Pine Ridge, South Dakota —

A four-pack of rez dogs trotted toward the lone grocery store, greeting and tailing human companions in hopes of a spare scrap.

But food isn’t the easiest to come by for many residents here.

This community, tucked along the southern edge of South Dakota, is the most populous of the Pine Ridge Reservation, which stretches 2.1 million acres across a landscape of grassy plains, pine-speckled rolling hills and striking badlands.

It’s also one of the most economically depressed areas in the United States, and it’s nearing a state of emergency as the federal government shutdown has hampered the delivery of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funds and other sustenance assistance.

Residents here are running out of food, running out of options and are tearfully fearful about how they’ll survive.

“It’s really going to hurt a lot of families; a lot of people depend on it like myself, my kids,” said Chiffon Two Bulls, 38, a single mother of four who has some bread and a pack or two of meat left. “I think it would cause a lot of people to lose hope.”

On Thursday, a federal judge in Rhode Island ordered the Trump administration to fully fund SNAP in November. The administration quickly appealed the order; however, if it stands, it could take several days more for benefits to reach recipients.

In a community where many are hanging on by a thread, the federal shutdown not only is laying bare the fragility of safety net programs but also is showing how swiftly and painfully that thread could be cut.

Donations seen at the Conscious Alliance in Oglala community near Pine Ridge, South Dakota on November 4, 2025. Dawn E. LeBeau for CNN

A food desert grows more barren

Pine Ridge is representative of a harsh dichotomy: It’s home to a sovereign nation, rich in resilience, history and culture, but one that’s been stifled by displacement to resource-starved regions and centuries of systemic oppression.

Poverty and unemployment rates are staggeringly high (more than 80% in some districts, tribal leaders say). Opportunities and amenities are scant.

“Every social indices you could think of, we’re on the bad end of that,” said Jake Little, director of food distri