ABSTRACT
In 1990, on the Pine Ridge Reservation, Jo White could often be found sitting on the steps of the main tribal government building. As a tribal council member with a disability, Ms. White had trouble getting to work. So she decided to stage a solo sit-in to protest the Oglala Sioux Tribe’s denial of access for those with limited mobility. While physical access to the nation’s very institution of government was vital, the rural roads leading from distant communities were a veritable hazard: tribal members headed to town in wheelchairs reported being driven off the road by passing cars. Jo White thus founded the “Pine Ridge Quad Squad” to advocate for tribal members with disabilities, including quadriplegics, by asking the tribe’s housing office to install crossing lights and sidewalks, as well as ramps on buildings. In 1991, the Oglala Sioux Tribe passed its own version of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
