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A public display at an arts center in Rapid City next week will bring awareness to the issue of suicide on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
As part of the Lakota Voice Project, about 200 disposable cameras were given to youth on the reservation. The students were instructed to document what hope means to them.
Fueled by high rates of unemployment, violence and alcoholism, the rate of suicide on the Pine Ridge reservation is at least 1.5 times the national average.
On Dec. 14, the photos the students took will be on display at the Dahl Arts Center from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The ultimate goal of the campaign is to get a crisis team on the reservation and a suicide hotline.