the practice in a series of events that culminated in the events at Wounded Knee, which is part of Pine Ridge.

During the 1890 battle at Wounded Knee, U.S. soldiers gunned down hundreds of unarmed members of the Lakota Sioux tribe, primarily women and children. A century later, Wounded Knee was the site of a 1973 protest that led to a months-long standoff between American Indian activists and law enforcement.

Speaking to Truthout about the suicides, Dr. Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart described the area’s tragic historical significance as a burden still carried by those living there today:

“Historical trauma is cumulative emotional and psychological wounding over the lifespan and across generations, emanating from massive group trauma. Native Americans have, for over 500 years, endured physical, emotional, social and spiritual genocideto community members, many of whom struggle with alcoholism, most of the financial aid Pine Ridge receives from the government goes directly to areas outside the reservation.

Lakota children are reportedly being placed into foster care at alarmingly high rates, in alleged violation of the Indian Child Welfare Act. The infant mortality rate is five times higher than the national average, while rate of sexual assault is two times higher than average. Meanwhile the life expectancy is just 48 years for men and 52 years for women—the lowest rate in the Western Hemisphere outside of Haiti.

In April 2015, the White House designated Pine Ridge a Promise Zone to help expedite the region’s economic recovery. But Dominique Alan Fenton, a high school English teacher and legal advocate on the reservation,