Hemp for Victory, Reborn

By Nathan Russell

Industrial hemp has the potential to be grown profitably on the reservation for use locally, and sold to manufacturers to stimulate rural economy. There is a strong hemp history on the reservation, dating back to 1868. With proper training and equipment, the Lakota people could process their resource to produce fiber for construction materials and fabrics, hurd for paper and fuel, and seed for food, feed and oils with minimal cost.

Under the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, the United States recognized the sovereign right of the Lakota tribe to be self-sufficient based on cultivating the soil for a living (Newland, 2002). At that time the U.S. government encouraged the nomadic Lakota to cultivate hemp for food and clothing as a substitute for the buffalo, which had provided them sustenance. Industrial hemp was a staple crop during the 19th century and was well adapted to the climate of South Dakota. Remnants from the historic hemp cultivation thrive naturally on the reservation today. In 1998 the Oglala Sioux Tribe Council recognized this history and their sovereign rights by passing Ordinance 98-27. This ordinance authorizes the cultivation of hemp while retaining marijuana laws unchanged (West, 2002).

Alex White Plume, Vice President of the Lakota tribe, has been attempting to cultivate industrial hemp since 2000. In 2000 and 2001 federal law enforcement officers illegally destroyed the crops. In 2002 White Plum contracted his crop to the Madison Hemp & Flax Co. of Lexington, Kentucky. The 3.5 acre crop was harvested during the night, but before they could deliver the crop, a federal judge granted a restraining order preventing the delivery (Newland, 2002). In 2003 and 2004 the Hemp Industries Association (HIA), the world’s largest hemp trade organization, held their annual convention at Kiza Park, near White Plume’s hemp fields. The event included seminars from hemp experts and manufacturers, as well as a wild hemp harvest. According to the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, it is legal to harvest hemp after the leaves have fallen off (www.earthship).

White Plume and his family have equipment to harvest and process industrial hemp. They have a tractor and sickle bar mover to cut the hemp stalks down, and they also know how to thresh the stalks to glean the seeds. A representative from the Hemp Oil Canada Company explained to White Plume and the other residents that it is not difficult to process seeds for oil, nut, meal, and flour, and that a $60,000 investment would set up a facility. He even offered to donate 500 lbs. of seed when the legalities of cultivation are overcome.

The next step is for the stalks to be retted in water to prepare them for separation of the epidermis, from the inner cortex. Under controlled conditions, hemp can be retted in warm water in 4 days. Aerobic and anaerobic bacteria and fungi break down the pectins so that the fiber bundles are released from the epidermis and cortex. This diagram illustrates the hemp cross section:

Once retted, the following steps are necessary to separate the bast fibers from the hurd or pith. The dried stalks are passed through a breaker, where fluted rollers flatten and break the woody core into small pieces but do not break the long bast fiber bundles. The stalks may be cut into more manageable lengths, approximately 2.5 feet. The process of separating fibers from the hurds is often done with one piece of equipment, called a decorticator, consisting of crushing rollers and pin rotors. On the reservation this separation is accomplished by White Plume’s hemp break that was patented by Thomas Jefferson. White Plume also has a pulping machine that the attendees at the festival were able to use to make paper from the hurd on which the legal team intends to file their briefs with (www.earthship). Following decortication, or breaking and scutching, the long strands of hemp are hackled or combed. The long line fibers are combed with wire pins of increasing fineness and closeness. This step is important because it cleans the fibers removing any remaining non-fibrous stem parts, and separates the bundles of bast cells into finer strands. To be flexible and soft to handle, the fibers must be combed until each strand contains only a few cells. The softest fibers are obtained by cottonizing the hemp, which is, treating it mechanically or chemically so that all the individual cells are separated. To convert hemp into yarn requires a number of steps. First, the hackled hemp, is overlapped and then drawn out a number of times, so that it forms one long continuous strand, a sliver. The sliver is drawn further and a slight amount of twist is inserted, which is called a roving. The roving is drawn again into an even finer strand, and then is wet spun into a fine yarn (http://hemptech). White Plume owns a hemp comb, but some additional training may be necessary for the tribal members to process quality yarn (www.earthship).

