A long year at Red Lake: teen life

On a sunny afternoon, Tom Barrett is tearing up the house looking for the keys to his beater.

Before dashing off, the 16-year-old glances at the waves lapping on Red Lake, which doubles as his backyard swimming pool. Then he heads east along a piney road to grab his friend Rodney Defoe. They later pick up James King in the rattling car, and the boys' banter ranges from sports to girls to politics -- not necessarily in that order.

While they have good times, like most adolescents, they'll also tell you that being a teen on the Red Lake Indian Reservation can be hard -- especially since the shootings last March 21, which left 10 dead, including eight at the high school, their sanctuary.

These teens have had a lot to endure the past year.

"You'll never know what it's like to live in our shoes," said Delisha Strong, 16, a Red Lake sophomore and cheerleader.

The Red Lake Reservation is about 260 miles north of the Twin Cities, a remote place with towering pines, winding roads and picturesque shorelines. About 600,000 acres, teens have plenty of room to hunt and fish and ride ATVs and snowmobiles. Red Lake's status as a closed reservation also means there are few commercial places for them to hang out, such as shopping malls or movie theaters. For that, they have to catch a ride and head about 30 miles south to Bemidji.

The traditional native culture is a big part of growing up on Red Lake. Many teens participate in powwows and healing sweat ceremonies.

The reservation is a youthful place; about half of its 6,000 residents are under the age of 20. Nearly 70 percent of all the households have at least one resident under 18, according to census figures.

Nearly half of the kids live in poverty. According to a 2004 state survey, Red Lake teens are more prone to depression, chemical use and violence than other students across Minnesota.

In the United States, suicide is the second leading cause of death for Indians ages 15-19, and the third leading cause of death for all American teenagers. It is prevalent on Red Lake as well. The 2004 survey by the state Education and Health departments indicated that 81 percent of Red Lake ninth-grade girls had contemplated suicide, compared with 42 percent of girls statewide.

In 2004 three teens committed suicide in Red Lake and 69 teens attempted it, the most recent figures available.

"They may not know the numbers," said Victoria Graves, coordinator of 21st Century, a federally funded Red Lake youth mentoring program. "But they are aware of the odds facing them."

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King, who is involved in many teen-related activities, takes a different approach to the statistics: "You can choose to look at them as obstacles or see them as a challenge. ... Me, I'm not going to let some numbers define who I am."

There are signs of hope. Last year 92 students graduated from Red Lake High, the most ever. About 80 students are expected to get their diplomas this year.

And many young people say they love Red Lake and hope to stay, or say they'll come back after college.

Red Lake teens pass the time in a variety of ways. On any given day -- in sweltering heat or bitter cold -- Tom Barrett and his buddies play basketball at one of the courts along Hwy. 1, the reservation's main drag. Or they go fishing in Little Rock, or head for the latest hangout in Ponemah.

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The Internet and satellite TV keep more teens connected with the world than a generation ago. Barrett's friend and neighbor Tammi Beaulieu often spends an afternoon downloading iTunes or instant-messaging her friends. They make plans to check out the sale racks at Vanity or Rue 21 at the Paul Bunyan Mall in Bemidji.

Or they cruise through the rez, stopping to shoot hoops at the Boys and Girls Club.

"I wouldn't want to live anywhere else," said Beaulieu, 17, who hopes to become a pediatrician and work to improve health care for Indians. "I have a responsibility to my people."

Barrett, an honor student and two-sport star, said: "This place is beautiful. I refuse to see it any other way."

He lives with both of his parents. Many teens, though, live in single- parent households, or with extended family members.

"We already have enough to deal with, so it helps to have encouragement, either from our parents, grandparents, elders or teachers," Barrett said. "It doesn't matter where the guidance comes from as long we get it."

Graves agrees.

"I believe that these kids need to know they are very sacred and special," Graves said. "You can't care about them when it's convenient. You have to be there every day to help show them the way."

Terry Collins • tcollins@startribune.com Richard Tsong-Taatarii • tsong-taatarii@startribune.com