2023 has arrived and we would like to wish everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year! It’s been a cold winter so far for the Rez and they’ve had so much snow that the National Guard was deployed to clear the large drifts from roads. Christmas was delayed in many households, traveling anywhere was out of the question so families main concerns were staying warm, having enough to eat and finding a way to get to dialysis appointments for diabetics.
Things are slowly returning to normal for most areas and temperatures are now in the 40’s. Let’s hope the mild weather sticks around for a while.
Marty Indian School
Students returned to school on the 9th, opening was delayed due to the pipes freezing and busting during the winter storm. The principal’s office and two classrooms were flooded so the mess had to be cleaned up and repairs made before they could open.Thankfully the flood spared the Buffalo Shop and most of the school. Students left in December before they could have their Christmas party so they celebrated Monday when they returned to school. A submarine lunch was provided by one of our SFK room parents and her two colleagues from Chicago. We had another SFK room parent provide pizza for the school’s Halloween party in October. Thank You ladies for your generosity!! Room parents sent gifts for their classes and kids opened their gifts at the party.
Students ended the year with a week of testing with some doing very well and others still needing to catch up, something we’re seeing across the nation. LFC had considering providing a book grant to the school so the reading specialist could purchase grade level books so she can work with those students still needing help. Unfortunately what, a few years ago was $1500 is now $4500. She said she felt it was too much for our group who already did a lot and will first try to get the resource through the school. I asked her to let us know whether she has any luck receiving a grant. She wants the best for the kids. She is still putting together bags with books for students to read and some questions to answer about the book. Students really like the program and have been promised a pizza party at the end of the year. Books are always welcome. LFC will continue to support the snack program at Marty thanks to generous donations from groups like Sew For Kids. Valentine’s Day is the next holiday to be celebrated so room parents and SFK members will be busy sending valentines to their classes or the Buffalo Shop.
Wild Horse Butte/Sacred Shawl
Gifts were sent for the community Christmas party by SFK, For The Children of Pine Ridge and Rosebud and Pine Ridge Elders groups but the party had to be canceled due to the storm that paralyzed the entire Reservation. They did, however, distribute the gifts to every child in the area.
Lakota Friends Circle has decided to put this area on hold for now until they can establish a working relationship with whomever is in charge of the area, which they have been unable to do so far. Sew For Kids is a program operating under LFC and we have decided to follow their lead and suspend shipments to the area until we can be assured your donations are going to the intended recipients.
We will resume assistance to the area if and when there is a competent person in charge. We are working on a way to help children in Head Start and moms with diapers, formula and other needs and will post an update when we have a workable plan. We have to find a commercial address to ship items, if we use the Give Back Box program.
Sacred Shawl’s domestic abuse shelter and the old My Space Youth Center are both being used to shelter the area’s homeless. The tribe evicted many people from their tribally owned homes in the projects if they were found to be using drugs which left many without a roof over their heads. Pastor Dan has been trying to help many through his CARES grant. Ruby S from Pine Ridge receives items from one of our LFC partner groups, For the Children of PRR and Rosebud to feed the homeless and provide warm items and toiletries so they can shower. They are feeding them at one of the churches. The youth center has been closed for some time and abused women have been going to WBCWS so both places mentioned were available and homeless people needed to go somewhere.
Maggie’s House
The new lights have been installed but the insurance company and LaCreek, the utility company that serves the Rez, are both requiring a certified electrician to approve the work that was done ,before they can open. They have lots of people on the Rez who can do the electrical work but so few are certified. They need to pay a travel expense for the electrician to come from off the Rez , assuming they want to do the work. LaCreek utility personnel are busy repairing downed lines from the storm so no one is available to do the work. There are some tech programs at OLC college but many students drop out because they are have trouble getting to classes, keeping up with the work, and also because they may need to pay a debt to the college or lack the funding to buy the books, gas etc. LFC did provide Maggie’s house with a new security system that was recently destroyed when someone broke into the house to steal gas coupons, nothing else was taken. LFC filled their propane tank before Christmas as they still have employees working to help the homeless women and children living in army tents outside the building. They help them apply for food assistance and TANF, which they’re now eligible for as they have an address to use, and also school and jobs.There are 6 rooms in Maggie’s House that will house 2 male high school students, 2 families with children , a single woman, and a room for an employee who will be present on the grounds at all times . The ambulance center outside the building has showers and toilets for the women to use because they still have some money from the CARES covid grant to help the homeless. Yesterday they again needed propane. We only partially filled the tank in December as it is a 1000 gallon tank. The pipes froze during the storm and some needed to be repaired and since there was only 3% propane left in the tank, propane was needed to keep the heat on so that the pipes were in good shape so that the homeless could still use the toilets and the showers. We have to find a new commercial address for them if we want to use the Give Back Box program as UPS is saying the house is considered residential even though it is a non-profit business. Hopefully in the near future we will hear about a plan to open.
White Buffalo Calf Woman’s Society
Is a domestic abuse center on Rosebud Reservation that serves women and men from Rosebud, Pine Ridge, Nebraska and North Dakota reservations. This is the only shelter that is currently active on these reservations and is why we want to support it. There is a new director and supervisor in charge so we are working with them to determine their current needs. They also do a lot of community outreach and help families in the area. They have 40 beds at the shelter, a few trailers for large families and have hotel rooms for abused men or women with male children over the age of 16. We will post their needs when available .