Hemp could be cultivated to supply manufacturing companies, like Madison Hemp & Flax Co., to generate revenue and create jobs at Pine Ridge. The degree and type of processing required would be determined by the destination. End users including paper manufacturers, building product suppliers and textile mills each require a supply of hemp in different forms, ranging from raw stalks to fibers or hurds only. This chart from Hemphasis Magazine (2003) illustrates the sustainable uses of each part of the hemp plant:

By transporting unprocessed hemp, as White Plume had contracted to do, shipping costs rise because the portion not being used by the end user is shipped with the portion the purchaser requires for production. Although harvesting for hemp stalk eliminates processing costs, it does not capture revenue for the higher priced raw fiber. In the case of the hemp on the reservation, with the equipment and knowledge that White Plume already has, processing the stalks would be more marketable and less costly to transport. It would also help to create jobs on the reservation.

Another project on the reservation that used White Plume’s hemp was a community-based, hemp house that was built as a model for sustainable economic redevelopment. The house used hemp and adobe bricks, hemp insulation, and experimented with hemp fiber reinforced cement board. It is obvious that the people of Pine Ridge reservation are interested in using this resource as a building material, and with some additional training and equipment, they could produce more building materials and methods.

One product that would considerably cut costs for building a house is panel boards produced from hemp. The Alberta Research Council has experimented and tested various ways of producing panel boards out of hemp. One style that met or exceeded requirements for wafer board was made entirely out of the hurd. These panel boards have a high strength to weight ratio. This would be a good candidate for door cores or rigid insulation. Another style that had more structural qualities was a layered board with 50 percent bast fibers and 50 percent hurd material. The bast fibers were layered in opposite direction on the faces, and the hurd made up the core. This would be a great alternative to oriented strand board (OSB), for sheathing applications. Both styles of board required resin or glue and a pressing machine (www1.agric.gov). The hemp was processed using a roller similar to the one that White Plume owns. The only new equipment needed would be a press machine, which could be costly, but extremely valuable for construction on the reservation.

Copped hemp in one inch lengths have been mixed with lime and earth to cast into forms as infill for lightweight timber frame houses with high insulating values. This method has become popular in France and England because of a high degree of stability, durability, and resistance to moisture. The walls are typically eight inches thick and cast in three feet lifts. The walls can absorb moisture and remain dry, therefore minimal weatherproofing is needed. If using lime, hydraulic lime with sand works the best in a one lime to 3 parts sand mix. This is a dry lime powder that can be purchased at most hardware stores. The reservation does have an abundance of limestone because of its location near the badlands, but the process to produce lime from limestone is time consuming, and creates pollution. It is an area that could be experimented with on the reservation. If using earth and hemp mix, a rammed earth material would be adequate. The walls only need a thin coat of plaster on the interior and exterior. Hemp walls are also are said to provide a naturally "breathing" material which could help indoor air quality (Wolley, 2002). Another building technique was mentioned in the Alberta Research Council report where a latticework of stalks were constructed and coated with clay, lime, and hemp slurry mix to produce exterior and interior walls (www1.agric.gov). This would be used as an infill and would require structural framing.

I believe there is potential for insulated hemp forms that could provide a structural, healthy, and efficient building shell. The wafer board panel made of hurd could be produced thicker for better insulating values, and have bast fibers added for higher strength qualities. The panels could be constructed into forms, and then a hemp/lime, or hemp/earth mixture could be placed. Whole stalks could be used for reinforcing the walls. Large modular blocks could also be made with only a few forms. These bocks could be assembled to make walls with the hemp mix and rebar placed in the hollow cavities, much like Rastra blocks.
In conclusion, with a small investment and training, an industrial hemp operation could be established on Pine Ridge Reservation. Cultivating more hemp under Ordinance 98-27, and the sovereign right of the Oglala Lakota Nation would be a crucial first step for industrial hemp progression on the reservation. The next step would be to contract the separated materials to as many manufacturing companies as they could provide. Separating the various parts of hemp plants by the processes that are already familiar, while continuing their current hemp practices would be the next step. When capital develops, some equipment could be purchased and more hemp building techniques and materials could be established. The last step would be to develop manufacturing facilities on the reservation to generate revenue for the tribe. The DEA’s continued harassment of the Lakota’s rights is the wall standing in the way of the tribe gaining a competitive advantage in cultivation and production of industrial hemp to develop sustainable, land based, economic opportunities to improve life on the reservation.

References:

1. Affidavit of David P. West, Ph. D. CIV 02-5071 (2002)

2. Newland, Bob (2002/2003). South Dakota hemp crop adds impetus to state hemp
petition. The Vote Hemp Report, 9.

3. http://hemptech.com

4. Wolley, Tom (2002). Building with Hemp. The Art of Natural Building. New
Society Publishers. (2002)

5. www.earthship.com/article

6. www1.agric.gov.ab.ca