CONTACT Based in Istanbul, Turkey. Available for assignment. E-mail: renaeffendi@gmail.com
Spirit Lake is an intimate portrayal of a Native American reservation in North Dakota, delving deep into the complex social issues of this marginalized population. Located in an isolated and economically languishing area of North Dakota, Spirit Lake is a Sioux reservation home to about 2000 inhabitants who grapple with the recurrent trauma of sexual abuse. The effects of this trauma trickle down to the next generation raised amidst poverty, chronically high unemployment, substance abuse, depression and the suicide rate one of the highest in the country. But the most chilling statistics on Spirit Lake is that for every 59 residents on the reservation, there is at least one registered sex offender.
The community members shares their traumatic memories: a fourteen-year-old child witnessed her father’s suicide by hanging, a mother recalled being raped by a family member when she was just eleven years old. “Sometimes you have no choice, but to go back to your family. We still get hurt by them, but we end up going back.” said another survivor of repeated sexual assault. According to the Spirit Lake tribe members, a vast majority of sex crimes on the reservation, to this day, remains unpunished. In some cases family members exert pressure on the victims not to report the crimes due to stigma and shame, in other cases the tribal council authorities fail to provide proper law enforcement. While families struggle to protect their children from abuse, the familial bonds remain strong and traditional spiritual healing practices play a pivotal role in recovering from trauma.
Young boy playing in the dried up bushes along the shore of Spirit Lake....READ ON
Young boy playing in the dried up bushes along the shore of Spirit Lake. Located in an isolated and economically languishing area of North Dakota, Spirit Lake is a Sioux Indian reservation home to some 2,500 inhabitants. The community members are struggling with poverty, high unemployment rate, staggering at 50%, endemic alcoholism and meth epidemic. Inordinate alcohol consumption, soaring meth addiction rates, depression and neglect lead to abuse, death from overdose or accidents, and finally suicide with rates among the highest in America. August 2014
Children playing in a truck in Fort Totten, Spirit Lake. North
Dakota. August 2014
Kara Shaw, 19 years old, posing for her prom picture with her daughter...READ ON
Kara Shaw, 19 years old, posing for her prom picture with her daughter Lillian Shaw, 4 years old, at the prom night in Four Winds high school. Teen pregancies are common on Spirit Lake. Fort Totten, Spirit Lake Reservation, North Dakota, USA. April, 2013
Myrna and her boyfriend Richard at their friend's home. Myrna lost her...READ ON
Myrna and her boyfriend Richard at their friend's home. Myrna lost her own home 10 years ago to a fire accident and has been homeless ever since, staying at friends and family homes on the reservation. St. Michaels, Spirit Lake, North Dakota. April, 2013
Myrna and Richard in St. Michaels. Richard is currently serving a prison term...READ ON
Myrna and Richard in St. Michaels. Richard is currently serving a prison term for driving under the influence of alcohol and running over a toddler in a car accident, which resulted in the child's death. Spirit Lake. North Dakota. August 2014
Dominique Brien and her sister Tia are practicing for the POW WOW dance in...READ ON
Dominique Brien and her sister Tia are practicing for the POW WOW dance in Grand Forks, North Dakota. April 2013
Children playground in Fort Totten ghetto. Spirit Lake, North Dakota. April, 2013
Shawncina in a corn field. Both of Shawncina's parents have passed away...READ ON
Shawncina in a corn field. Both of Shawncina's parents have passed away due to alcohol related illnesses. Crow HIll, Spirit Lake. North
Dakota. August, 2014
Swamps around the Spirit Lake reservation. North Dakota. August 2014
Felicia Owlboy, age 19, at her aunt Jada's home in St. Michaels. The...READ ON
Felicia Owlboy, age 19, at her aunt Jada's home in St. Michaels. The tattoo on her arm is dedicated to her father who hung himself when Felicia was 15 years old. She found her father in the basement and cut the ropes. In 2020 Felicia passed away after struggling with depression and substance abuse. Spirit Lake, North Dakota. April, 2013
Dasan Cavanaugh, age 10, has not cut his hair since he was born. St....READ ON
Dasan Cavanaugh, age 10, has not cut his hair since he was born. St. Michaels, Spirit Lake, North Dakota. April, 2013
Broken discarded car near a home in St. Michaels, Spirit Lake Reservation....READ ON
Broken discarded car near a home in St. Michaels, Spirit Lake Reservation. North Dakota, April 2013
Shauncina Lovejoy, age 12 hugging her aunt Jada Longie 39 y.o. near the Crow...READ ON
Shauncina Lovejoy, age 12 hugging her aunt Jada Longie 39 y.o. near the Crow Hill Sun Dance grounds. "I can take you in, my girl..." - Jada says to Shauncina. Spirit Lake, North Dakota. April, 2013
Anna’s deer heads. Crow Hill, Spirit Lake Reservation, North Dakota. April, 2013
Jada burning sweet grass to ‘sage’ the kids and cast away evil...READ ON
Jada burning sweet grass to ‘sage’ the kids and cast away evil spirits. In shortage of support services for victimes of abuse, local community members use traditional spiritual practicies to overcome trauma. St. Michaels, Spirit Lake. North Dakota. August 2014
Jada’s friend and flat mate Sacheene Thompson, a
mother of three....READ ON
Jada’s friend and flat mate Sacheene Thompson, a
mother of three. Raped by a family member at age 11,
she was told not to report it. The perpetrator was never
arrested and the incident was ‘hushed’. At some point
Sacheene even had to face her offender everyday at work.
