LUTA

prized possession : backpack

 

Soft-spoken Luts sports a set of fresh stitches on his lower lip. Originally from South Dakota and a member of the Ogala Sioux tribe, Luta and his path exemplify the contrasts between Native American traditions and modern hardships. He came to Denver in 2005 to protest Columbus day and never left.  L“Soon I was selling crack cocaine.… Then I got arrested and went to jail for four years,” he expounds. Clean from hard drugs these days, Luta still struggles to find solace on the city streets. The story is in his face. “I got stabbed in the face last night down at the Rescue Mission after a pointless altercation with a black guy.” He experiences prejudice from the public as a homeless man too. “It sucks because a lot of times people won’t even let you go into a shop,” he describes. Still, he has community on the streets. “There are a lot of Native Americans. There are a few places in town where there are crews of us.”

 

Prized Possession: His jacket. “It keeps me warm. There is this lady that works in an office nearby. We talk sometimes, and her husband is Native. I told her I’d like to work but don’t have any nice clothes and the next time I saw her, she gave me this jacket.”