Wanblee Children, Youth and Elders Program
We work with Jerome and Theresa High Horse to distribute our donations to families in need in Wanblee and the surrounding areas. Our focus is currently on the outlying areas as there are other groups helping families in Wanblee now. SFK also helps the Woodchucks with warm items who are men and women from the area that volunteer their time to cut and deliver wood to families that have a wood stove. Apparently heating assistance through LIHEAP, a low income housing energy program, has been depleted for this year so people are in need of warm clothing, accessories and blankets. Households have to apply for the funds, are helped once per season and are helped on a first come first serve basis. The cost of energy this year and the overwhelming numbers in need has shortened the time when they can get help. Energy companies cannot shut off utilities from the end of October through the beginning of April. Currently Jerome and Theresa are dealing with a lot of family health issues so we will hold off shipping anything until they’re ready.
Gather Our Children Home
A safe home for abused and neglected children has been very busy over the holidays.They had 14 children for a few days as there was nowhere for them to go and the storm limited movement around the Rez. Some children were placed in homes but they came back as the placements didn’t work out. The foster home has been working with state officials to meet all their guidelines and they are now a state licensed facility. LFC contracted with an experienced consultant to help the home to write policies they needed and to negotiate with Child Protective Services for a higher daily rate for emergency admissions and another rate for those children staying over 60 days who are essentially considered foster children.
Parents cannot regain custody of their children until they can provide a safe living environment, have a job or be attending school and receiving TANF and can provide basic needs such as food and clothing. They must also attend parenting classes. LFC has received about $15,000 from their fundraiser held in November from some very generous donors to purchase a van for the foster home. Although the van will be preowned they will make sure it is certified by a licensed mechanic and consult Consumer Reports for dependable models. Thank you to all who donated that day and at other times. LFC continues to support some of home’s day to day needs . Your SFK donations are very welcomed by the home and they asked me to thank you all.
Bright Start and RST Maternal and Child Health
Bright Start is a program helping women in their last trimester of pregnancy through their child’s second birthday. Rosebud Sioux Tribe Maternal and Child Health program helps high risk women through their child’s second birthday. Both programs not only provide basic needs but also education for women regarding parenting, health, safety, etc.
Scholarship Program
Although the scholarship program is a project of Lakota Friends Circle, we include it here as those who read this blog are responsible for the success of the program through your continued, generous support. Both of our Scholarship recipients, Lucinda M, who is in her first year studying building construction and Jarron BH, who is in his second year studying civil engineering, successfully completed their first semester this year and LFC is awarding them both a $1000 scholarship this semester as they continue their studies. We wish them both a successful spring semester.
January/February Projects
We will focus the first two months of this year on getting basic needs for moms. Listed below are items they can use. We also have a monthly donation baby program through LFC that allows us to purchase diapers, formula and toiletry needs for moms and babies. You can make a monthly or one time donation to the program here.
SFK would like to start a pilot program with Bright Start clients that provides learning aids and books to parents so they have the tools to further their child’s development. Many children on the Rez don’t have books and this is one of the reasons they fall behind. Mary Mousseau is very supportive of early learning and encourages her clients to read to their babies as soon as possible. Reading is a time when mom and baby are together which helps the bonding process and babies associate that with love.
We would like to provide a learning bag with an age appropriate book, stuffed animal, puzzles, blocks with letters and numbers, memory games, etc. Any age appropriate and baby safe learning tool is welcome, new or used. Please wash all used toys. Most of the young moms are either attending school or in some kind of educational program so they are always in need of school supplies. Sewers can have fun with their brightly colored fabrics and make stuffed animals, balls, and memory games. Please send your books and learning bags to Mary Mousseau here.
Mary Mousseau said the following about the project “ I think books are great for the unborn, too. Moms read to them and play music for them. They put headphones on their devices and play pow wow music and also Tchaikovsky? The babies relax and fall asleep believing the drums are mommies’ heart beats (I think). So used headphones are valuable, too. Play doh and larger crayons work well. I see they break the smaller crayons. They love washable markers, too. The toddlers like balls, rubber trucks, the girls like dolls with clothes. Make believe food and makeup. Thanks, Mary “
Baby Needs
- Clothing – onesies (long sleeved), warm sleepers, sleep sacks, sweaters, shirts and pants, coats and snow suits. Most newborns wear 0/3 months but Rosebud’s program also needs NB and preemie since they serve high risk clients. Sizes for both areas up to 3T.
- Socks/Booties and Hats – All good projects for knitters, crocheters and sewers.
- Blankets – warm blankets, afghans, quilts and receiving blankets
- Towels – Bath towels, hooded towels, baby washcloths (smaller and softer).
- Burp Cloths/Bibs – Both home sewn and purchased. Good projects to whittle down your stash.
- Toys – Small stuffed animals, teethers, baby books, etc. all age appropriate NB to 2. All items without loose strings/ties, buttons, or anything that can be ingested.
- Diaper Bags – Traditional style, tote bags and backpacks for younger mothers.
- Sheets – To fit Pac n Play, they only receive one sheet with the unit.
- Toiletries – Baby wash/shampoo, cotton swabs, diaper cream, thermometers, baby nail clippers, pacifiers.
- Diapers and Wipes – Diapers size 3-4 most requested.
- Women’s Toiletries – Shampoo and conditioner, deodorant, body wash, soap, sanitary pads/tampons, toothbrush and toothpaste. Small items such as nail polish, hair ties, scrunchies, comb/brush, etc.
This is all we have to share for now. As we receive more information from donation areas regarding their needs we will then put out a yearly list. We do know that March and April will be focused on spring/ summer clothing for kids.
Many, many thanks from Sew For Kids and from families on the Rez for your kind hearts and skillful hands. If you would like to join our working group Sew For Kids Volunteers you may do so here.
