South Dakota April 2019 Journal
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TEAM 3 JOURNAL GLOBAL VOLUNTEERS ROSEBUD RESERVATION SOUTH DAKOTA USA APRIL 27 MAY 4 2019 WWW GLOBALVOLUNTEERS ORG
GLOBAL VOLUNTEERS S o u t h T e a m D a k o t a G o a l s T e a m 3 C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s No Criticism Flexibility To learn about the culture of Lakota Open Communication To help in the Rosebud community To travel in this part of country meet new people T e a m Open Mindness Kindness Support each other Timeliness Cultural Acceptance Integrity Positive Attitude Respect Responsibility Sense of Humor Honesty Sensitivity to other personalities abilities on team Recognize goal big picture 2
M e s s a g e o f t h e D a y By three methods we may learn wisdom First by reflection which is noblest Second by imitation which is easiest and third by experience which is the bitterest Confucius
W JUDY March 28 2019 J o u r n a l E n t r y elcome to the little town of Mission on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota We began our first day in the communal dining meeting area of our quarters Our Team Leader Kathy invited everyone to check in with their name and a little about themselves Conclusion another amazing Global Volunteer team Kathy provided a short history of Global Volunteers and their vision to wage peace and promote justice worldwide through genuine development partnerships as well as sharing some very interesting facts about our current assignment here on the Rosebud Reservation Our host is Mother Lauren Stanley an Episcopal priest who serves the local Lakota population Since it was Sunday there was a church service and pot luck lunch with the congregation if we wished to attend We all opted in and were well rewarded It was our first meeting and experience with Mother Lauren Words cannot begin to describe this amazing woman Her beautiful sermon was part of a month long Easter celebration and focused on love Lots of music and singing Mother Lauren incorporates the Lakota language in parts of her service After the service we all greeted each other with a handshake and peace be with you More on that later Lunch with the congregation was special the team joined various tables and enjoyed great conversations Back at our quarters Kathy conducted our orientation where we developed the Characteristics of an Effective Team and each submitted three Individual Goals We had 19 Characteristics the first one Flexibility turned out to be a very appreciated strength Kathy described GLORY God Loves Our Rosebud Youth and the work being done with domestic violence issues and a women s shelter As part of our cultural education we will be going to Wounded Knee and she suggested we educate ourselves before we go Oh back to the handshake at the church service Mother Lauren explained to us that the Lakota do not use eye contact or a firm handshake believing it to be hostile Unfortunately we did not have that information that morning after the service when we looked everyone in the eye and gave each our best firm and friendly handshake Sigh 4
M e s s a g e Money cannot buy the following things Manners Morals Respect Character Common Sense Trust Patience Class Integrity or Love Unknown o f t h e D a y
A April 29 2019 CAROLYN J o u r n a l E n t r y fter breakfast we had our morning meeting Judy read the journal from the previous day and Pam read the Thought for the Day which was What Money Cannot Buy Pam thought this was appropriate wisdom because of what the Lakota s had faced in their history turning down money offered to them from the United States government for land that was already rightfully theirs The Lakota do not believe land is for sale it is a part of Mother Earth The Lakota do not believe land is for sale it is a part of Mother Earth We next discussed visiting the memorial at Wounded Knee Most of us lacked knowledge about this massacre that took place nearby Judy googled it and read to us about the incident arising as a result of the appearance of the Ghost Dancer This frightened the white man and caused savage attacks on the Sioux men women and children at Wounded Knee in 1890 6
April 29 2019 Our primary service project was working inside the building and painting at the women s shelter Our project included cleaning and organizing a room where crafts sewing machines and material and anti violence educational material are stored sorting and organizing donated clothing and painting walls inside the shelter office which included moving a lot of office furniture before they could paint The Director Lindsey gave us information about this facility which was established in 1977 by Native Americans for Native American women and was the first of its kind in the United States Lindsey said that the needs today are the same as when the shelter started It is called wrap around care and includes all aspects of a woman s personal needs from abuse to alcohol addiction They have recently added a program called MVD Male Violence Prevention and will change their name from Her House to Our House to more accurately define what they do This program is not a part of the Tribal Program but is an independent non profit organization They get their funding from grants from the State and Federal Government and from private money donations They currently have nine grants After dinner we went over to Mother Lauren s house so she could tell us more about Lakota culture She told us a very colorful story of The Creation which is the core of the Lakota peoples beliefs We were all mesmerized by her exuberant storytelling skills It was a very fulfilling educational and fun day It was a very fulfilling educational and fun day 7
