A Deaf Santee-Sioux

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I have clickable text throughout the piece to
add in or justify or to provide further
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my person. I also used this method to cite
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special effects makes the data larger, so I
opted for no special effects.

When you see a , you will know that this

is a note for a barrier, and it’ll be discussed.
 Born on Rosebud Reservation located in
South Dakota.
 Birthday: 6/18/85
 Mother: Single, named
Mary Mae Wanbli
 Siblings: 3, 2 sisters 1
Rosebud Indian Reservation
brother. - WikiImages

 Deaf from meningitis at age 3.

Image taken from California Indian
Education’s parade page.
According to his
audiogram, Rick
is hovering at
moderate to some
severe. Meningitis
is a disease that
commonly results
in deafness.
 At Rosebud, EI services are non-existant,
and sometimes borrow from Pine Ridge’s
EI services.
 Elders at the Rosebud did know Plains
Sign Language, and many Northern
Cheyenne relatives brought them over.
 A cousin of Mary Mae Wanbli’s helped
her with signing, as did Mary Mae’s
elderly mother (whom remembered
some as well).
 Rick attended St. Francis Indian School
that is located at Rosebud. He was put in
a SPED class that had mildly inadequate
service. The two aides he worked with,
one was ASL using and the other Signed
English. He was inapplicable for the
South Dakota School for the Deaf, due to
jurisdiction, and Mary Mae not
wanting Rick to live off-reservation.
 Education – Limited professionals and the poor
condition of reservations leads to poor EI and
education. School systems can remain inadequate
with limited knowledge and enforcement of policies.
 Poverty – Due to the lack of funds, Rick’s mother
could not afford the residential costs of a deaf school.
Also in high-poverty areas, poor or limited access to
quality education exists as well.
 Rick was put into SPED classes; basically with mild-
profound disability students that may or may not be
deaf as well if not a small group of just-deaf children.
Having deafness remain in Special Education can
cause problems in terms of not receiving adequate
services and attention, since attention/care is
given to more severe disabilities.
 Deaf Schools – Even though there is a jurisdiction
issue of tribal children going to state schools,
Mary Mae could have sought legal services and
argue that the Deaf school was the best
education option for Rick. However, that would
mean living at the school, and with the limited
resources of his family, it may not have been a
viable option.
 Amy Marie – Rick’s sister who went on to become
an interpreter also became a resource. Other
family members as well helped and
supplemented with signed languages easily and
afforded Rick communication.
 Rick’sfamily helped provide signed
languages (Plains Indian Sign Language
and ASL), which helped him build
communication at a young age.
 By providing a means of communication,
adjustment to social situations at school
and his family were easier. Support of the
signed languages was also extremely
important to help keep him stimulated
during toddler years.
 Rick continued to sign mixes at home,
one older sister took an interest in ASL
and went to college in North Dakota State
for their Interpreter Training Program.
 His family encouraged signing, and
thought really nothing ill of it.
 At the age of 10, Rick was put in foster
care. His two sisters were not notified,
and his brother (age 16) was also put in
foster care.
 Mary Mae became addicted to alcohol soon after
a miscarriage that happened when Rick was 4.
Rosebud uses state provided social workers,
instead of having their own like Pine Ridge. The
social workers deemed the house not suitable,
and Rick and his brother lived with his
grandparents for a while.
 Soon his grandparents were deemed not okay
due to their advanced age. His biological father,
who is from Pine Ridge, signed away his parental
rights when approached.
 Pine Ridge social workers were unable to
intervene due to the father’s signing off
of parental rights. It then became an
issue of jurisdiction.
 Rick was applicable for adoption, while
his brother simply stayed at various
friends’ and cousins’ houses.
Afamily from Scranton, PA
were interested in adopting Rick. They
were the typical suburban middle class
white family.

Photo taken from The

London Sector
 Rickmoved to Scranton at the age of 11,
and attended the Scranton School for the
Deaf. He participated in athletics as a
productive coping mechanism to the
rapid changes. His favorite sport is
Baseball, but he did attend the Basketball
team as well.
 His adopted mother had some sign
knowledge, though his adopted brother
and sister were minimally interested in
signing in public. The father was mostly
working.
 Most of the family relied on Rick’s speech
reading, which he started learning more
at Scranton School for the Deaf.
 Rick, like most kids, had a hard time
adjusting with hormonal changes, family
life, etc. He came in contact with his sister
who is an interpreter (named Amy Marie
Wanbli), which did help some.
 At the age of 14, Rick was caught in the
locker-room with another male student
who was on the basketball team.