOSMAN

Full Story: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/02/us/pine-ridge-indian-reservation-struggles-with-suicides-among-young-people.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=photo-spot-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0