Pine Ridge Article Is a Slice of Real Life

Bill Plaschke’s Feb. 28 article “Little Big Rivalry,” was a refreshing change. As an Oglala Lakota I would have grown up on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Instead, I was adopted at birth and raised in Sherman Oaks. While I enjoyed participating as an athlete and a coach in many sports programs in Southern California, I always wondered what sports on Pine Ridge would be like.

Unfortunately, it is rare for the media to address contemporary Native American life. Too often Native Americans are portrayed in a historical context, living as we did over 100 years ago instead of how we live today. Plaschke’s article helps dispel the perception of the “noble savage” living in a tipi and hunting buffalo, and demonstrates that we too have everyday American experiences.

CINDY FRIEDMAN, Los Angeles