Six months after receiving a grant from Wal-Mart and many generous donations from "Friends of Frank", Sacred has the opportunity to reflect on what has been done and map out what is next, which starts with a great deal of THANKS for the generosity and willingness to support a community sooooooo very deeply in need. 

  

We were able to use donations and the $50,000 Wal-Mart grant to partner with other entities, both non-profit and for-profit, to give those living on Pine Ridge Reservation over $200,000 worth of goods and materials.  We have used the funds entrusted to Devils Tower-Sacred To Many People to support Porcupine Clinic by providing them with medical supplies, health supplies, necessary household goods, and assistance with the payment of heating, electrical, and telecommunications bills.  We have discovered that the Dialysis Center building has been closed due to structural damage resulting from a sink hole under the foundation. We are working to, in short term, provide transportation for those patients needing dialysis and, in the long term, rebuild and reopen the Center.  We are raising funds for this purpose and searching for construction grants.   Sacred funds are used in a wider manner by supporting the heroic traveling Nurses who go home-to-home administering immunizations and care to newborns and elderly alike.  In February alone, Sacred supplied approximately $3,000 worth of basic health supplies which were gratefully received (photos).  Included in these deliveries was a blender for a terminally-ill mouth-cancer patient who had chosen to return home rather than die alone in a hospital. The loved elder had two holes in her jaw and your blender provided her final meals.  Wal-Mart funds were utilized to provide clothing to a family in Red Shirt Table whose house had burned down with everything lost. These loving parents have been busy raising biological, foster- and adopted-children for 42 years.  Their surprise and gratitude are overwhelming! Funds have been used to collaborate with One Nation Walking Together, a non-profit from Colorado Springs, to deliver a truck load of warm winter clothing, a small amount of non-perishable food, household essentials, seven toilets, and other vital goods to Pine Ridge in January.  Sacred and One Nation are joyously committed to the continued delivery for the next six months of additional trucks containing vital health supplies, clothing, some food, household goods and other requested items necessitated by the hardships of winter.   Funds have been used to actively work on several projects with Oglala Lakota College, an ambitious center of higher education and beacon of progress.  We have partnered with Two Wheeler Dealer in addressing diabetes awareness, prevention and physical fitness to expand a campus exercise center which is an integral resource for faculty, staff, students, and the general public. Working in tandem with Nike Footwear we have provided shoes for the men’s and women’s basketball teams at a fraction of the retail price. The association of Nike Native and Sacred continues to create an opportunity for OLC students to access resources otherwise unavailable to them.  Our own efforts have been raised to new heights by the bright, shining star that is the Women’s basketball team.  We discovered that each team member lives a life of vigorous academic endeavors, varsity athletics pursuits, employment off-campus, all the while engaged full time in loving motherhood.  We also supported a Diabetes Awareness Basketball Tournament by playing a minor though conspicuous role as we provided boxes of fresh fruit as prizes for players, audience and community members.  Looking to the future, we provided direction and seed money for the purchase of t-shirts to be sold as an on-going and self-sustaining fund raiser.  We are planning a scenic and cultural bike tour of the Reservation in conjunction with Dakota Bike Tours and hope to offer a competitive Triathlon in the near future. Other on-going projects include continuing to build a strong foundation for the future academic expansion of the library beyond its current fledgling state.  

 Additionally, we believe that by supporting the Oglala Lakota College we are supporting a community committed to addressing and preventing the spread of diabetes.  As positive role models, college students inspire their community (and the wider area) to pursue dreams and education.  They are individuals the children can look up to and follow.     

We are in the process of applying for a second State Giving grant to expand the work we’ve begun in creating an everlasting presence on Pine Ridge.  Our current efforts focus on shoring up the Clinic and Dialysis Center in Porcupine as they make their way toward success.  Our goal is to continue to support the Clinic and assist it to become a self-sustaining organization.  Presently, it remains unable to meet basic operating expenses while being the community’s focal point for pre-natal care, well-baby check, a local pharmacy and a screening site as well as offices for Karen Red Star, one of the Traveling Nurses.  Keeping the lights on, the heat going and the telephones ringing was not our original business plan, but has turned out to be the most immediate, beneficial expenditure of the funds.   We are continuing to meet the Traveling Nurses, ascertain their and their clients’ needs and provide a consistent means of reliable delivery of necessary, basic, every-day supplies. We propose expanding the support we give to the Traveling Nurses by adding Community Action Program (CAP) offices to those served and making use of central locations for delivery/disbursement of needed items to better serve the population which does not have transportation to either Wamblee or Pine Ridge Hospitals.  The Nurses tie the community together, create well-being for all ages and are an invaluable resource.   Looking to the future, our goal is to provide support and materials for the CAP offices, which are cornerstones of each of the more populated communities in a very large geographic area.  We are researching roles we can fill at the Women’s Shelter which is soooooo very much more than that and truly a bright spot on the Reservation.  Other entities which have come to light and about which research will be done include the educational programs run by Catholic Charities for elementary school students and by Rick Two Dogs for middle school-aged children.    

This brief report of our activities to date and goals for the future serves to highlight the underpinnings of our efforts:  to become as reliable, stable, constant and dependable as Devils Tower itself.  We have heard over and over again that one of the chief complaints is that agencies come on to the Reservation, offer assistance/advice/materials/hope and then disappear from sight.  With the support of “Friends of Frank” and Wal-Mart, Devils Tower-Sacred To Many People will be a long-lasting source of support for short-term, immediate crises that people can turn to in times of need and will be as constant as the Tower itself.   Thank You sooooo very much for the opportunity to put our efforts, time and minds to the issues in our own back yard.  We have found that our role as mediator, advisor, educator and supporter of programs already established but needing a little extra assistance has created a positive partnership for the community.  We look forward to being able to continue to support and assist those who are struggling to not only survive but thrive, against odds we never dream could exist in this great country of ours.  We are extremely grateful to Wal-Mart and to each and every "Friend of Frank", without whose grant we could never have achieved as much as we did in our first year!!!! Thank You one and all.