3/20 The trip has ended, but things carry on

It is quite bittersweet to be home after such an amazing and meaningful week. Reading through these blog posts only give you a glimpse at what we have experienced and what we have learned. It's difficult to return to the life of a college student after spending a week not thinking about our academic responsibilities and instead thinking about a larger social issue. I will never forget what I have learned about the true history of the Lakota people, their rich culture, and the state of their community now. There are so many things that can be done to help the people in Pine Ridge who are suffering due to a history of oppression and brutality. The first and very important step is to educate yourself on what has happened and what is happening now. The next steps are up to you...spread what you know, write your Congressmen, collect donations, work with groups like Re-Member, etc. Do what you can.

There is one "Wisdom of the Elders" that Ted shared this week has stuck with me:

"If you have come to help me, you can go home. but if you see my struggle as part of your own survival, then perhaps we can work together."

My only hope is that I, along with my trip members, never forget what we have learned and never stop working towards a change for the better, because what affects other people ultimately affects us as well.

Mitakuye Oyasin: We are all related.

--Angela

3/19 Madeleine's Blog

Our time at Re-Member has come to an end after a challenging, yet insightful and exciting week. We packed up this morning and made a visit to the site of the Wounded Knee massacre. We all agreed that it was a more valuable trip having made it at the end of our week on the Rez. The bitter cold and winds brought to life the pain and despair of the location. It felt like the mutilated, frozen bodies in the photographs at the Red Cloud Indian School and the Oglala Lakota College could have been right in front of us. As we left the reservation, we were once again reminded of the solemn history that never ceases to haunt the beautiful, resilient Oglala Lakotas.

From Wounded Knee we headed down 20 West and trekked from South Dakota through Nebraska back to Wyoming. We stopped in Douglas for another taste of local society. We have spent the evening in Casper waiting for our flight home tomorrow morning.

As we conclude this week, we are ready to face the difficult reality of learning how to incorporate our new understandings and confusions into our ever-changing conceptual and practical frameworks. My charge to our group is that we will take time to challenge our inclinations to play the role of the “rescuers” through service opportunities. I hope that we will all find ways to deconstruct the notions of “helperism” that too often consume the liberal Western thinker. For it is not until we have come to terms with our own inherent, subconscious biases and agendas that we may begin to effectively reach toward others. It is then that we will be ready to surrender our privilege and move forth with our efforts as we walk hand in hand with those bound by oppression.

3/18 Rachel's Blog

Today was the last full day in Pine Ridge. We were split into two groups again today (the same groups as yesterday). My group went back to the work site, and the other group went on a tour of the Reservation. We got a lot of work done, and I am really proud of what we have accomplished. However, the most powerful part of the day, and perhaps the most moving part of the entire trip, was our reflection tonight on our experiences for the week. This trip has really changed my life. I have always loved doing community service, but none of my experiences have had such a significant impact on my life. I have learned so much about the Lakota people on this trip. They have a rich, beautiful culture that we have put down and ignored for far too long. I learned the power of really taking a step back and listening to others here. Before this trip, I claimed that I knew what listening was, but the truth is, we do not know what listening really entails in our culture. Listening does not mean paying attention to the parts of what someone says that will help your own argument. It means really considering—and respecting—what someone else has to say. It is so engrained in our culture to speak up—the loudest people seem to always have and “advantage” in “conversation.” But how can you really have a conversation with someone without listening whole-heartedly to what they have to say? Listening is wisdom, something American society tend to throw on the back burner behind the competition for self-interest.

This problem in American society worries me deeply. This experience was so meaningful to me, but I fear that people might only listen to the words “South Dakota” and then tune out the rest of what I have to say. This trip has been amazing—the people I met, the friends I made, the things I have learned, and the lives I have helped to change. I encourage anyone who can go to Pine Ridge Reservation to go, to learn, and to listen. It will really change your life.

3/18 Julia's Blog

Thursday morning the volunteers awoke again to the tunes from the Native American CD Dream Catcher. I find the music to be very soothing and relaxing, others might disagree. Today I was apart of the tour group that visited the reservation’s college, a private catholic school, the Singing Horse trading post, and the delicious Bette’s Kitchen. Before our departure we had been warned to prepare ourselves for the chilly weather. Luckily, the weather was relatively nice and became a little windy towards the end.