M e s s a g e o f t h e I want to age like sea glass Smoothed by tides not broken I want the currents of life to toss me around shake me up and leave me feeling washed clean I want my hard edges to soften as the years pass made not weak but supple I want to ride the waves go with the flow feel the impact of the surging tides rolling in and out Bernadette Noll I Want to Age Like a Sea Glass D a y
W PAM April 30 2019 J o u r n a l E n t r y oke up to about 2 inches of snow The California volunteers went immediately outside to take pictures while the more snow weary volunteers got ready for breakfast As a contribution to the GLORY gathering on Wednesday we planned to teach the children and parents the Electric Slide dance Carolyn and Pam lined up our Team and we did a practice session with music so we could all help with the dance on Wednesday We followed this with a well deserved breakfast Carolyn is becoming famous for her oatmeal We left out compound around 9 30 for White Buffalo Calf Our House to continue our thrift shop project organizing and sorting clothes clothes and more clothes We had a few shoppers stop in which was encouraging as we were able to have things organized by type and size which make it much easier for them to find what they needed We were treated to a lovely family of Father Mother and three small active children who came in the store and left with bags of clothing and shoes The shoe pairing was initiated by one of the shop customers finding one shoe that she loved and hunting through the tubs of shoes for the mate Couldn t find it Sorting and mating the shoes became a task of purpose resulting in one remaining tub of single shoes without a mate and an organized group of neatly sorted and connected pairs While we were sorting and organizing Denny and Matt finished the painting at the Women s Shelter office They were well received at the shelter by the staff and were smudged with sage to add positive vibes 9
April 30 2019 Hattie Dunham visited us this evening and shared her beautiful bead work One unusual and amazing piece of her art is covering the top of graduation caps It takes her 70 to 100 hours of beading They are incredible In addition to sharing her work she discussed and spoke of many elements of life on the reservation as well as some of her personal history and observations Hattie told us about the Lakota seven directions of prayer West North East South Universe up Mother Earth and ourselves Hattie told us about the Lakota seven directions of prayer West North East South Universe up Mother Earth and ourselves Hattie spoke about some little known history of how Native Americans fought the Vikings and the many massacres of Native Americans including Wounded Knee in 1890 She felt that racism still exists in South Dakota and native people can be identified by their auto license plates which identify where they are from She also spoke sadly about the violence and sexual assault that remains a problem today along with the difficulty in getting unbiased justice in small towns where everyone is related to or knows each other Hattie explained that food is a very important issue because we all have starved at some point People still offer whatever they have maybe just water We ended the night with a lot to think about Hattie explained that food is a very important issue because we all have starved at some point 10
M e s s a g e o f t h e Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body but rather to skid in sideways chocolate in one hand a glass of wine in the other body thoroughly used up totally worn out and screaming woo hoo what a ride Hunter S Thompson D a y
W DENNY May 1 2019 J o u r n a l E n t r y e all had breakfast then Kathy started the meeting At midweek it is customary to review the items of a successful team The Rosebud team has all A s and we are in line to reaching our goals What a nice way to start the day The Rosebud team has all A s and we are in line to reaching our goals We completed our work assignments and after lunch we headed to Wounded Knee massacre site We all read the large information placard near the highway that described the massacre To the east we could see a large hill were the large guns used in the massacre were placed We then found a road that took us near the Cemetery a large mass grave We walked up to the gate of this hallowed ground We met some descendants of the Lakota that were massacred who were also visiting the site It was very emotional On our way back we stopped at Mother Lauren s to discuss Wounded Knee and our impressions A fact that I did not know is the Lakota has the 7th Calvary s battle flag from the battle at the Little Big Horn They won t give it back that is why there isn t a 7th Calvary in the army to this day 12
