Lake Front Property

I described the problem of the raising lake earlier. Many of the properties and buildings most effected are behind peoples houses and through backyards. This trailer and small barn are right on the side of the only road into town. With six more inches this road will be under water so the addition of rocks and dirt will be happening again soon, and because it is a highway the road will have to be paved again.

My M&Ms

During the sidewalk sunday school (next post), there was this little kid whose older brother opened some M&Ms we were giving out and gave them to him. He would poor them out in his hand and then the dogs would eat them from out of it. He would get upset and poor more, then wait for the dogs again.

Sidewalk Sunday School

I traveled with a local ministry today that does a sidewalk sunday school. It is a trailer that goes around the town everyday and stops at a playground to sing bible songs and pass out food and drinks. All the kids get so excited to see the painted trailer and can't wait for the snacks and to play games with the people of the ministry.

Fishing

The local lake is named Devil's Lake. It is a misinterpretation of the local Sioux language and is actually called Spirit Lake by the Sioux. Unfortunately the lake is fed by a natural spring and has no natural drainage. In 1992 the waters started raising. Many roads are either under water or constantly being raised with dirt, many houses are underwater and thousands of acres of Indian land is now underwater. Once it is underwater is owned by the government. The elder I have been talking has a friend who used to be a cowboy. At one time he had a 1,600 acre ranch with over 100 horses. It is now completely underwater and he lives in a trailer on another reservation. Fishing has become more popular than ever before. I met Gandi today who is related to the elder I spend time with. He fishes with his brother and daughter to pass time on weekends. "Besides driving, this all we got around here."

The Transportation

To get around while I am here I can drive Tammy's car in the mornings, unfortunately after 12 noon I need to use my own transportation so I brought my motorcycle with me. I have outfitted it with a milk crate and exactly measured out PVC tubes for my tripod, and another for my light stand and umbrella. Brian helped me put this together and it works phenomenally. I am able to bring my portable Broncolor pack and everything with me. The dirt roads are a little bit of a pain, but as long as I keep it under 50 its okay. Everything is so far away it takes a little while, but I make it work.

BOOTS

Today I went into town with the group. We stopped at this little store named Home of Economy that had everything you would need to survive out here from groceries to saddles to fishing equipment. I found the boot aisle and was amazed. I decided to take a series of shots and put them together so I can show the entire boot aisle.

The Neighbors

I worked up the courage to go across the street from us where I got chased by dogs my first day here. I was talking to one of the Indians that has been taking me around the reservation and introducing me to people, he is an older man, and told me about that neighborhood when he was younger. "This neighborhood has always been a bad area. The gym where we could work out used to be right behind the church and we would have to walk past those houses every day." After telling him about being chased by dogs he told me about when he was younger and someone had two dobermans there that would chase him. At least I am not the only one that gets chased by dogs. I am going to work some around the town tomorrow with a mission group fixing elders houses so hopefully I will get to meet a lot of people and get a lot of photo opportunities.