The highlight of my day was eating the Buffalo Burger at Bette’s Kitchen. I am known to be a picky eater. Therefore, when Ted, the Re-Member director broadcasted the menu, I was rather worried if I would eat at all. However, Joanna nicely suggested to try the buffalo burger and declared that I would love it and wouldn’t even notice the difference. Fortunately, Joanna was entirely correct. I loved it! It was very tasty and to top it all off, Bette’s chocolate cake was to die for; this coming from someone with a huge sweet tooth and takes her chocolate seriously.

The tour was not a disappointment either. It was extremely informational. The Oglala Lakota College tour was very enlightening and the photographs of Wounded Knee seemed to provide tangible evidence of history. To add, the staff members like Ted, Joe, Mike, and Brian made the workdays and tour fun and interesting. The overall trip was a great experience.

THE PICTURES ABOVE ARE THE BEFORE AND AFTER PICTURES OF THE DECK A GROUP BUILT. HOW AWESOME IS THAT?!

3/18 Anisha's Blog

After two days of great mid-sixty weather, we got shafted with freezing cold weather, wind, and a winter alert advisory. Unlike in Maryland where a winter advisory could mean an inch of snow, here, we were looking backward to 6”-12” with the ability to screw our travel plans. We woke up normally and left for the worksite at Gene’s with a whole bunch of new wood to finish the porch with and get a whole bunch of the roof done. We immediately started “screwing” away (by the way, a construction site is by far the best for “that’s what she said” jokes) and Angela, Jane (from TowsonU), and I finished up the porch together. Despite all the hardship she has been through, Gene just has a spirit around her. A spirit of hope, I suppose. She says she can’t sleep at night and wakes up early just because she is so excited about her house being built. It feels great to be a part of her happiness. She was able to drill a couple of screws into her porch and was able to understand Angela and my new found love for power tools. I can’t believe our workdays have ended and that we are already ready to leave. The more you look around, the more you see how much help this place needs. It’s a weird feeling. The people here don’t come across as desperate and have so much hope and so much connection to this land. A girl asked Gene why she doesn’t want to leave and she said that she thought about it but she doesn’t want to because she has her children and her husband buried in the backyard. Yes, the fact itself was sad and it struck me hard. But more importantly, it was a testament and a perfect demonstration of the groundedness of the native people—of their reverence for land. For Westerners, land doesn’t mean much at all. We strike the ground with no sense of us hurting our Mother. It is amazing that she is giving up the opportunity for a better life elsewhere simply, or not so simply, because of her children and husband. I love that. The more history that I learn, the more I despise what has been done to these people and their rich culture. Out of all of this though, the thing I think I learned the most is that I cannot live my life without powertools. I will end with a that’s what she said:

“I need a 66 inch piece of this!”

“Oh yeah, how ‘bout I give you a 66 inch piece of THIS (insert gutter motion here)”

Classic.

3/17 Touring Pine Ridge part 2

As Sara said, we toured the reservation today. It was great to see all the sites and sounds of the rez, and everything we saw was a great new experience. As we were driving from stop to stop, I especially liked just staring out of the window and looking at the landscape. While the scenery was incredible, the devastating conditions of the houses and communities within the rez made me very reflective of what we spent the day doing.

While each stop included a history lesson, especially at the college, I felt as if we should have been helping someone instead of going to the radio station and “trading post”, which was a glorified gift shop. I am extremely satisfied and taken back by the amount of history I was taught, I felt too much like a tourist and not enough like a volunteer. I wish there was a way we could have been taught the history without spending the day in gift shops and on the bus. I feel that the education we learned while here is the most long lasting reward. But I came here to build, assist, and help the Lakotas who live in extreme poverty. We only have four workdays, and I cannot say that I wanted to spend one of those “work” days buying souvenirs. Am I happy I was able to buy my family authentic Lakota art while stimulating the Lakota ecomony? Of course. But my intentions when I signed up for the ASB trip were to build and help those who are less fortunate than me. To provide shelter for a family who otherwise has nowhere to go is an amazing feeling. Better than buying a gift, touring a radio station, or even eating chocolate cake (which was really good). The feeling of giving another person the basic human necessity of shelter is one that cannot be duplicated. When (not if) I come back, I look forward to working harder and hopefully changing a few more lives for the better.

