SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — As the pandemic affects the Oglala Sioux Tribe in South Dakota, one local community organization is doing everything it can to help people stay at home. 

The leadership of Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation fears that the pandemic could take a disproportionate toll on an elderly population that maintains the language and culture of the tribe. Before the pandemic, the organization worked to teach the Lakota language to children. 

The organization says fewer than 3% of the community is fluent in the language. But many elders who are still fluent in the language are especially vulnerable to COVID-19.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — As the pandemic affects the Oglala Sioux Tribe in South Dakota, one local community organization is doing everything it can to help people stay at home. The leadership of Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation fears that the pandemic could take a disproportionate toll on an elderly population that maintains the language and culture of the tribe. Before the pandemic, the organization worked to teach the Lakota language to children. The organization says fewer than 3% of the community is fluent in the language. But many elders who are still fluent in the language are especially vulnerable to COVID-19.

On Pine Ridge, preserving language means protecting elders