“We would have meetings where the employees had to
sit together. Instead of sitting on this side, he would sit
right across from me and stare at me. And that would just
make me want to puke. Like all the therapy that i went
through as a teenager into adulthood it was all thrown
out the window in five mintues”. St. Michaels, Spirit Lake.
North Dakota. August 2014
Sacheen with her three daughters. St. Michaels, Spirit Lake. North Dakota. August 2014
Sacheen and her boyfriend Rob outside their home in St. Michaels, Spirit...READ ON
Sacheen and her boyfriend Rob outside their home in St. Michaels, Spirit Lake. They live on what the community members call the "Meth Lane" due to widespread methamphetamine use on their street in St. Michaels, as well as other towns in Spirit Lake. August 2018
Rob at home with his two sons. Rob is a 36 y.o. single father who has been in...READ ON
Rob at home with his two sons. Rob is a 36 y.o. single father who has been in and out of penitentiary institutions for most of his adult life. "I got out of prison at the end of 2013. When I got out of prison I saw people walking around like zombies (on meth), my own family, they use needles, it's just out of control. Then there is the pill addiction. The law wants to fight meth, so they take away meth, but people turn to pills, it's an uphill battle around here and I don't know when it's going to cease. I hope for a change, but it's not coming soon. People have been so traumatized. My generation, we come from families where they beat us, we got molested and abused as children. It got to be the norm. We got left in the cars outside the bars all day. There were times that I would fall asleep because it was late at night. And I would be stuck outside all night trying to knock on these wooden doors and nobody would hear me. But times have changed now we are different with our kids, we know the difference between discipline and abuse". St. Michaels, Spirit Lake. August 2018
James "Chopper" Lovejoy, 41 year old father of four, unemployed and...READ ON
James "Chopper" Lovejoy, 41 year old father of four, unemployed and afflicted with stage 3 cirrhosis of the liver in St. Michaels. James passed away in December 2018. Spirit Lake Reservation, North Dakota. April 2013
Broken TV set thrown out to the front yard of a home in Fort Totten...READ ON
Broken TV set thrown out to the front yard of a home in Fort Totten "Ghetto". Fort Totten, Spirit Lake, North Dakota. April 2013
Frank Lovejoy watching TV in his bedroom in St. Michaels, Spirit Lake. Frank...READ ON
Frank Lovejoy watching TV in his bedroom in St. Michaels, Spirit Lake. Frank is an elder in the family and his home often shelters many of his children and grandchildren. Frank passed away in August 2018. North Dakota.