--Eric

3/17 Touring Pine Ridge

Today our group went on a tour to various places in Pine Ridge. In the morning we ventured to Red Cloud Indian School and Heritage Center where we learned about the tribe’s history, the history of the chapel and the education at the school. We walked around the museum at the school, which was extremely interesting. After the museum we got a chance to shop in the gift shop. I was really excited about this part because I purchased some items to take home and share with my family so that I could show them what a beautiful culture this is and share the stories I’ve learned. We then left the school and made our way to Kili Radio Station, a station completely run by volunteers. The location was incredibly beautiful. It sits on the side of a hill and looking out you can see the rolling hills below and the mountains way off in the distance. Inside we learned that Kili means awesome or great. We also learned about the history of the station, the struggles they’ve had and their future plans for the station. We got to make a shout out, which we decided to make to the wonderful cook, Wanbli, here at Re-member. The next stop of the tour took us to Bette’s Kitchen for lunch. This included another incredibly gorgeous landscape from the top of a hill and a delicious lunch outside on a beautiful day. After finishing our lunches and delicious chocolate cake we headed to the Singing Horse Trading Post for more shopping. Next it was on to the Oglala Lakota College. We went into the Historical Center to hear more about the history of the tribe, this time with photos and paintings to illustrate. Over the past few days we heard a lot about the tribe’s history, but I think the photos and paintings helped a lot in illustrating the extent of the damage. For example, there was a sort of diagram to show the changes in the boundaries of the land allotted to the Indians, which really showed how much land was taken from them and how little land was left for them. We also got to see the location of their graduation pow-wows, which is outside in a wooden, circular structure behind the Oglala War Veterans Memorial. Then we headed back to Re-member for dinner and craft night. Several artists brought their work to show and sell.

Although I enjoyed seeing more of Pine Ridge and getting a chance to buy some things to bring home with me, I was kind of bummed that we didn’t go to the worksite to help out and see more progress on the house. As we drive around the reservation its nice to take in the scenery, but I feel like its kind of overshadowed by the living conditions that we see everywhere. It helps a little to know that we might be improving the living conditions for one family by finishing the house, but again this is overshadowed by the fact that there are so many more that need the same improvements but we can’t help them. I’m happy to be going back to the house to work tomorrow, but at the same time sad that the week is almost over and our time here is almost through.

--Sara

3/16 Tommy's Blog

To learn about another person’s culture is like opening the doors of their minds and their heart, and today at Re-Member, we were all welcomed into the hearts and minds of the Lakota people through our guest speaker, Larry. As I embarked upon this trip, I hoped that I would be able to share, or at least be introduced to the culture of the Pine Ridge Natives, and thanks to Larry we were able to. He introduced us to many aspects of the culture of the Lakota people and shared with us their stories and their music. Larry told us the creation story of his people and also told us about the seven customs/rites of passage that traditional Lakota people and their ancestors took part in. To have Larry share this with us, to me, was a very unique and special experience considering many people do not get to hear these stories or learn about the customs of Native Americans. It reminded me of a real life episode of something from the Travel Channel, which humored me considering I frequent the Travel Channel when I am at home. However, at the same time I’m not sure that many people would care to learn about these stories or customs because the Natives Americans seem to be a people who have been secluded to reservations and forgotten by the outside world, and I find this to be a depressing matter. I wish that more people could see and experience the things that I have seen and heard while I was here, because through experiencing a culture that is not my own I feel enlightened, which I feel is vital to creating a better global community where we see people as not strangers, but fellow brothers and sisters who are all merely stewards of this world.

3/16 Amos's Blog

Re-Member collects donations and distributes them to organizations and individuals around the reservation. Maggie, a freshman at Colgate University, started a non-profit organization focused on collecting donations for the Lakota. Today, a group of us were able to take a tour of the eastern side of the reservation, visiting a care home for Indian-American veterans and a handful of schools including K-12 and Head Start schools. Along the way we observed and experienced the vast expanse upon which the Lakota live. We surveyed, through mud splattered windows, the housing clusters with their water and large propane tanks. What Will Peters shared last night about the poor access to water made me think about the importance of water as the fundamental factor for development. I thought more about history of man and water as the common denominator for many flourishing cultures. As beautiful as the landscape was, with its scattered pines and distant snow topped ridges, I realized that this land, absent of water, was no land for a people to flourish. To say “this is wrong” would only echo others who have come to Pine Ridge. Admiring the Lakota as a people, who have persevered such adversity, I wonder, “What can be done?” Passing some of the housing fitted with low-cost solar panels and hearing about the efforts others have made to help empower the Lakota, I’m left with hope that there is a chance, possibilities. So, what can we do? To affect change in the people, to influence development of economies, to force our leaders to honor treaties…No. Perhaps our biggest contribution is to “know.”

