Pine Ridge Housing Replacement
THE NEED:
Critical health, safety and sanitation issues need to be addressed on our July 30th - August 7th Relief Trip to the Pine Ridge Reservation (Rez) in South Dakota. One family there has run into stressful times living in deplorable living conditions. As a single mom of five children, she's done her very best to provide for them. Family is extremely important to her, and she would do anything to better the lives of her family. Severe storms, straight-line winds and extensive flooding resulted in Disaster Declaration #4237 -012 (https://www.fema.gov/disaster/4237) being issued by President Barrack Obama for the Pine Ridge Reservation. The effects of the storms further damaged her already fragile home since keeping up with routine maintenance had become an unbearable burden. A number of the windows have been boarded shut, the bathroom floor is sagging, walls are bowing and I antipicate finding black mold both between walls and the the floor. While she diligently submitted her Individual Assistance (IA) application to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), she was not among the 383 individuals who were approved for assistance. Her trailer has significant leaks from roof, through ceiling light fixtures, windows and doors. The majority of her home would need to be gutted, but what urgently matters right now are safety issues. One of her son's has begun college to study Politcal Science so that he can return to the Reservation and make a positive, ethical impact on the Tribe when he returns. However, with his aspiration to become the first Native American President of the United States, he just may be called to share his vision of equality and justice from Washington, DC for a period of time.
The team is able to camp out on the Rez under the stars through the generosity of our Lakota family. The Rez is home to the Oglala Lakota Indians and surrounds the Badlands and Wounded Knee. We need your help to restore some basic needs and safe living conditions for as many families as we can afford to bless.
Urgent repairs desperately needed on projects such as an old, rundown trailer with water leaking through ceiling light fixtures, doors, and windows. Several walls are deteriorating, the bathroom needs to be gutted, windows and doors replaced, while there is also black mold to remove (which is prevalent in an estimated 90% of the homes).
PINE RIDGE RESERVATION OVERVIEW:
Located in the southwest corner of South Dakota lies the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation; home to the Oglala Lakota Sioux Nation. This is the land of the Black Hills, Badlands, and the massacre at Wounded Knee.
The Oglala are a proud and wonderful people with a rich heritage; they are the descendants of Crazy Horse and Red Cloud. Their culture is one filled with a deep commitment to family, respect, kindness, and generosity.
Tribal Government records show approximately 38,000 enrolled members living on Pine Ridge Reservation. Pine Ridge is the second largest reservation in America. The reservation was created by the Western Culture prevalent in the United States which attempted to assert its values upon the traditional Lakota people. For example, by thoughtlessly hunting the buffalo (Ta Tonka) to the brink of extinction and removing it from Lakota food cycle, the Lakota became reliant on others rather than their own self-sufficiency. Their focus is shifting from fear to hope, addressing not only what they would like to the current Lakota life to be, but hope they can respect their past while creating a responsible self-sustaining footprint. Problems arising from poverty have included alcoholism, poor health conditions, and lack of proper and safe housing.
JOIN IN OPPORTUNITIES TO GIVE BACK:
Ken and Charlotte Wienski ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennethwienski ) have been adopted by an Oglala Lakota family that exhibits kindness in actions, are generous in love, and humble in spirit. The Wienski’s have been bringing short-term teams to Pine Ridge for the past eight years. Join us by giving back to the people that much have been stripped of their dignity and self-worth by our government and society and suffer from historical trauma with every treaty ever made by the government with them being broken. As members of the Lakota tribe have said, "We will no longer live in Fear, but in Hope."
EXTREME POVERTY:
The poverty on Pine Ridge can be described in no other terms than third world and is equivalent to Haiti. However, this poverty is in our own backyards, not thousands of miles away and across the ocean. It is common to find homes overcrowded because it is common for families to take in whoever needs a roof over their heads. Many homes are without running water, sewer, and electricity.
* There is no industry, technology, or commercial infrastructure currently on the Reservation to provide employment.
PINE RIDGE STATISTICS:
*Unemployment rate of 80-90%
*49% live under the Federal Poverty Line
*Pine Ridge is located in Shannon County – the 2nd poorest county in the U.S.
*The Annual Per capita income of $4,000
*Obesity, diabetes, and heart disease are epidemic
*Life expectancy for men is 48, for women it is 52
*Has 8x (times) the United States rate of diabetes
*Has 5x (times) the United States rate of cervical cancer
*They have twice the rate of heart disease
*The have 8x (times) the U.S. rate of Tuberculosis
*Alcoholism rate estimated as high as 80%
*1 in 4 infants born with fetal alcohol syndrome /effects
*Suicide rate more than twice the national rate
*Teen suicide rate 4x (times) the national rate
*Infant mortality is 3x (times) the national rate
*Life expectancy on Pine Ridge is the lowest in the United States and the 2nd lowest in the Western Hemisphere. Only Haiti has a lower rate.
* It is reported that at least 60% of the homes on the Pine Ridge Reservation are infested with Black Mold, Stachybotrys. This infestation causes an often-fatal condition with infants, children, elderly, those with damaged immune systems, and those with lung and pulmonary conditions at the highest risk. Exposure to this mold can cause hemorrhaging of the lungs and brain as well as cancer.
* Many Reservation residents live without access to health care due to vast travel distances involved. Additional factors include under-funded, under-staffed medical facilities and outdated or non-existent medical equipment. There is little hope for increased funding for Indian health care.
IN SUMMARY:
The Lakota are proud and respectful, loving people but are in desperate need of assistance in a number of areas such as health education, healthy foods, clothing, repairs on their housing, HVAC systems, hot water heaters, and vehicles and/or vehicle repairs. One of the long term goals would be to provide a viable economy so that this fiercely passionate about their cultural heritage and being able to provide for their families. Currently, grass roots efforts by the Lakota are taking solid root and appear to be gaining momentum toward sustainable buildings and eco-systems.
OUT OF THE BOX:
Some of the out of the box thinking above and beyond that's been already discussed are:
1. There is one Lakota family member who would be more blessed by a mobile home to replace her existing one rather than to repair it. While buying a used mobile home can be around $5,000, the expense to transport the mobile home to Kyle would run around $3,000.
2. Another dire need is for a Construction Vehicle to leave onsite since supplies are purchased 2 hours one-way into Rapid City and a pickup truck can only handle a small portion of the materials at once. Vast majority of existing construction type vehicles on the Rez have a very limited life expectancy due to their age, rough terrain, and lack of maintenance.
3. Expertise in reconstructing the Old Homestead which need to be disassembled, the ground leveled, infrastructure installed for utilities, and then reconstructed. An example online of a similar cabin can be found here. http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/3d/81/29/3d812956741f9595e32a0e4544248680.jpg
4. Last year a tornado swept by a mile within our camp site and damaged a number of our tents. Both the volunteers and the local families do not have a safe place to go during an emergency situation like that, so the installation of a tornado shelter would provide security during a storm. (Prices ranges from $3,000-9,000)
5. A tractor trailer/Conex, estimated at $1,400, to secure materials, supplies, camping and cooking equipment, tools, and the disassembled Old Homestead.
6. In order to maintain proper hygiene and not tax the Lakota families, it would be extremely beneficial to have either FEMA style showers that are either portable or trailer showers.
EXAMPLES:
A separate team that went to the neighboring Cheyenne River Reservation this year can be found at the link below. South Dakota Reservation Team
Team-AIM is a 501c3 entity. There is no donation that is too small, and all donations are appreciated. Since this is an ongoing program, continued support would be a true blessing! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!
