The Oglala Lakota Akicita Wokini Homeless Veterans Garden Project
the problem:
Deep in the heart of the Pine Ridge reservation in Shannon County, South Dakota, stands a simple building that provides housing and support for homeless American veterans in the Lakota tribe. Over 75% of the veterans at the shelter have diabetes, a particularly demanding disease that requires a specific diet and regular monitoring. Others have heart problems, war injuries, and high blood pressure. Plagued by a severe lack of funding and other financial support, the Oglala Lakota Akicita Wokini, as the center is called, does not have the capacity to provide food for the veterans, leaving them a kitchen, but responsibility for their own food bills. As a result, the simple fact being that nutritious food is much more expensive than prepackaged food, the veterans’ diet consists mainly of high sodium, high sugar canned foods and powdered mixes. These are not only unhealthy, they are dangerous for people who have health problems like these veterans. Our group is working on a number of grants and projects to improve life on the reservation and especially in the shelter. Part of solving the nutrition question at the veterans shelter is our plan to build a vegetable garden in the shelter’s backyard over spring break this year, a project that more than one veteran has suggested. This would both offer a cost effective way to provide fresh produce and give veterans a rewarding way to spend time and reflect.
vital stats:
people impacted:
800people involved:
12why it's important:
The project has been important to each member of the group for a number of reasons. My personal motivation stems from my status as a young Lakota tribal member, in a unique position to provide leadership and solutions to the many problems faced by members of the reservation community. The gifts of education and family support that I have received compel me to give back to my community, and the opportunity to share the struggles of my hometown with friends and peers at Princeton has been such a great experience for everyone involved. We each find ourselves invested in the work at the Veterans Shelter for different reasons. One of our students, an ROTC cadet, has found that her conversations with veterans have strengthened her resolve to be the best servicewoman she can be. Another, who has been to Pine Ridge before, is using his time here to explore tribal law, something he is interested in as a career. Still another, deeply connected to the physical beauty of the land, cannot wait to intern at a nonprofit on the reservation this summer. All of us are ready to work with this program—and others on the reservation—in the long run.
the plan of action:
The project has been important to each member of the group for a number of reasons. My personal motivation stems from my status as a young Lakota tribal member, in a unique position to provide leadership and solutions to the many problems faced by members of the reservation community. The gifts of education and family support that I have received compel me to give back to my community, and the opportunity to share the struggles of my hometown with friends and peers at Princeton has been such a great experience for everyone involved. We each find ourselves invested in the work at the Veterans Shelter for different reasons. One of our students, an ROTC cadet, has found that her conversations with veterans have strengthened her resolve to be the best servicewoman she can be. Another, who has been to Pine Ridge before, is using his time here to explore tribal law, something he is interested in as a career. Still another, deeply connected to the physical beauty of the land, cannot wait to intern at a nonprofit on the reservation this summer. All of us are ready to work with this program—and others on the reservation—in the long run.
how you can get involved:
Learn. Don’t let yourself ignore the domestic problems of the United States in favor of more glamorous problems abroad. So often, we are inclined to offer aid and support to foreign nations, and that’s so important for the future of our globe. However, in many ways it is unbelievable that we can find ourselves in a position to help those outside our borders when incredible poverty and discrimination lie within them. Come to South Dakota not for Mount Rushmore but to see Pine Ridge and interact in a community that has been beaten into the ground for generations. They are a strong people, one that will keep rising every time they are knocked down, but why must they be knocked down in the first place? Right here, just hours from glowing metropolises like Chicago, Minneapolis, we find a wide expanse of land more reminiscent of a third world nation. It is deplorable, a situation that cannot be allowed to be continued while we still call ourselves a nation of equality.
Comments
Please let me know at anytime how I can assist you with your project. I have been working with the Lakota for nearly 15 years with child sponsorship, emergency utilities, and elder care; my latest and current involvement is with Pamela Red Cloud as a member of her Board of Directors for Red Cloud Vision working with co-dependency issues. I am a Diversity and Equal Employment Opportunity Specialist with the Veterans Affairs headquarters in Washington, DC.
John
Hello, I''m a Marine vet, and have been out since 2005. I was wondering how things are for the program? I'd like to help, support if possible?
Hey Eberhart,
It's so great to see how your project is supporting our troops. You should apply for a grant for your work: http://www.dosomething.org/grants/remembrance-grants apply by September 1st for a chance at $1,000 or $500 grant! Questions? Email Grants@DoSomething.org
And be sure to share your thanks and a note of support as part of the largest digital thank-you card for Emergency Service Workers: Decade of Thanks here http://www.dosomething.org/thanks You have until 9/18 to upload your message!
Thanks!
Do Something Intern