3/16 Lauren's Blog

It’s amazing how working in the dirt and performing sweat-inducing labor can make you feel so alive and blessed. This is what has happened to me in the past two days at Re-Member. Yesterday, I went to a small duplex on the reservation that was in the center of the town. While there, I painted a closet a salmon color and tiled a kitchen floor. I later helped install a stove, refrigerator and dresser, all of which the resident of the house did not have. Today, I worked at the “burnt house” and I had my hand in everything! I measured and cut wood; used a power saw; used the cut wood for the unfinished deck and (with the help of my teammates) nailed down two-thirds of it. For lunch, the team and I ate our sandwiches, sliced apples and carrots on the partially done deck, and not one board shook. After lunch, I helped assemble trusses for the roof and hammered the metal out of the gussets. All of today’s and yesterday’s events not only made me feel like Bob the Builder, but it made me realize that I can do anything. I felt so accomplished in seeing the product of my labor. Also, seeing all of my female team members give their all and work so hard, made me recognize the power of women and proud of my UMD group.

There are two blessings that came out of today: One, we are helping people who need our help and who have been mistreated for so long by the American government; and two, everyone in my group is learning life skills. Once I get back home, I will not only spread the word about the Oglala Lakota Nation and try and raise money for them, but I also plan on purchasing a power saw and 18 volt drill. J

3/15 Dream to Live in Harmony

Woke up at 6am, a time that is foreign to college student alarm clocks. Stumbled out of three story bunk beds, moaning and grunting about uncoordinated screaming cell phone alarms. Luckily, smiling faces and a hearty breakfast, followed by quotes of native wisdom recited by Ted (the Re-member Director) infused us with positivity. Then it was time to adventure to the work sites on the reservation. The teams were split in two-one team was sent to build additions (a roof and deck) to a house that had caught fire and the other was sent to paint and install appliances in a house. Team “burnt house” was pretty upset knowing they’d have to be outside in the blistering cold while team “paint house” was inside painting warm interiors. We piled into three big brown (formerly white) vans and slid down the muddy hills clutching our seats and enjoying the thrills. The mud was intense…seriously immense (Enough Doctor Seuss). Mina and Joanna were in Team “burnt house” and spent the duration of the day building trusses (which we learned today are the wooden skeleton of a roof). This task involved the frequent, exhilarating use of power tools. Drill baby drill! And screw, and hammer, and…wait this is getting sexual. Anyway, it was surprisingly fun; not too physically tasking, and most of us learned for the first time about construction. It was nice to meet Jean and her son, the soon-to-be residents of the house. Seeing the family that would benefit for years to come from our time and service was remarkably fulfilling. Late in the afternoon we left the sites and ventured back up the muddy hills to the Re-member center, where we were greeted by a delicious dinner (the vegetable loaf was suspicious looking but surprisingly delightful). After dinner, Uncle Will welcomed us into his family. Uncle Will, also known as Will Peters is a long-time teacher and artist (speaker, poet, musician –“Nammy” winner Nammy=Native American Grammy’s) at Pine Ridge—a man of with great intellect of the mind and the heart. He was a hip cat, spittin’ off fly phrases and keepin’ it real….while also dispensing potent words of wisdom (too much wisdom to compress into this post). He spoke of the importance of life in balance, the significance of our sacred spirits and self-reflection, and respect for fellow-people (particularly women). These words were interwoven with a narrative of the American Indian struggle as well as with his own personal struggle—the trials and tribulations he faced, his evolution from racism to acceptance and towards true affinity and dedication to his community and people. Uncle Will was “real” with us; meaning he gave us his thoughts regarding his political and spiritual beliefs with refreshing honesty, stripping himself bare for all to see. He made us cry and laugh, and by the end we all truly felt as though he was family. We ended the day reflecting over Uncle Will’s insight, only hoping to gain a fraction of his endless wisdom over the next five days.

--Joanna and Mina

3/14 The forgotten Lakotas

The speaker, Keith gave an inspiring speech providing some goals of what we want to see by the end of the trip and possibly help efforts for in the future even once we get back from this trip. We heard some details about the violence that has occurred in this area due to the racism that exists between the natives of the area and the US Government. Supposedly the open violence has lessened in recent decades but the racism and hate is continuing to plague the people of this area. This behavior is horrible and needs to stop. By learning about this violence and mistreatment maybe people on this trip will take the information home and start localized movements that will promote nonviolent change.

