WoundedKnee_015.jpg
WoundedKnee_015.jpgWikuchela Waters sleeps on his parents’ bed in Allen, South Dakota. Allen, part of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, has been called the poorest city in America, with a per capita income of $1,539. Over 90% of the population on the Pine Ridge Reservation lives below the federal poverty line, while unemployment ranges from 85% to 90%.
• What words would you use to describe this photograph? What feelings does it inspire?
• Danny Wilcox Frazier notes that Allen, South Dakota, where this photograph was taken, has been called the poorest city in America. It is a place with a child poverty rate of nearly 75 percent, an unemployment rate of over 80 percent, and a per capita income of $3,515. How does this information change the way you view this image, if
at all? How would you describe the photograph with this information in mind?
• How could it be seen as symbolic that the child is sleeping alongside a blanket with the image of a wolf? What larger themes or ideas could the photographer be suggesting?
