hrdlick.a] tuberculosis among certain indian tribes 11 



Oglala Sioux 



This tribe occupies a reservation in South Dakota nearly 5,000 

 square miles in extent. It numbers according to the last count 

 6,663 individuals, of whom 3,325 ars males and 3,328 females. The 

 population is suffering a gradual diminution owing to the high death 

 rate, due mainl}^ to tuberculosis. 



About three-fifths of the Oglala are still full-bloods, the remainder 

 being nearly all half-breeds, the result of clandestine unions of the 

 Indian women with white men. This mixture is nearly all of. quite 

 recent date. The writer examined in this tribe 100 pure-blooded 

 families. 



The region in which the Oglala live, while not identical with the 

 one over which they roamed when free, is, nevertheless, quite similar 

 in essential points, so that change of climate need not be considered 

 in discussing the morbidity of the tribe,' particularly that due to 

 tuberculosis. The reservation is, for the most part, gently rolling 

 in the south, and broken and hilly farther north, while the north- 

 western portion presents, on an extensive scale, the characteristic 

 barrenness of the Bad Lands. There are no mountams. The aver- 

 age altitude is somewhat more than 3,000 feet. Though there are no 

 forests, scattered pines are found on the ridges, and other trees 

 along the waterways. The soil on the elevations is sandy or gravelly 

 and for the most part barren, but the valleys along the creeks and 

 rivers are filled with fertile silt. Water is not abundant, there 

 being no large rivers and only a few small shallow lakes. Drinking 

 water is obtained mainl}' from the creeks and from springs; it is of 

 fairly good quality, containing little or no alkali. 



The annual precipitation averages about 25 inches, but varies 

 much in different places and seasons. There are no fogs, and dew 

 is observed but seldom. Snow is rarely deep, except in drifts. 

 The country is hot in summer, when the thermometer rises occasion- 

 ally above 100° F., and cold in winter, the mercury falling as low as 

 40° below zero. The nights, as a rule, are cold, even in summer. A 

 strong breeze usually prevails, and there are occasionally high winds. 



In regard to civilization, the Oglala are in the transition period, 

 which generally means partial degeneration. They live in small or 

 fair-sized log houses of one room, each provided with one or two small 

 windows that are never opened. The houses have earthen floors and 

 sod roofs. In summer almost every family constructs from poles 

 and boughs, or from young pine trees, a more or less open shelter 

 in which, while it is warm, they spend most of their time. 

 Usually, each family has also a light, easily portable tent, which rep- 

 resents the ancient tipi. These tents are erected near the house 

 and are occupied by the aged, by some relative or visitor of the 