Quick overview of the day:

12:15am – Lost luggage arrived in our Motel 6

- Josh and Eric’s luggage never made it out of Salt Lake City (who thought it was a smart idea for us to fly to Wyoming?)

3am- Luggage is still lost

6:40am- We (as in Samira, Lauren and Kaitlyn) over slept

7am: Josh had a fabulous breakfast burrito with salsa from Burger King and regrets not getting another one.

7:15: Connie’s car had a flat. We enjoyed watching Rachel, Amos and Randall change the tire from the warmth of our car.

n We rocked out to Techno and some Wale and made it to Nebraska

- Nebraska is ugly

Around 3pm: We made it into South Dakota

Angela’s Sedan could not make it up the really muddy hill, while Randall and Connie drove through it like it was nothing with the Suburbans.

Going on 4pm- We drank awesome sauce (a concoction of different flavors of powerade)

5pm- Did some work

6pm- We had Indian Tacos for dinner. They were super yummy.

7pm- We had an awesome speaker named Keith, what a rebel with a cause and cute kids.

8pm- Roses and Thorns were too long but interesting

--Samira and Josh

3/13 Travel Day (fun! fun!)

After pulling an all nighter, we all met at 3:15 am to drive to the airport. We checked in and everything seemed fine until we realized our flight was delayed, so Angela, Connie and I spent roughly 45 minutes discussing our problem with the airline officials, eventually to find out that we would likely be stuck in Salt Lake City for the day because we’d miss our connecting flight ( only two flights go into Casper, WY a day from Delta).

Though it gave Angela, Connie and I a headache for about an hour and a half, we finally figured out that they could hold our connector flight in Salt Lake City, since it was delayed too (not to mention, we filled up about half of the flight seats). We got free breakfast vouchers out of it though, so it was worth the headache.

We finally make it to Salt Lake City and are rushed over to our connecting flight. I asked the gate attendant to make sure our bags were on our connecting flight and she assured me that they'd "get there before we would". This sounded too good to be true, and it turned out to be, as we reached Casper, WY, to find that our bags hadn't made it.

We had planned to drive straight to Re-member that day/evening but we stayed in Casper the evening for our bags to be brought to us (and still, not all our bags made it to the hotel that evening). Suffice to say, I never want to fly Delta airlines again if I can help it.

There were some good things about the day though. First, the majority of mishaps (minus the flat tire) happened the first day of the trip (as opposed to something each day). Second, we made it to Wyoming in one day when we inititially feared we wouldn't. Lastly, I got to drive a nice big Suburban! I'm definitely going to have to buy one when I get older and I have Suburban gas money.

--Randall

After finishing some last minute assignments and packing, it was 3am and I was ready to begin my spring break. I met my fellow ASBers with sleepy eyes, yawns, and a bag filled with wool socks and long underwear. We arrived at Dulles with plenty of time to spare for our 7am flight to Salt Lake City, Utah, only to learn that our flight was delayed two hours. This was a problem as we needed to make a connecting flight to Casper, Wyoming. After a rousing game of poker-keeno, we took a brief nap, and then boarded our plane.

In Salt Lake City, airport staff met us at the arrival gate with carts to bring us to the plane to Casper, which they had delayed for us. And yes…riding those carts is as cool as it looks. We were greeted by dirty looks as we boarded the 50 person plane, but they seemed more understanding when we told them our story. We finally arrived in Casper, Wyoming, which according to a sign at the airport is the “Adventure Capital of Wyoming,” and it did not disappoint. We learned that while Delta had made sure we made it on the plane, they had not been as meticulous with our luggage.

So instead of driving to Pine Ridge as planned, we spent the night in Casper. We ate an early dinner at a diner near our motel, surrounded by cigarette smoke. I'm so used to the smoking ban in restaurants that it was really quite a culture shock. We checked into the motel and everyone in my room passed out before 7pm. I woke up when Samira said it was 3am and our bags had arrived at the motel. Luckily she had forgotten to change the time on her cell to account for both the time change and daylight savings. It was midnight, we finally had our toothbrushes, and we had 6 hours before we had to wake up and start our long drive to Pine Ridge.

--Kaitlyn