May 1 2019 We then went to Todd County Middle School to deliver backpacks we had brought to Principal Dana Took pictures with kids and Dana told a passionate story of the need for back packs They have developed a program through a charity sponsored by Mother Lauren where unused food that was previous thrown out by law is now saved frozen into meals and distributed in backpacks for children to take home Dana said she could use 200 backpacks She showed us the recovery room where kids come to calm down and then talk about what is bothering them They can self refer or be referred by a teacher Four years prior 400 students had 800 suspensions now because of this room it is down to 120 Violence has decreased from 90 incidents to 5 We then went to the Reservation Jones building for a GLORY God Loves Our Rosebud Youth Program to run with the kids and to teach the electric slide dance to everyone We talked with the kids as they ate dinner of mac cheese and hot dogs and then watermelon After that we helped the kids do their painting project After the kids left we sat down with Mother Lauren and discussed our day 13
M e s s a g e o f t h e You think that what you are accomplishing is a drop in the ocean But if this drop were not in the ocean it would be missed Mother Teresa D a y
A May 2 2019 SHERRY OLLER J o u r n a l E n t r y long and busy day During breakfast we discussed issues relating to the pipelines trying to cross reservation land We then discussed how emotional that sacred site is and how much it moved all of us We also discussed how much we learned by being a part of the GLORY program last night We started working on our projects we got the necessary supplies and some of us got both bedrooms and the hall painted while Denny and Matt got most of the basement drywall taped We then went to the Rosebud Economic Development garden to spend time with Aaron The garden is divided into a Three Sisters Gardens an experimental garden which contains a large dome and a raised bed area The dome is passive solar with fans that put the hot air under the sail into pipes that warm the soil and returns cool air to the dome Local school children have helped with the project Herbs will be planted around the outside of the dome to help nourish the two new bee colonies The plan is for the garden to supply a farmer s market and to try to get the produce into local groceries and hopefully a restaurant The philosophy is to reinforce food as a part of the Lakota tradition of community We straggled home tired but ready for our final celebration We were hosting dinner for the friends we had made during the week It was a wonderful chance for more conversation and to thank the people who so graciously allowed us into their culture We certainly felt that we got more than we gave We certainly felt that we got more than we gave After dinner Sage Eagle showed us his dance regalia and explained how it was worn He then got us outside and taught us a circle dance We were far from good at it but it was fun 15
M e s s a g e o f t h e Be strong enough to stand alone be yourself enough to stand apart but be wise enough to stand together when the time comes Mark Amend D a y
May 3 2019 A MATT J o u r n a l E n t r y fter breakfast we started our work assignments We did some rather difficult painting and tape peeling I ll never look at masking tape the same way again Later during the day Danny came over and showed us the process by which they chop wood using a very impressive machine with the strength of 25 tons People from all over the reservation donate trees so that Mother Lauren can help provide locals with firewood an essential resource in the cold Next Danny took us to the local University bookstore which featured many books written by and about the Lakota Mother Lauren came over and gave us some more thought on the highly controversial pipeline We went to her house performed some last chores and were presented with a Gumby Award for being so flexible in an emotional farewell A fond goodbye to this amazing woman A fond goodbye to this amazing woman 17
TEAM 3 JOURNAL South Dakota USA April 2019 The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention Oscar Wilde Thank your you for service GLOBAL VOLUNTEERS 375 East Little Canada Road St Paul MN 55117 1628 USA 800 487 1074 toll free 651 482 0915 fax globalvolunteers org email globalvolunteers org GlobalVolunteers globalvolunteers globalvolunteers
