Updates and Observations from Pine Ridge
Featured
As we look ahead to the new year, there is great reason for optimism on the Rez. There is so much happening that gives us hope. We aim to be a part of the momentum that helps redefine what is possible on the reservation.
We are grateful to have a network of supporters who believe in what can be here on Pine Ridge. We remain committed to simply being here and being beneficial in the ways that we are asked and in the ways that we are able.
The Winter Heating season has officially begun. Our operations staff are hard at work cutting, splitting and delivering firewood as nighttime temperatures are consistently dropping below freezing here on the high plains
Winter is challenging in southwest South Dakota and especially so here on Pine Ridge. We are grateful for the opportunity to support the community in the ways we are able.
We are honored and excited to announce that we have been chosen to participate in a special charitable giving campaign, sponsored and funded by Target. And you have the chance to help direct a portion of Target’s donation to us!
During a typical winter, we cut, split, and deliver more than 500 truckloads of firewood to homes across the reservation and provide emergency electric assistance and propane assistance, paid directly to utility companies.
The summer months are flying by. It’s hot, but we’re enjoying the weather while we have it. Winter will be here before we know it! With the help of our volunteers, Devorah and Stephanie are growing all sorts of stuff in the Feather II gardens.
We are grateful for all those who have joined us this season. If you can’t make it out this year, we to hope to see you in the future. Trip requests for 2025 begin on September 15!
As much as the hot summer days can present challenges when working on physically taxing construction projects or out in our gardens, we are aware of the everyday challenges faced by the community. We are fortunate to be able to do the work we do.
Summer has arrived early on the prairie. We have enjoyed warm temperatures and lots of sunshine over the past several weeks, which is great as it has allowed us to get a lot of work done!
We have already hosted 120 volunteers and hundreds more will be joining us in the coming months. We are grateful for every individual that joins us on the Reservation and contributes to the important work we are engaged in.
I am so proud of the work that so many have been a part of over 25+ years of service on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Thousands of projects completed, impacting countless lives. I also understand that our journey has only just begun.
It feels good to get the volunteer season back underway. To get people back out here on the Rez. To talk with them, share our story, and to hear some of theirs. To connect and build new relationships.
With your support, we have delivered more than 600 loads of firewood this winter. We have assisted more than 160 households with home heating expenses such as heating oil, propane, and electric bills.
For more than twenty years, a stop at Bette’s Kitchen in Manderson was part of the regular Re-Member weekly program. Betty made her journey to the Spirit World on Tuesday, March 12, 2024.
Another season has begun at Re-Member, and we are so happy to welcome back volunteer groups from all over the country as well as individuals from around the world.
Truck 1 was a good truck. When you find a good truck, you learn to appreciate it. You build a relationship, mile after mile. It’s good to have something you can depend on when the days are long, and the work is hard.
The first month of the new year was bitterly cold here on the reservation. Temperatures dropped as low as -35° and “felt like” -52°. During one exceptionally frigid stretch the temperature did not rise above 0° for nearly 124 hours.
I want to take this opportunity early in the new year to introduce myself and to thank you for your continued support of Re-Member and the people of the Pine Ridge Reservation. My name is Will Paese, and it is with incredible gratitude and excitement that I step into my new role as the Executive Director of Re-Member.
Twenty-five years ago, a visionary group of staff and passionate volunteers took the first steps in a simple yet worthy endeavor: to acknowledge the past, to promote understanding across cultures, and to stand with the Oglala Lakota people.
I am grateful for the opportunity to have served alongside so many of you. To have learned with you. To endure a pandemic with you. To steward your generously donated dollars. And to share our vision of a better today, and tomorrow here on Pine Ridge with you.
Just a few weeks ago, we were still building steps and ramps, and harvesting produce from the Feather II gardens. All of that ended abruptly as temperatures plummeted, and snow began to fly. We have quickly transitioned into our winter heating season, providing much-needed firewood to families across the reservation. In just the first week of the program, we have more than 70 requests that have been called in.
We are honored to introduce our refreshed logo. It is inspired by a design that has represented Re-Member’s commitment to Pine Ridge since our founding in 1998.
During a typical winter, we cut, split, and deliver more than 500 truckloads of firewood to homes across the reservation and provide emergency electric assistance and propane assistance, paid directly to utility companies.
Increasingly, states and municipalities are adopting Indigenous Peoples’ Day in addition to, or in place of Columbus Day. By Presidential Proclamation, the United States is observing Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Columbus Day on Monday.
With just one month to go in our 2023 volunteer season, the arrival of September brings a moment to reflect as we transition from hosting volunteers to preparing for the winter months ahead.
It is hard to believe that August is upon us, and more than 20 weeks of our volunteer season have come and gone. We have accomplished much in the Feather II gardens and at dozens of worksites across the reservation this year with the support of hundreds of volunteers.
Our 25th anniversary season continues, and we invite you to be part of the excitement. Drop by our website today to make your trip request for August or September – there is still space available for individuals and groups. We also invite you to join us in Minnesota this fall as we celebrate the past and look to the future.
On June 2, our Operations Manager and incoming Executive Director, Will Paese, plans to run 30+ miles in support of Re-Member to raise funds for our construction materials budget. His goal is to raise $100 per mile, for a total of $3,000. As Will travels from Rushville to Gordon and back to Rushville in the beautiful panhandle of Nebraska, he will have plenty of time to think about the productive start to our season.
It was a storm that those in West Michigan still talk about 25 years later. In the aftermath of the storm, Re-Member co-founder Keith Titus found himself thinking about the people of South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation, a community that he had been introduced to just weeks earlier alongside his wife, Ginny, and co-founder Mike Alles.
After a long winter, there is something so tangible about the hope of the warm sun pouring down as the first sprouts of the season emerge from the soil. Those sprouts, so determined to grow, remind us to be hopeful too. The growing season, now underway, is a time of renewal and anticipation, and a time to discover the good things that can happen when sunshine and generosity are combined.
Now we again turn our attention to fulfilling requests from residents who live in all corners of the reservation, and who are asking for our help to improve their quality of life. Our volunteers are here, and anxiously await their assignments each morning as we head out to help build a better today across Pine Ridge.