Indigenous peoples remain at high risk of social/economic marginalization and discrimination and are statistically more likely to live within the most disadvantaged regions of national territories.

During 2004 I lived and worked within the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, home of the Oglala Lakota Sioux. The Oglala constitute one of the seven tribes of the Lakota Nation, one of the most populous of the Native American Cultures to reside within the United States. A proud people, with a rich cultural legacy and spiritual conviction; they are subject to living conditions that one would more readily associate with the developing world, than that of the worlds last remaining superpower. Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is the poorest region within the United States

Many of the current development concerns are a consequence of the historical failings of treaty obligations between the Lakota Nation and the United States. Consequently, the legal status of the population themselves is currently the subject of debate within the United Nations Permanent Forum. Until his death in late 2004, Tony Black Feather, who represented the Lakota Nation in Geneva, was at the forefront of efforts to see the ‘Declaration of Indigenous People’s Rights’ adopted by the United Nations. Although still under debate, acceptance of the treaty would be a first step towards affording the tribe greater international protection and assistance under international law as a sovereign nation. 

Supporting the NGO LakotaAid and the Tendon Sioux Nation Treaty Council I documented and conducted research into the myriad of social concerns that affect the population, contributed towards project design that promoted cultural values and education. In addition I helped organize a series of meetings between members of the traditional Lakota leadership. Working in an environment where the human development of a people has been routinely disregarded and denied, that is both culturally and institutional reinforced and perpetuated, within an overall backdrop of affluence presents undeniable challenges for sustainable development.