August, 2014
Taylor Anderson, age 8, watching TV with her mother Casey Lovejoy, 33, at her...READ ON
Taylor Anderson, age 8, watching TV with her mother Casey Lovejoy, 33, at her aunt’s home in St. Michaels. Spirit Lake, North Dakota. April, 2013
Devil's Lake surrounding the Spirit Lake Reservation, frozen six month...READ ON
Devil's Lake surrounding the Spirit Lake Reservation, frozen six month out of the year. Spirit Lake. North Dakota. April 2013
Jordyn braids her mother Jayda's hair in the morning at grandpa...READ ON
Jordyn braids her mother Jayda's hair in the morning at grandpa Frank's home in St. Michaels. Spirit Lake. August 2018
Kiera 12 y.o. daughter of Sacheen Thompson. St. Michaels, Spirit Lake. August 2018
Homes in Spirit Lake demolished due to disrepair as the residents struggle to...READ ON
Homes in Spirit Lake demolished due to disrepair as the residents struggle to keep up with the maintenance costs. In 2017 alone there were 167 registered homeless families in a community of little over 2000 residents. Spirit Lake ND. August 2018
Sun Dance dress. St. Michaels, Spirit Lake. August 2018
Boy dressed in his eagle wings Pow Wow dancer outfit. St. Michaels. Spirit Lake. ND. August 2018
Brennan at home in his room surrounded by the posters of his favorite movies...READ ON
Brennan at home in his room surrounded by the posters of his favorite movies and video games. "People seem to have a negative outlook of Native Americans. The ugliest word is "savage", but because of our history and struggle for survival, people made bad choices in life and it makes the best of us look bad, it generalizes us. Before we were peaceful and honorable, we still have our honor, but we are very bitter. I want people to see us as very much part of the society. We just want to be just like everybody else." St. Michaels, Spirit Lake. August 2018
Felicia shows her tatoos, one is dedicated to her girlfriend C who died in a...READ ON
Felicia shows her tatoos, one is dedicated to her girlfriend C who died in a car crash. She had meth in her car and was running from police when the accident took place. The tatoo on Felicia's right shoulder is dedicated to her father who committed suicide by hanging, which she had witnessed at age 14. In 2020 Felicia passed away after struggling with depression and substance abuse. St. Michaels. Spirit Lake ND. August 2018
A discarded toy in St. Michaels. Spirit Lake. August 2018
Darian Charboneau 22 y.o. and her fiancee in the fields in front of their...READ ON
Darian Charboneau 22 y.o. and her fiancee in the fields in front of their home. Darian works as a Youth Suicide Prevention Coordinator at the Tribal Council in Spirit Lake. North Dakota state has the highest suicide rate in America and Native American suicide rates are 1.5 higher than the national average. Darian's mother Robin Poor Bear passed away in 2015 after struggling with depression. Spirit Lake, ND. August 2018
Jayda's son Jason waking up at home. Spirit Lake. August 2018
Harley and Hayden attend their brother Hunter Lovejoy's grave. Hunter...READ ON
Harley and Hayden attend their brother Hunter Lovejoy's grave. Hunter committed suicide by hanging at age 13. The brothers visit his grave frequently, the cross is adorned with his baseball cap and the name of his favorite basketball team. Spirit Lake. August 2018
Harley Lovejoy, age 15 is in Jayda's custody since his brother...READ ON
Harley Lovejoy, age 15 is in Jayda's custody since his brother Hunter's suicide. Harley has been frequently found sniffing gasoline in the woods of St. Michaels. Spirit Lake. ND. August 2018
St. Michaels "meth lane" a street nicknamed for its reputation for...READ ON
St. Michaels "meth lane" a street nicknamed for its reputation for the widespread use of meth. Spirit Lake ND. August 2018
Harley asleep at his grandfather's home in St. Michaels. Spirit Lake. ND. August 2018
Spirit Lake is an intimate portrayal of a Native American reservation in North Dakota, delving deep into the complex social issues of this marginalized population. Located in an isolated and economically languishing area of North Dakota, Spirit Lake is a Sioux reservation home to about 2000 inhabitants who grapple with the recurrent trauma of sexual abuse. The effects of this trauma trickle down to the next generation raised amidst poverty, chronically high unemployment, substance abuse, depression and the suicide rate one of the highest in the country. But the most chilling statistics on Spirit Lake is that for every 59 residents on the reservation, there is at least one registered sex offender.
The community members shares their traumatic memories: a fourteen-year-old child witnessed her father’s suicide by hanging, a mother recalled being raped by a family member when she was just eleven years old. “Sometimes you have no choice, but to go back to your family. We still get hurt by them, but we end up going back.” said another survivor of repeated sexual assault. According to the Spirit Lake tribe members, a vast majority of sex crimes on the reservation, to this day, remains unpunished. In some cases family members exert pressure on the victims not to report the crimes due to stigma and shame, in other cases the tribal council authorities fail to provide proper law enforcement. While families struggle to protect their children from abuse, the familial bonds remain strong and traditional spiritual healing practices play a pivotal role in recovering from trauma.
Rena Effendi
Rena Effendi social documentary photography. Award winning photographer and photojournalist. Books, fine art prints, portraits, magazine stories